Federal Highway Administration officials said the Primary Freight Network that Congress last year told them to draw up has resulted in an inadequate road map that doesn’t represent the most critical highway elements in the freight system that exist in the United States.
The primary network FHWA unveiled Nov. 18 was capped at 27,000 miles by Congress, which leaves two states — Montana and New Hampshire — without a single mile in the network.
Vermont got only 1.79 miles, South Dakota 0.73 miles and New Mexico less than two miles.
What is more, some highways on the network do not connect to anything.
So at the same time FHWA published the 27,000-mile version, the agency unveiled a 41,000-mile version that includes mileage for each state and connecting roads from highways into ports and railheads.
FHWA officials presented details of both networks Nov. 20 to transportation professionals, the media and others.
The primary highway network of 27,000 miles is part of a larger National Freight Network that still is highway based and is to be completed for Congress by mid-2014, FHWA officials said.
Besides the 27,000-mile primary highway network, the national network is to include all interstate highways and what Congress called critical rural freight corridors.
The network designation will not come with funding, however, to improve freight movement.
