THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, September 5, 1994 TAG: 9409020005
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A8 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: ANOTHER VIEW
SOURCE: By AUBREY C. KING
LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines
Labor Day weekend - the last holiday of summer - will see a record 33.3 million travelers on the road again. They're on their way to the beach or the mountains or to visit family and friends.
Eighty percent of the travelers will use the nation's highways. But on the roads they travel most, the U.S. Department of Transportation warns that one bridge in five is inadequate to handle the traffic that crosses it. And almost one-fourth of the pavement on the nation's interstates is in poor or mediocre condition.
That's why Congress must act this year to approve the National Highway System. It would upgrade and improve the nation's busiest, most important roads by investing $13 billion in 1996 and 1997 to modernize 159,000 miles of the nation's most heavily traveled roadways. No new taxes would be needed. The improvements would be paid for by existing taxes on fuels, tires and other products bought by those who use the roads.
Record Labor Day travel is a reminder of the major role that travel and tourism play in the nation's economy and of the importance of a first-rate highway system.
This $400 billion industry has created 6 million American jobs - more than any industry except health services. For more than a decade, travel and tourism have created new jobs more than twice as fast as the rest of the economy.
Travel and tourism are also the nation's leading export. This year, 47 million international visitors will spend $79 billion to visit the United States.
Travel and tourism depend on good highways. The improvements that the NHS would make on the nation's most heavily used roads would cut congestion, increase access and improve safety. It would be easier to reach state and national parks and countless attractions and special events.
The NHS would link highways to major ports, airports, Amtrak stations, rail/truck terminals and public-transit systems across the country. That would ease transfers for foreign and domestic visitors. And 53 border crossings with Canada and Mexico would promote both tourism and trade. Highway travel would be more inviting for millions of domestic and international travelers.
Travel is just one reason the NHS is needed. There's also a growing reliance on cars and light trucks that is creating a demand for greater capacity and better services on the nation's roadways. In the past two decades, travel by car has increased by 75 percent. And from 1980 to 1990, the number of passenger cars increased almost twice as fast as the population.
The greater use of highway travel for commuting, personal errands, shipping raw materials and finished products - as well as for recreation and leisure - makes the NHS a strategic investment.
The NHS would bring 95 percent of the businesses and 90 percent of the households within 5 miles of quality highway service. It would modernize and improve the highways that carry 40 percent of urban traffic, 42 percent of rural travel and 75 percent of commercial truck traffic.
Better roads would make transportation more efficient and reliable. They would keep America competitive with trading partners that are improving their own highway systems. And the NHS would create 500,000 jobs when $13 billion was spent on highway construction.
Better highways would cut congestion by eliminating bottlenecks, reducing drive time, increasing access to affordable housing and to jobs, and easing the burden of working parents who need ready access to child care, medical services and schools.
And the NHS would improve safety through better traffic flow and highway designs that increase visibility. Lanes would be widened and intersections made safer. If NHS safety features reduced death rates by only 2 percent, that would save over 4,000 lives in 10 years. Safety is on everyone's mind on a major travel weekend like Labor Day.
Momentum for the NHS is growing, but all of these benefits could be lost unless Congress acts quickly.
The House of Representatives approved the NHS by an overwhelming margin, and now the bill is before the Senate. The Clinton administration supports the measure. In fact, Transportation Secretary Federico Pena designated the NHS highways based on recommendations from state and local transportation officials.
If Congress fails to enact the NHS by Sept. 30, 1995, the $13 billion that would be spent on improvements in 1996 and 1997 would be withheld. And if Congress waits until next year to act, delays due to the organization of a new Congress and the press of other legislative business are likely to make the Sept. 30 deadline difficult to meet in 1995. That is why Congress should agree on NHS legislation and pass the bill before it adjourns this year. MEMO: Mr. King is executive director of the Travel and Tourism Government
Affairs Council, a national coalition of 35 organizations representing
all segments of travel and tourism.
by CNB