transportation and economic corridors business plan

Economic Corridors

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October 9, 2013

• 16 min read

Content from the Brookings Institution India Center is now archived . After seven years of an impactful partnership, as of September 11, 2020, Brookings India is now the Centre for Social and Economic Progress , an independent public policy institution based in India.

Introduction

Economic corridors are meant to attract investment and generate economic activities within a contiguous region, on the foundation of an efficient transportation system. They are meant to provide two important inputs for competitiveness: lower distribution costs and high-quality real estate. The corridor approach for industrial development primarily takes advantage of the existence of proven, inherent and underutilized economic development potential within the region.

Apart from the development of infrastructure, long-term advantages to business and industry along the corridor include benefits arising from smooth access to the industrial production units, decreased transportation and communications costs, improved delivery time and reduction in inventory cost. The strategy of an industrial corridor is thus intended to develop a sound industrial base, served by competitive infrastructure as a prerequisite for attracting investments into export oriented industries and manufacturing.  Table 1 provides a categorization of corridors in terms of their scope and economic impact. The most comprehensive form, the economic corridor integrates infrastructure development with the trade, investment, and other economic potentials of a set of specific geographical areas, while at the same time undertaking efforts to address social, environmental, and other potentially adverse impacts of increased connectivity.

Establishing an economic corridor, then, is a holistic strategy that improves and enhances investments in transport, energy, and telecommunications in the region. A highly efficient transport system means goods and people move around the region without excessive cost or delay. This improvement promotes further economic growth and regional development, thus contributing to poverty reduction. (ADB 2008)

The Economic Corridor Development Model: International Examples

The Greater Mekong Subregion:

The GMS comprises Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam, as well as Yunnan Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). In 1992, with the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) assistance, the six countries entered into a program of subregional economic cooperation, designed to enhance economic relations among the countries. The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Transport Sector Strategy (2006–2015) identified nine road corridors that will form the subregion’s network of transport links. They form the base for the development of economic corridors.

The GMS (Greater Mekong Sub-region) countries formed an Economic Corridors Forum (ECF) in 2008 to bolster efforts in transforming GMS transport corridors into economic corridors. It is designed to enhance collaboration among areas along the corridors and among GMS sector working groups, and will act as a single body focusing on economic corridor development. This will help improve interaction between the public and private sectors, and between central and local governments.

ADB supports the development of the GMS economic corridors through a regional technical assistance on the development study of the GMS Economic Corridors. This technical assistance has conducted various studies and has formulated strategies to develop the GMS economic corridors, in consultation with the member countries.

The assistance comes in many forms, particularly: preparing studies and master plans to help corridor development; Helping organize and maintain forums and working groups for cooperation/coordination, i.e., Subregional Transport Forum, Working Group on Agriculture; Providing technical assistance that result in feasibility and engineering studies, identification of required regulatory arrangements, packaging of possible private-public partnerships, among others; and assisting in mobilizing funds through direct coordination with development partners and the private sector.

The GMS is divided into three economic corridors:

The North-South Economic Corridor (NSEC) involves three routes along the north to south axis of the GMS geography:

• The Western Subcorridor: Kunming (PRC) – Chiang Rai (Thailand) – Bangkok (Thailand) via LAO PDR or Myanmar
• The Central Subcorridor: Kunming (PRC) – Ha Noi (Viet Nam) – Hai Phong (Viet Nam) which connects to the existing Highway No. 1 running from the northern to the southern part of Viet Nam
• The Eastern Subcorridor: Nanning (PRC) – Ha Noi (Viet Nam) via the Youyi Pass or Fangchenggang (PRC) – Dongxing (PRC) – Mong Cai (Viet Nam) route.

The NSEC will play a critical role in providing Yunnan Province and northern Lao PDR access to important sea ports. Potential market coverage is extensive, given the existing road network from Singapore via Malaysia to Chiang Rai, and from Kunming to Beijing. The corridor is virtually complete, except for a bridge between Lao PDR and Thailand, which is to be constructed soon.

The East-West Economic Corridor (EWEC) runs from Da Nang Port in Viet Nam, through Lao PDR, Thailand, and to the Mawlamyine Port in Myanmar. It extends 1,320 kilometers as a continuous land route between the Indian Ocean (Andaman Sea) and the South China Sea, intersecting the North-South Economic Corridor at the provinces of Tak and Phitsanulok in Thailand.

The Southern Economic Corridor (SEC) comprises the following subcorridors and intercorridor link connecting major towns and cities in the southern part of GMS:

• The Central Subcorridor: Bangkok-Phnom Penh-Ho Chi Minh City-Vung Tau;
• The Northern Subcorridor: Bangkok-Siem Reap-Stung Treng-Rattanakiri-O Yadov-Pleiku-Quy Nhon;
• The Southern Coastal Subcorridor: Bangkok-Trat-Koh Kong-Kampot-Ha Tien-Ca Mau City-Nam Can; and
• The Intercorridor Link: Sihanoukville-Phnom Penh-Kratie-Stung Treng-Dong Kralor (Tra Pang Kriel)-Pakse-Savannakhet, which links the three SEC subcorridors with the East-West Economic Corridor. (ADB 2008)

Some Evaluations of the GMS Economic Corridors:

An ADB study conducted by Stone (2008) highlights clear gains, albeit with some drawbacks, from improvements in land transport costs and improved trade facilitation. Gains in regional trade reported are greater than those found in earlier ADB studies of approximately 40% (ADB, 2007). One of the policy implications arising from this study is the impact of focusing on improving the so-called ‘soft’ aspects of trade facilitation which improve transit times and trade service costs. The results presented show the gains to intra-regional trade, highlighting the potential markets within the GMS. The results, however, provide a static view of one-off gains from a conservative estimate in a reduction in transport costs and improvements in trade facilitation – they do not adequately capture the synergies developed by businesses starting along the economic corridors, the foreign investment likely to be attracted as facilities improve, or the spillovers from these types of investments throughout the economy. The study does, however, show clear gains from improvements in physical land transport and the more substantial gains from improved trade facilitation. The implications of these results are that physical infrastructure must be in place for trade to take place. However, once in place, attention should turn to soft aspects of trade facilitation. Based on the results presented here, once a sufficient physical system is in place, additional benefits are marginal compared with improvements in policy initiatives under the heading of trade facilitation.

