Intermodal Act Failed to Deliver, Freight Experts Say
The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act, commonly known as ISTEA, plowed new territory when it was enacted in late 1991. It emphasized modernizing existing roads and bridges over expansion of the highway system. It opened the way for participation of private money, in the process breaking the taboo against imposing new tolls on old systems. And it gave state, regional and municipal governments a measure of control in spending federal dollars on local projects, once the exclusive domain of decision-makers in Washington.
ISTEA was considered so enlightened in its purpose that it still serves as the blueprint for federal funding programs that will stretch to the end of the current decade.
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