Special Report: Inventive Maintenance

The final miles of the interstate highway system have been constructed, but the work is far from over. At the age of 50, the 46, 876 mi (75, 423 km) long system is showing its age—its design life exceeded, its capacity stretched to its limits. Today’s engineers and planners are employing creative strategies to preserve, rehabilitate, and—in come cases—completely reconstruct hundreds of lane-miles while working to effectively manage the existing system, find alternatives to reduce congestion, and fund these projects with both public and private dollars.