Based on Banomyong’s (2010) empirical survey of the GMS corridors, there exist several administrative and transport-based complications to smooth and easy logistic development. For example, based on the empirical evidence collected on the route between Danang and Tak, it is noticed that nearly half of the total 41.3 hours transit time (18 hours, equivalent to 43.5 per cent) is in fact taken at customs or border crossings based on each country’s administrative formality. The non-synchronisation and complicated institutional framework are clearly hindering the smooth flow of goods across borders. From a cost perspective, 42.6 per cent of the door-to-door transport costs are collected at customs and border crossings, an amount almost equivalent to the cost of physical transportation. Banomyong finds that the physical route is currently completed but the supporting and administrative procedures are still lacking. The GMS infrastructure is more or less completed but many of the border facilities are still insufficient and inefficient. From the findings, trans-loading and border crossing still remain barriers to the seamless movement of freight, people and vehicles within the GMS. Banomyong asserts that this is because ADB-led trade and transport facilitation measures have yet to be fully implemented by the member countries. The weakest link in the various economic corridors still remains the border crossing.

Brahmawong et al,(2011) in their analysis, note that economic development by the corridors may increase the national income and per capita national income, but the society will face depletion of natural resources, degradation of environmental quality, and diminished livelihood, all of which are short-term and long-term determinants of the welfare of the population. Therefore, a comprehensive analysis of all benefits and costs is crucial in the decision making, if belated for the already-completed construction then for the utilization level. Indeed, Brahmawong notes that even if the analysis shows that the economic, social, and environmental benefits exceed the economic and social costs for the host countries, cautions must be made if the countries have a weak law-enforcing system or an inadequate cost-internalizing scheme. Megaprojects in the past (such as Mabtapud and Lampoon industrial estates, Laem Chabang deep sea port etc.) are testament of how ever-increasing economic activities due to the development projects and a lenient law enforcement allow economic actors to externalize costs by, for example, emitting pollutants, dumping hazardous wastes, or conducting socially-undesirable activities, with consequential degradation of the surrounding communities and the environment.

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor

The Pakistan-China economic Corridor, being promoted under an agreement between the two countries in the recent visit of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, is believed to be the key to bolstering trade through better links. Both sides have committed themselves to the ambitious long term project by connecting Kashgar in China with Gwadar in Pakistan through road and rail links, including building around 200 kilometer-long tunnels.

The long-term plan will mainly include areas of cooperation such as connectivity construction, economic and technical cooperation, people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and exchanges between local governments and organizations. Federal Minister for Planning and Development of Pakistan, Ahsan Iqbal, signed the pact from the Pakistani side while Chairman National Development and Reforms Commission of China, Xu Shao Shi signed from the Chinese side. During the meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Premier Li Keqiang, the two leaders agreed to start work on the long-term plan for China-Pakistan Economic Corridor on a speedy basis.

The Chinese Premier said that China has strategic interest in this Corridor. Both sides also agreed to set up the Joint Cooperation Committee on the Long-Term Plan for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, with the National Development and Reform Commission of China and the Planning and Development Ministry of Pakistan as leading ministries, and secretariats established in both ministries.

The two leaders agreed on the areas of cooperation in the near future under the framework of the Long-Term Plan for China-Pakistan Economic Corridor such as: start the China-Pakistan Cross-border Fiber Optic Cable project at an appropriate time, upgrade and realign the Karakoram Highway on a fast-track basis, explore cooperation on solar energy and biomass energy, explore construction of industrial parks along the Pakistan-China Economic Corridor, launch at an early date inter-governmental consultations to implement the Digital Television Terrestrial Multimedia Broadcasting (DTMB) in Pakistan, coordinate the commercial operation of TD-LTE in Pakistan, and enhance cooperation in the wireless broadband area.  (APP 2013)

The Delhi-Mumbai Economic Corridor

The Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor is a mega infra-structure project of USD 90 billion (Rs. 4,23,000 crore) with financial & technical support from Japan, covering an overall length of 1483 KMs between the political capital and the business capital of India, i.e. Delhi and Mumbai. This project incorporates Nine Mega Industrial zones of about 200-250 sq. km., high speed freight line, three ports, and six airports, a six-lane intersection-free expressway connecting Mumbai & Delhi and a 4000 MW power plant. Several industrial estates, clusters and industrial hubs are planned to be developed along this corridor to attract more foreign investment. Funds for the projects are from the Indian government, Japanese loans, investment by Japanese firms and through Japan depository receipts issued by Indian companies. This high-speed connectivity between Delhi and Mumbai offers immense opportunities for development of an Industrial corridor along the alignment of the connecting infrastructure. A band of 150 km (Influence region) has been chosen on both sides of the Freight corridor to be developed as the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor.

Industrial Development Scenario

Macro level analysis for industrial development scenario indicates that about 45% of country’s registered factories (129,704), catering to an employment of 3.36 Million sizes, are located in DMIC states. Moreover, about 1.234 Million registered small scale industries, constituting 46% of overall country, are located in DMIC states. It is analyzed that about 52% of registered factories and corresponding employees are based in Maharashtra and Gujarat states, indicating the extent of industrialization in these states. In terms of Gross Industrial Output and Export trends, DMIC states together constitute 56% of country’s industrial output (INR 12,874 billion) and 62% of country’s total exports (INR 4564 billion) in 2005-06. It is important to note that, Maharashtra and Gujarat together contribute 61% of gross industrial output and 72% of exports amongst the DMIC states.

FDI (Foreign Direct Investments) in DMIC States

Analysis of the trends in foreign direct investment indicates that DMIC states cater to 52% of total FDI equity inflows in to the country. Mumbai and Delhi regions together constitute 92% of total FDI equity inflows amongst the project influence states. It is important to note that Mumbai and New Delhi regions have better infrastructure facilities in the country compared to other locations, which have helped realization of such mega investments. Accordingly, the vision for DMIC also envisages identification of ‘potential but under developed regions’ and provides world-class infrastructure to facilitate shift of focus areas for investments away from metropolitan areas to these new investment regions along the industrial corridor to contribute to the growth of economy of the country. (DMIC 2008)

The Mumbai-Bangalore Industrial Corridor: Initial Impressions

Sustained by rapid progress of the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) project, Finance Minister P Chidambaram had announced in the 2013-14 budget that two more industrial corridors between Bangalore and Chennai and Bangalore and Mumbai would be constructed. Chidambaram also said the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) were preparing a comprehensive plan for the Chennai-Bangalore Industrial Corridor. (PTI 2013)

As Britain seeks to recover from recession, Prime Minister David Cameron on the 18th of February made a pitch to help build the Mumbai-Bangalore industrial corridor which could generate investment projects worth up to $25 billion. “With me I’ve got architects, planners and finance experts who can work out the complete solution,” said Cameron, who was leading a more than 100-strong delegation of British business leaders to India on a three-day visit in February.

