THE ECONOMICS OF REDUCING THE SIZE OF THE LOCAL RURAL ROAD SYSTEM

The large number of miles of local rural roads in the United States originated in the Ordinance of 1785, which was passed by Congress to open new lands to settlement. Most of today's local rural roads were built in the late 1800s and early 1900s, when overland transportation was limited to horse and wagon and newly built railroad lines. From that time until World War II, each of these roads served dozens of farms. Since 1950, the number of farms has declined sharply and is expected to continue to decline in the future. The type of traffic on rural roads has changed from small vehicles serving many households and farms to large vehicles serving fewer households and farms. Many of the vehicles now traveling on these roads are heavy or wide farm tractors, trucks, and harvesting combines that impose major weight or width stress on the roads and bridges. However, the financial ability to maintain and rebuild the system is not keeping up with its rate of deterioration. Local officials have insufficient money to properly maintain the existing system for the types of vehicles that are traveling on it. Reducing the size of the local rural road and bridge system through the abandonment of road segments that contain no property accesses results in cost savings from discontinued maintaining, reconstructing, and resurfacing the roads and bridges that exceed the additional costs imposed on the traveling public when they are rerouted around the abandoned roads.