Multi-State Freight Transportation Organizations: NCFRP Web-Only Document 2

摘要

Freight transportation trips often involve multiple modes and routes that cross several states. To move efficiently, freight movement-regional, national, and global-must cross jurisdictional boundaries with as few impediments as possible. To make it possible to plan and invest to assure reliable freight trips, multi-state freight organizations are needed, especially where the costs of freight improvements are borne by a single state, but benefits accrue to several states. Experience to date with voluntary multi-state freight organizations shows they can contribute valuable consensus-building efforts and planning to move projects forward, but cannot advance capital and operations projects because they lack the legal authority and therefore the financial resources to do so. At the other end of the spectrum, authorities created by interstate compacts give states and other entities the legal mandate and ability to implement projects, but the process of building political and legislative agreement to create interstate compacts can be so time consuming and arduous a process that few encompass more than two states, too small a scale to address many freight transportation needs. This study examined approaches to establishing multi-state freight transportation organizations that can develop and implement long-term investment plans. Emphasis was placed on the legal and financial requirements as well as the composition, structure, and decision-making facets of the organization. Sixty-five multi-state organizations were identified, researched, and classified by their legal structure and ability to carry out their intended functions, including policy making, planning, capital investment, operations, regulation, and research and education. The review suggested three models might support multi-state freight organizations: multi-state freight organizations organized and incentivized pursuant to federal grant conditions administered by a federal project office; organizations created through interstate compacts; and organizations enabled as federally chartered corporations.