Cameron has said that British companies could help India develop new cities and districts along the 1,000-km corridor that would link the financial capital of Mumbai with the IT hub of Bangalore.  Pointing out that the India-UK business relationship was already strong, Cameron has spoken of investing in education, healthcare and rewriting rules on high level technology transfer.

“India is planning 40 million more places in universities and we will help you provide them. India is also planning to double its spending on health as share of GDP – we want to help you in manufacturing drugs, setting up hospitals and provide services,” said Cameron. With trade with India set to double to around Rs.1.67 trillion by 2015, Cameron has said he hopes for a reduction in trade barriers to create better opportunities for British companies.  (HT 2013)

In the Bangalore-Mumbai corridor, the industrial areas that would be covered include Vasanth Narasapura (Tumkur), Bharamasagara (Chitradurga), Shimoga, Savanur (Hubli), Haveri, Kushtagi-Gadag, Yelburga (Gadag), Belur (Dharwad), Hukeri (Belgaum), Navanagara (Bagalkot). Tumkur is where a national investment and manufacturing zone (NIMZ) has been planned. NIMZ would be an integrated industrial township spread over 5,000 hectres.

According to forecasts, 5.8% of India’s population growth would be in the corridor, contributing 11.8% of the country’s gross domestic product growth by 2020. By 2030, if realized, the project could generate close to half a million jobs, while indirect jobs could bring the total in the region to two million. British high commissioner to India, James Bevan said on the 5th of July that both India and UK would jointly finance a feasibility study on the proposed multi-crore Bangalore-Mumbai Economic corridor project.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting with chief minister of Karnataka, Siddaramaiah at his home-office, Bevan said the proposed 1,000 km project would propel the economic activities not only within India but also help various companies from UK to establish their set-ups in these two cities. (TOI 2013)

“We can provide expertise in infrastructure, architecture, construction, maintenance and energy,” said Bevan. “Once it takes off, the completion might take 20 years, or even say 30 years,” he said, adding that British companies would also bid for contracts for undertaking work related to construction or maintenance.

The first phase of this project is likely to involve investment in physical infrastructure like transport networks, telecommunications, and power generation. In a later stage, construction would concentrate on social infrastructure like welfare, healthcare, and education. Bangalore has joined New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad with the launch of the Bangalore chapter of the British Business Group, an association of expatriate British business people. “The [British Business Group] provides business contacts in India and Britain. It enables a company or an individual to understand the business landscape between the countries, develop business contacts and gain business opportunities,” British Deputy High Commissioner Ian Felton told a gathering of industry leaders in Bangalore. (Business Standard 2013)

Speaking at the launch function, Ian Felton also said that areas like aerospace and manufacturing are ones in which Britain and Bangalore can collaborate. “The USP of Bangalore is its skilled workforce, scalability, technical expertise, and eagerness to innovate,” added Bevan. The Bangalore chapter will allow businesses in the city to network and procure contracts, besides advising and establishing links with the UK government and businesses there. (DNA 2013)

References:

• Associated Press of Pakistan (APP), July 16th 2013. China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to spur economic growth. http://www.app.com.pk/en_/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=242999&Itemid=2
• Asian Development Bank (ADB) 2008, Logistics development study of the GMS North-South economic corridor: summary. ADB: Manila, Philippines.
• Banomyong, R. 2010. Benchmarking Economic Corridors logistics performance: a GMS border crossing observation. World Customs Journal. ( http://www.worldcustomsjournal.org/media/wcj/-2010/1/Banomyong.pdf )
• Brahmawong, P and R. Sukharomana. 2011. East-West Economic Corridor and Southern Economic Corridor of Greater Mekong Subregion: Who Gains and Who Loses? School of Economic and Public Policy, Srinakharinwirot University ( http://econ.swu.ac.th/images%5Cword%5C7.pdf )
• Business Standard, July 5th 2013. Britain eyes Bangalore-Mumbai economic corridor project. http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/britain-eyes-bangalore-mumbai-economic-corridor-project-113070501057_1.html
• Daily News and Analysis (DNA), July 6th 2013. Bangalore-Mumbai corridor top on British radar. http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/1857715/report-bangalore-mumbai-corridor-top-on-british-radar
• Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), 2008. http://delhimumbaiindustrialcorridor.com.
• Emerging Economic Corridors in the Mekong Region, Bangkok Research Center, IDE-JETRO ( http://www.ide.go.jp/English/Publish/Download/Brc/08.html )
• Hindustan Times (HT), February 18th 2013. UK PM offers to help build Mumbai-Bangalore corridor. http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Mumbai/UK-PM-offers-to-help-build-Mumbai-Bangalore-corridor/Article1-1013240.aspx .
• Press Trust of India (PTI), February 28th 2013. Budget 2013: Work on two more industrial corridors underway. http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/economy/budget-2013-worktwo-more-industrial-corridors-underway_831996.html
• Stone, S., and A. Strutt. 2009. Transport Infrastructure and Trade Facilitation in the Greater Mekong Subregion. ADBI Working Paper 130. Tokyo:  Asian Development Bank Institute. ( http://www.adbi.org/workingpaper/2009/01/20/2809.transport.infrastructure.trade.facilitation.mekong )
• Times of India (TOI), July 5th 2013. British high commissioner positive about Mumbai-Bangalore Economic Corridor. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-07-05/bangalore/40390944_1_james-bevan-bangalore-mumbai-corridor-bangalore-mumbai-economic .

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Building Alberta’s economic corridor network

Officials with the Government of Alberta say Budget 2023 includes strategic investments in Alberta’s highway network to build economic corridors, creating jobs, improving safety and supporting economic development.

Officials say Budget 2023 includes $8 billion for the Ministry of Transportation and Economic Corridors’ three-year capital plan, a $718-million increase compared with Budget 2022.

“Budget 2023 is focused on securing Alberta’s future by growing the economy,” says Devin Dreeshen, Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors. “Our investments will enhance economic corridors that provide vital links to markets in and out of Alberta, helping our industries expand and succeed. These projects will increase the safety and efficiency of our provincial highway network, improving travel for Albertans and commercial carriers in key industries.”

Officials say the total capital investment is $2 billion for planning, design and construction of major highway and bridge projects. This work is said to focus on improving traffic flow and supporting investments in the province’s major trade corridors.

