Investment Strategies for the Rural Road and Branch Rail Line Systems

In the United States railroads and highways are in need of substantial reinvestment. In particular, those systems serving rural areas need reconstruction to overcome both decades of neglect and to replace facilities that are structurally obsolete. Along with this, resources for rebuilding rural roads and rail branch lines are becoming increasingly scarce. So, choices must be made on which rural roads and branch rail lines should be rebuilt, allowed to deteriorate, or be abandoned. The purpose of this study was to develop a methodology that would address the problems of rural transportation as an integrated system so that the most efficient use of resources could be facilitated. The specific objectives were to: (1) Develop a model to evaluate how transportation and distribution facility investment/disinvestment alternatives affect the income of farmers and grain elevators, along with the effects on costs of other transportation (both personal and freight); (2) Test the model by applying it to a case study area; and (3) Identify policy implications for the redirection of public investment in rural surface transportation infrastructure.