Examples of projects across the province that are receiving funding include the Calgary and Edmonton ring roads, Highway 3 twinning, Highway 11 twinning, and replacing the Highway 2 and Highway 556 interchange at Balzac. According to government officials, this capital investment funding also includes $75.5 million over three years for 23 engineering or planning projects to address known future needs.

“Budget 2023 is investing in Alberta drivers through improvements to Highway 60 through Acheson,” says Shane Getson, parliamentary secretary for Economic Corridors and MLA for Lac Ste. Anne-Parkland. “These improvements will help families save time on their commute while improving the efficient movement of goods across the province. Budget 2023 also responds to safety concerns from the community with a new intersection at Highway 16A and Range Road 20 in Parkland County.”

“The new intersection will not only help area residents get to and from home safely but will also improve traffic flow along this major economic corridor.” adds Getson.

“Highway 63, north of Fort McMurray, is a critical link in northern Alberta for oversize and overweight vehicles transporting goods for the energy sector.,” acknowledges Tany Yao, parliamentary secretary for Rural Health and MLA for Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo. “Twinning this highway will improve efficiency and safety for both commercial drivers and commuters. It also enables oilsands workers to more easily commute from Fort McMurray, which we know provides a healthier lifestyle for them and their families as opposed to flying from out of province and living in a camp.”

“The workers who decide to make this move will see the benefits of living in such an amazing province like Alberta,” says Yao.

“Alberta’s Industrial Heartland Association is pleased that the 55-year-old Vinca Bridge replacement is included in the Government of Alberta’s 2023 budget,” states Mark Plamondon, executive director, Alberta’s Industrial Heartland Association. “As a vital component of Alberta’s high-load corridor and a strategic connector in Alberta’s Industrial Heartland, the bridge services a thriving industrial zone with over $45 billion in total capital investment and billions more expected in the coming years. Replacing Vinca Bridge will shorten travel times, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance the competitiveness of both the Industrial Heartland and the manufacturing supply chain that contributes to its success.”

“We have been advocating hard for twinning and rail grade separation for Highway 60, and we are pleased to see this commitment from the Government of Alberta,” shares Allan Gamble, mayor, Parkland County. “Acheson is not only the beating, industrial heart of Parkland County, it is one of the largest industrial areas in Western Canada. Completing this work in a timely matter will improve access and movement along Highway 60 and allow for further development in Acheson, which will contribute to economic growth and job creation throughout Parkland County and the Edmonton region.”

“Representing hundreds of businesses in the Acheson area, the Acheson Business Association is thrilled with and would like to thank the Government of Alberta for this latest announcement for the twinning and rail grade separation for Highway 60,” notes Colin Tooth, member and past chair, Acheson Business Association board of directors. “Highway 60 is an important connector of arterial highways, allowing products to move all directions through the metro Edmonton area, and the twinning and overpass will create a safer route for employees, travellers and business owners who are passing through this stretch of road every day. This will also enable the region to continue to attract more investors and businesses by reducing delays and eliminating congestion along this major trade corridor.”

Government officials say Budget 2023 also includes $1.7 billion over three years for capital maintenance and renewal, which extends the life of the province’s existing road and bridge network and helps industry create and maintain jobs. These investments are expected to allow the province to maintain existing roads and bridges to support safe and efficient travel to benefit Albertans and the economy.

According to the province, Transportation and Economic Corridors will also be providing $3.9 billion for capital grants to municipalities over the next three years. This includes maintaining the funding commitment to Calgary and Edmonton for their LRT projects and continuing to provide funding for the Strategic Transportation Infrastructure Program to help municipalities improve critical local transportation infrastructure. Ongoing investments in water and wastewater infrastructure programs will also ensure all Albertans have reliable access to clean drinking water and effective wastewater services, add provincial officials.

Additionally, Budget 2023 is expected to provide nearly $400 million to support building and repairing water management infrastructure that provides irrigation for the agriculture sector and flood mitigation for Alberta communities such as the Springbank Off-stream Reservoir.

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TRANSPORTATION CORRIDOR PLANNING: A MODEL AND CASE STUDIES

As transportation and transit corridors have become increasingly common as focal points for urban design, corridor development has emerged as one of the more interesting and complex issues in transportation planning. Problems with corridor development are always large: ...

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The Geography of Transport Systems

The spatial organization of transportation and mobility

B.3 – Gateways and Transport Corridors in North America

Authors: dr. jean-paul rodrigue.

The North American economy is articulated along major corridors that connect commercial gateways to their hinterlands.

1. The Spatial Structure of Corridors

Transport corridors are considered the backbones of transportation networks, linking major gateways and hubs through a convergence of freight and passenger flows. Most often, they lie at the intersection of economic, demographic, and geographic processes as they perform both market-serving and market-connecting functions. Thus, the corridor as a notion is neither temporally nor spatially immutable but rather dynamic, contingent on such key factors as economic context (e.g. trade liberalization), investments in infrastructures, and technological changes (e.g. information corridors) and policies. Corridors come in two main categories:

• Formal corridors . They are constructs trying to expand the planning and investment framework of the involved public and private actors. They can be imaginary, depicting the intention of linking a set of locations. Occasionally, a form of governance, or at least a forum, has been set in place to address some of its challenges, such as articulating investments.
• Functional corridors . They represent an existing structure of flows along some infrastructure. The corridor is thus an operational reality involving a sequence of infrastructure, terminals, and modes.

The most structured corridors are obviously those that combine formal and functional characteristics . Transport corridors can also display physical variations on a modal basis as infrastructure layout becomes a determining factor. While airline flow configurations show greater autonomy, rail, road, and maritime transport rely more on accessible physical infrastructures. Being a spatial notion, transport corridors are observable throughout the entire spectrum of geographic scales: from an urban setting to a regional level (e.g. Boston-Washington), to a national (e.g. the Interstate and the TransCanada Highway) and an international scale (e.g. the Trans-European transport network, the Eurasian landbrige ).

As such, corridors are a fundamental structure shaping economic development. They involve an exchange between firms in order to achieve greater efficiencies in their production systems and supply chains, a process commonly supported by various stakeholders, such as regional governments, promoting economic development. The main economic rationale underlining the economic efficiency of corridors is based on:

• The greater capacity of corridors in supporting trade volumes is based upon the principle of economies of scale in transportation. This is likely to be the single most important factor behind the creation of corridors.
• Better integration between production and distribution due to cost and time efficiency along corridors. The corridor becomes an intermodal supply chain composed of gateways and inland ports.
• Greater reliability of distribution because of transport performance, but also because of more coordinated governance (such as identifying critical infrastructure) and more efficient cross-border flows (for transnational corridors).

There is also a risk common to most corridors to reach various  diseconomies . The most prevalent is congestion, as the heavy usage of infrastructures leads to capacity limits. Another concern is higher costs due to real estate pressures since the land along the corridor is more valuable because of its accessibility and commercial potential. This can be an issue along high-density corridors in Asia (e.g. Tokaido in Japan), Western Europe, or the Eastern Seaboard in North America.

2. North American Integration

The scale and scope of globalization have created an environment where the transport sector is adapting to an expanded geography of distribution. This is particularly the case for North America, where large distances are involved because of the scale and scope of the production, distribution, and consumption taking place. Historically, North America, mostly at the national level, was developed as a lattice of gateways and corridors , enabling market expansion and access to the resources of the continent. The outcome was a set of functional regions with respective levels of specialization and comparative advantages, leaving the North American economy an integrated system of global and regional supply chains structured by networks linking production centers and distribution hubs across the continent. These supply chains depend on an efficient infrastructure and on a coherent and consistent system of regulations. Therefore, and more than anywhere else in the world, North American integration is not necessarily about trade but about functionally integrated supply chains .

Liberalization and globalization of trade have made restructuring North American transport corridors necessary as the commercial environment changed. These include three main longitudinal (north, central, and south) and four latitudinal (west coast, central, NAFTA, and east coast) axes. Ongoing deregulation combined with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) concluded in 1994 following the Canada-USA Trade Agreement (CUSTA) in 1991 have had some impact on North American transport corridors. First, by increasing overall transborder freight traffic and, secondly, by emphasizing North-South regional corridors at the expense of long-haul East-West intra-national routes. In 2020, NAFTA was reformed into USMCA, which included additional clauses concerning copyrights, intellectual property, and some protective measures over key resource sectors. The most prevalent transborder corridors are:

• The Toronto-Windsor-Detroit-Chicago corridor is one of the densest and most integrated. The geography of the Great Lakes creates a funnel effect, with the Niagara peninsula and the Windsor-Sarnia region being the only outlets. At the other end of the mid-continent (NAFTA) corridor is the Laredo inland port, a major gateway into Mexico. About a third of the volume involves auto parts produced in Southern Ontario and in the border regions of Mexico, which are used for low-cost car manufacturing in the Southeast states. The mid-continent corridor also has an extension reaching Winnipeg.
• The Vancouver-Seattle corridor in the Pacific Northwest and its counterpart, the Los Angeles-San Diego-Tijuana corridor.
• The Montreal-New York corridor, which connects the Quebec-Windsor corridor to the Boston-Washington megalopolis .

The NAFTA Corridor links the two largest land gateways of North America, Detroit, Michigan, and Laredo, Texas. It dominantly relies upon trucking as about 65% of the value of the NAFTA trade is serviced by this mode. However, it is far from being a continuous corridor as northbound flows of Mexican imports, and the southbound flows of Canadian imports dwindle as the distance from their respective borders increases. The threshold is around the Tennessee / Kentucky range, past which the respective flows are very small.

A transfer of freight traffic and activities from traditional East-West corridors to regional North-South axes is in process. This is not to say that the role of traditional latitudinal routes is to be neglected. Firstly, they are of prime importance to internal freight and passenger movement, and, secondly, the Quebec-Chicago and Boston-Washington corridors remain core regions of North American transport activities.

4. North American Gateways

Gateways remain a relatively constant component in the  global space of flows . They can be seen as semi-obligatory points of passage linking the global with the regional and the local. Gateways come in three major categories linked with the mode of entry, whether land, maritime, or air. In North America, there is a high level of concentration of economic activities along coastal areas (East and West coasts) with significant resources and manufacturing hinterlands. Gateways tend to be the dominant markets on the East and the West coasts. From the start, it was mainly commercial considerations that shaped the setting of North American gateways and corridors, which have remained quite stable in time, albeit with an ongoing trend of traffic concentration. Like other gateway systems around the world, North American gateways , particularly maritime and air gateways, have been quite stable in time, implying that the dominance of gateways such as Los Angeles or New York is not much challenged. Still, this does not prevent new gateways from emerging and consolidating, such as Savannah (maritime) or Laredo (land). North America relies on relatively few small number of gateways and less developed port ranges have few chances to fully take part in international shipping networks.

Land gateways are those that have experienced the most changes, as NAFTA helped restructure commercial flows in North America. They commonly have a simple transit function with some nearby logistics and manufacturing activities, particularly when there are significant wage and regulatory differences, such as in the case between the United States and Mexico. The Maquiladoras, a border region system of manufacturing activities mostly servicing North American supply chains, are interfacing with the North American transport system through a series of land gateways, mainly centered around Southern California, El Paso, and Laredo. They are dominantly servicing an import function, expanded under NAFTA trade, and connected to corridors of continental freight circulation. Manufacturing tends to take place on the Mexican part, and logistical activities managing this freight take place on the US part.

The US-Canada border shows a different dynamic as the gateway, in this case, is simply a point of transit for medium/long-distance truck traffic (some rail) between manufacturing and consumption areas. The border region itself, even near gateways, has not seen a significant accumulation of logistical activities, particularly because the Canadian and American economies are already fairly integrated, and the bulk of the Canadian economic activities are located within 150 km of the border anyway. The last geographical characteristic has not induced significant development close to border locations, as opposed to what took place along the US-Mexican border.

Air gateways are linked with major metropolitan areas and tend to have more inland locations as they are not bound to strong transshipment constraints but to the rationale of moving air freight as close as possible to its final destination. Maritime gateways are large terminals with strong high capacity inland connections (rail and road). Due to congestion and lack of space for logistical activities near maritime terminals, the emergence of inland ports (such as satellite terminals) appears to be a significant trend, well developed in Europe but emerging in North America. An important characteristic of North American gateways, particularly maritime gateways, is the imbalanced traffic, a reflection of the negative trade balance that has endured in the United States since the 1990s. For instance, of the total value of trade handled in 2007 by American maritime gateways, imports accounted for a staggering 73%. The structure of global trade thus impacts heavily on the operations of North American gateways.

From a planning perspective, North American gateways fill three major roles:

• Infrastructure . They provide the infrastructure and therefore the capacity to undertake trade; import and export flows alike. So, gateway capacity issues are often part of national trade facilitation strategies by trying to mitigate bottlenecks, whether they be at terminals or specific segments. For North America, the West Coast was particularly prone to such strategies because the surge in the transpacific trade placed pressure on port and rail infrastructures.
• Integration . It mostly deals with regulatory issues related to trade, namely customs procedures and border crossing. Therefore, flows within a supply chain are more fluid, which is particularly important for cross-border flows, like those taking place in the North American Midwest, since they are coordinated within a much tighter time sequence than maritime international trade flows coming through the East and the West coasts.
• Market . Gateways are market development tools, either on the maritime foreland (expansion of services) or on the hinterland. The latter is particularly important as it reorganizes corridors and inland freight distribution.

5. Corridors and Inland Freight Distribution

Although North America has a  lattice of highways connecting all the major metropolitan areas, it is the long-distance rail corridors supported by an  intermodal rail system that plays the most significant role in commercial flows. This implies that each gateway has a different modal split depending on the density of the regional market and railway connectivity to the hinterland. From coastal gateways, longitudinal long-distance rail corridors, often taking the form of a landbridge, are servicing a continental hinterland articulated by major transportation and industrial hubs such as Chicago and Kansas City. The structure of the North American urban system underlines the Midwest as the most accessible location for trucking to service a large segment of the American population.

Rail freight in the United States has experienced remarkable growth since deregulation in the 1980s (Staggers Act), with a 77% increase in tons-km between 1985 and 2003. The double-stack trains are having unit capacities of up to 400 TEU and a total length of well above 2 km. Intermodal rail accounts for close to 40% of all the ton-miles transported in the United States, while in Europe, this share is only 8%. The main growth factors for rail activity in recent years have been linked with a surge in international containerized trade, particularly across the Pacific, a growth in the quantity of utility coal moving out of the Powder River basin, and a growth of the Canadian and Mexican transborder trade. Intermodal and coal represent the two most important sources of income for most rail operators. The two largest North American railroads, UP and BNSF, derive a sizable share of their operating revenue from long-distance intermodal movements (landbridge) originating from the Pacific Coast. The construction and upgrade of intermodal rail terminals have been a prevalent trend to support this system of freight distribution.

The emergence of landbridges is a good example of the setting of an intermodal freight distribution system relying on long-distance rail freight corridors. A landbridge has many definitions but can be summarized as a long-distance rail corridor connecting two major port gateways on different maritime facades. The main  North American landbridge links two major gateway systems; Southern California and New York/New Jersey via Chicago. Thus, the North American landbridge is mainly the outcome of growing transpacific trade and has undergone the containerized revolution; container traffic represented approximately 85% of all rail intermodal moves. Landbridges are particularly the outcome of cooperation between rail operators eager to get lucrative long-distance traffic and maritime shippers eager to reduce shipping time and costs, particularly from Asia. Long-distance intermodal rail corridors are also planned in Mexico. Kansas City Southern de Mexico (KCSM, a subsidiary of Kansas City Southern) is building an intermodal terminal next to the port of Lazaro Cardenas. KCSM plans to establish a new international intermodal corridor stretching 1,300 miles across Mexico to the border crossing at Laredo, Texas. At Laredo, the Kansas City Southern system that connects to major American rail hubs, namely Chicago and Kansas City, takes over.

A number of factors, such as road congestion, infrastructure capacity issues , and higher fuel prices, challenge the advantages of the landbridge, particularly for long-distance trade. For instance, in 2007, shipping a forty-foot container from New York to Korea costs about $3,000 if the all-water maritime route through the Suez Canal is used and $9,000 if shipped by rail to a West Coast port and then across the Pacific. Thus, this form of rail intermodalism appears to have reached a phase of maturity. Still, the market segment of domestic (North American) rail intermodalism is expected to grow substantially as the only available alternative to long-distance trucking. This will lean on the setting of a variety of inland terminals acting as load centers for the respective market areas.

Related Topics

• Transport and Spatial Organization
• Intermodal Transportation
• Transcontinental Bridges
• Rail Transportation and Pipelines
• Transport Terminals and Hinterlands
• Inland Ports (Terminals)
• Transportation and Mega Urban Regions
• The St. Lawrence Seaway and Regional Development

Bibliograhpy

• Blank, S. (2008) “Trade Corridors and North American Competitiveness”, American Review of Canadian Studies, Vol. 38, No. 2, pp. 231-237.
• Bradbury, S. (2002) “Planning Transportation Corridors in Post-NAFTA North America,” Journal of American Planning Association, Vol. 68, No.2, pp. 137-150.
• Brooks, M. (2008) North American Freight Transportation: The Road to Security and Prosperity, Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.
• Primus, H. and W. Zonneveld (2003) “What are corridors and what are the issues? Introduction to special issue: the governance of corridors”, Journal of Transport Geography, Vol. 11 (3), pp. 167-177.
• Rodrigue, J-P (2004) “Freight, Gateways and Mega-Urban Regions: The Logistical Integration of the BostWash Corridor”, Tijdschrift voor Sociale en Economische Geografie, Vol. 95, No. 2, pp. 147-161.
• Rodrigue, J-P (2021) Constraints in the Canadian Transport Infrastructure Grid, SPP Research Paper, Vol 14:6 https://doi.org/10.11575/sppp.v14i.70156 .
• US Department of Transportation (1994) Assessment of Border Crossings and Transportation Corridors of North American Trade; Report to Congress, Washington, D.C.: Federal Highway Administration.

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Province pulling funding for Calgary's Green Line LRT project, letter says

Minister devin dreeshen promised aug. 1 provincial funding was secure despite scaling down of project.

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The Alberta government is pulling its share of the funding for Calgary's Green Line LRT, according to a letter sent to Mayor Jyoti Gondek on Tuesday. 

In the Sept. 3 letter, a copy of which was obtained by CBC News, Transportation and Economic Corridors Minister Devin Dreeshen called the city's revised Green Line LRT plan "unacceptable," saying the province would not support it. 

In late July, to address rising costs, council voted 10-5 to cut six stations from the initial phase of the Green Line, and to increase its budget by $700 million to over $6.2 billion.

The proposed new line would run from Eau Claire to Lynnwood/Millican instead of Eau Claire to Shepard, making it much shorter than originally anticipated.

The province has been counted on to chip in about $1.53 billion for the project.

In an interview with The Homestretch  on Aug. 1, Dreeshen said that pledge to the project was "100 per cent" secure. 

"I've been working closely with the mayor and Calgary city councillors so that they know that the commitment from the province for the Green Line [is] in place and that they can bank on it."

But after further reviewing the city's new business case for the Green Line, Dreeshan said he had serious concerns about the adjusted scope of the project.

"The Green Line is fast becoming a multibillion-dollar boondoggle that will serve very few Calgarians," the letter says.

"Although we understand that hundreds of millions have already been spent on utility and other work for the current Green Line scope, throwing good money after bad is simply not an option for our government." 

• Council approves budget hike for Green Line LRT, cutting 6 stations from Phase 1

Dreeshen also took aim at Calgary's former mayor, Naheed Nenshi, who now leads the provincial NDP.

"We recognize your and the current council's efforts to try and salvage the untenable position you've been placed in by the former mayor and his utter failure to competently oversee the planning, design and implementation of a cost-effective transit plan that could have served hundreds of thousands of Calgarians in the city's southern and northern communities." 

In the letter, the province says it will move forward by contracting out a third party to provide alternative proposals for the LRT line that integrate the red and blue lines along Seventh Avenue S.W., and the province's envisioned Grand Central inter-city railway station in the east end entertainment district. 

Dreeshen's office has not yet responded to an inquiry from CBC News.

CBC News reached out to several members of city council Tuesday, but all declined to comment on the letter. Mayor Gondek has not yet responded to a request for comment.

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Power upgrades at usask complete with collaboration from saskpower, saskatchewan invests $30m for highway improvements in west-central area, province marks milestone by breaking ground on three ontario line stations, the future is thermal, building the structural steel reuse industry in canada, transforming municipal wastewater facilities into sustainability hubs, canada’s rail transportation future, celebrating the biggest infrastructure projects in western canada.

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Alberta increases economic corridor network capital plan budget by $718M

The Government of Alberta’s Budget 2023 includes $8 billion for the Ministry of Transportation and Economic Corridors’ three-year capital plan, a $718-million increase compared with Budget 2022.

“Budget 2023 is focused on securing Alberta’s future by growing the economy. Our investments will enhance economic corridors that provide vital links to markets in and out of Alberta, helping our industries expand and succeed. These projects will increase the safety and efficiency of our provincial highway network, improving travel for Albertans and commercial carriers in key industries,” said Devin Dreeshen, Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors.

The total capital investment is $2 billion for planning, design and construction of major highway and bridge projects. This work focuses on improving traffic flow and supporting investments in the province’s major trade corridors. Examples of projects across the province that are receiving funding include the Calgary and Edmonton ring roads, Highway 3 twinning, Highway 11 twinning, and replacing the Highway 2 and Highway 556 interchange at Balzac. This capital investment funding also includes $75.5 million over three years for 23 engineering or planning projects to address known future needs.

“Highway 63, north of Fort McMurray, is a critical link in northern Alberta for oversize and overweight vehicles transporting goods for the energy sector. Twinning this highway will improve efficiency and safety for both commercial drivers and commuters. It also enables oilsands workers to more easily commute from Fort McMurray, which we know provides a healthier lifestyle for them and their families as opposed to flying from out of province and living in a camp. The workers who decide to make this move will see the benefits of living in such an amazing province like Alberta,” said Tany Yao, MLA for Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo

“Alberta’s Industrial Heartland Association is pleased that the 55-year-old Vinca Bridge replacement is included in the Government of Alberta’s 2023 budget. As a vital component of Alberta’s high-load corridor and a strategic connector in Alberta’s Industrial Heartland, the bridge services a thriving industrial zone with over $45 billion in total capital investment and billions more expected in the coming years. Replacing Vinca Bridge will shorten travel times, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance the competitiveness of both the Industrial Heartland and the manufacturing supply chain that contributes to its success.” said Mark Plamondon, executive director, Alberta’s Industrial Heartland Association.

Budget 2023 also includes $1.7 billion over three years for capital maintenance and renewal, which extends the life of the province’s existing road and bridge network and helps industry create and maintain jobs. These investments will allow the province to maintain existing roads and bridges to support safe and efficient travel to benefit Albertans and the economy.

Transportation and Economic Corridors will also be providing $3.9 billion for capital grants to municipalities over the next three years. This includes maintaining the funding commitment to Calgary and Edmonton for their LRT projects and continuing to provide funding for the Strategic Transportation Infrastructure Program to help municipalities improve critical local transportation infrastructure. Ongoing investments in water and wastewater infrastructure programs will also ensure all Albertans have reliable access to clean drinking water and effective wastewater services.

Additionally, Budget 2023 will provide nearly $400 million to support building and repairing water management infrastructure that provides irrigation for the agriculture sector and flood mitigation for Alberta communities such as the Springbank Off-stream Reservoir.

Featured image: (Government of Alberta)

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Transportation 2030: Trade Corridors to Global Markets

From: Transport Canada

“Trade Corridors to Global Markets” is one theme under Transportation 2030 , the Government of Canada’s strategic plan for a safe, secure, green, innovative and integrated transportation system.

On this page

Our goal for this theme, what canadians told us, where we go from here, support in budget 2017, support in budget 2018, support in budget 2019, our progress.

To improve our transportation system so we can get products to market and grow our economy.

In 2016, we consulted Canadians about our transportation system. Here is what they told us about trade:

• It takes good collaboration between industry and government to maximize economic opportunities
• Cost inefficiencies hurt Canada’s ability to compete globally
• The costs of domestic freight transportation greatly affect industrial investments
• Beyond infrastructure investment, Canada must use innovation, policy, regulations and creativity to improve the efficiency of supply chains
• We must adopt a national and system-wide way of looking at things in order to identify problems
• However, we must also keep in mind the individual needs of shippers, as there may not always be one fix for all sectors
• Transport data is becoming less available, but Canada needs to make data a priority for a national transportation strategy

To meet our goals for getting products to market effectively, we committed to:

• Support the movement of goods and people by investing more than $180 billion in infrastructure over 12 years as part of the Investing in Canada Plan
• Use new ways to collect and analyze data
• Make sure that data is available to all who operate, oversee and use the transportation system
• Look at new ways to finance transportation infrastructure projects in partnership with other levels of government and the private sector
• Make infrastructure investments to address bottlenecks in important trade corridors, including rail export corridors
• Work on greater transparency in the rail transportation supply chain
• Take a more balanced approach for rail stakeholders
• Support a more competitive and efficient rail sector
• Canada’s progressive trade and investment plan
• a pan-Canadian framework on clean growth and climate change
• a national innovation agenda

Budget 2017 made a large commitment to trade and transportation priorities, including:

• $1.9 billion to the National Trade Corridors Fund , including a dedicated allotment of $400 million in funding for projects to address the transportation needs of Canada’s territorial North
• $5 billion to the Canada Infrastructure Bank
• $50 million to improve our trade and transportation data and analysis which led to the creation of the Canadian Centre on Transportation Data
• $6 million over the next three years to help modernize the Canadian Transportation Agency
• In the 2018 Fall Economic Statement, Transport Canada received $13.6 million over three years to improve transportation data and speed up the creation of the Canadian Centre on Transportation Data. This funding started in 2019
• To support Canada’s Arctic and Northern communities by improving and building infrastructure, Budget 2019 earmarked up to $400 million over 8 years for Arctic and Northern regions under the National Trade Corridors Fund.
• This brings the total funds for these regions to $800 million, and the total funding under the National Trade Corridors Fund to $2.3 billion.

Improvements to the rail industry

The Transportation Modernization Act (the Act) received Royal Assent on May 23, 2018. This Act amended the laws and regulations that govern the railway industry in Canada, based on the following four principles:

Fair access

Creating a more balanced approach for stakeholders, by:

• better defining “adequate and suitable” rail service in the Canada Transportation Act
• ensuring more accessible and timely processes to support balanced negotiations between shippers and railways on both rates and service, allowing shippers to seek reciprocal financial penalties in their service agreements with railways, which will make both parties more accountable
• creating more informal dispute resolution support and updated guidance on shipper remedies from the Canadian Transportation Agency

Transparency

Increasing transparency of the freight rail sector by:

• making more data on the service and performance of railways publicly available
• expanding the Canadian Transportation Agency’s power to investigate rail service issues

Fostering a more efficient and competitive freight sector by:

• creating a new way, called “long-haul interswitching,” to give captive shippers across sectors and regions of Canada access to a competing railway
• requiring railways to report publicly each year on their ability to move the upcoming grain crop, as well as on their winter contingency plans

Long-term investment

Encouraging investments in the freight rail network by:

• modernizing the formula the Canadian Transportation Agency uses to calculate the Maximum Revenue Entitlement for grain, to better credit railways for their investments and encourage the purchase of hopper cars
• making it easier for the Canadian Transportation Agency to update regulated interswitching rates on an annual basis

Trade and Transportation Corridors Initiative

On July 4, 2017, the Minister announced the creation of the Trade and Transportation Corridors Initiative , which will build stronger, more efficient transportation corridors to international markets. This initiative created:

• As of January 2021, more than $1.8billion has been committed to 87 transportation infrastructure projects across the country with total investments of more than of $3.9 billion ( Projects funded by the National Trade Corridors Fund )
• a continuous call for trade diversification projects, which targets projects that contribute to generating or increasing overseas trade in support of the Government of Canada’s Export Diversification Strategy
• an Arctic and Northern call for proposals, which targets projects that address the transportation infrastructure priorities and needs of Arctic and Northern communities, such as safety, climate change and fostering socio-economic opportunities. This call for proposals will close on March 15, 2021
• a Trade and Transportation Information System, managed by the new CCTD, a joint project between Transport Canada and Statistics Canada
• measures for innovative transportation, to:
• help us work with key partners in understanding and regulating new transportation technologies
• update rules and regulations for remotely piloted aircraft systems (also known as drones) and connected and automated vehicles

Related links

• 2020-10-23: Minister Garneau announces the National Trade Corridors Fund Arctic and Northern call for proposals for projects that address transportation challenges in Canada’s arctic and northern regions
• 2018-12-18: Minister Garneau announces the National Trade Corridors Fund continuous call for proposals to fund projects that diversify trade
• 2018-11-19: Minister Garneau announces the National Trade Corridors Fund second call for proposals to address transportation challenges is Canada’s territorial North
• 2017-07-04 Minister Garneau announces the $2.1B Trade and Transportation Corridors Initiative to support Canadian business and spur job creation
• Future of transportation roundtable documents

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UDOT Strategic Direction

Photo: Navajo Lake

Keeping Utah Moving

1,700+ employees

49,000 public road miles

3,058 bridges

$62.4B assets

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61 innovations implemented

UDOT's Road Map

Getting to know udot, director's message.

Counties: Box Elder, Cache, Davis, Morgan, Rich, Weber

Contact: Rob Wight [email protected] 801.620.1600

Counties: Tooele, Salt Lake, Summit

Contact: Robert Stewart [email protected] 801.975.4900

Counties: Juab, Utah, Wasatch, Duchesne, Daggett, Uintah

Contact: Rob Clayton [email protected] 801.227.8000

Counties: Millard, Sanpete, Carbon, Grand, Emery, Sevier, Beaver, Piute, Wayne, Iron, Garfield, San Juan, Washington, Kane

Contact: Kirk Thornock [email protected] 435.893.4799

• 571 snow plow trucks
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MESSAGE FROM DIRECTOR

For many years, UDOT produced an annual Strategic Direction Report as a way of transparently reporting to the taxpayers of Utah, how we are investing funds allocated to us by the Utah State Legislature. We have taken advantage of the latest in online technology to provide a live, data and performance driven report that is constantly updated to reflect how we are reaching our strategic goals. The data we share here helps us make cost-effective decisions that help us meet the transportation challenges of today and the future. I hope that this live, dynamic report will be both interesting and useful as you continue to hold us accountable of our promise to Keep Utah Moving. Carlos Braceras, P.E. Executive Director of UDOT

Enhance Quality of Life Through Transportation

Quality of life framework.

Better Mobility

Good Health

Connected Communities

Strong Economy

UDOT’s goal is to apply an All Users mindset to transportation decision-making, responding to community needs to create a safer, more reliable, and accessible transportation system.

Planning for Growth

Strategic goals, zero fatalities, safety performance measures, historic safety index, optimize mobility, mobility performance measures, historic mobility index, preserve infrastructure, infrastructure performance measures, historic infrastructure index, fiscal year 2023, fiscal year 2024, fiscal year 2025.

Take a closer look at our current and upcoming projects to improve and maintain our transportation system to keep Utah Moving.

Project Delivery

Aeronautics

Asset Management

Cost Escalation and Inflation

Electric Vehicle Charging Network

Facilities, Equipment & Employees

Frontrunner Strategic Double Track

Materials Innovations

Ports of Entry

Resilience and PROTECT Program

Road Usage Charge

Utah Trail Network

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Informative web sites.

Strategic Safety Plan

Statewide Mobility Dashboard

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