How does the transport system look in my community?

Indiana has almost every kind of transportation mode available for moving goods, services, and people. The distribution of transportation network and facilities is dependent on the geographic distribution of population, economic activities, topography, connectivity, and accessibility to different parts of the state. An inventory shows that highways, freight railroads, airports, water ports, navigable waterways, commuter trains, Amtrak passenger trains, Greyhound bus service, intermodals, and pipelines are available at different parts of the state. Additionally few cities and rural areas have the public transportation system.

One way to understand different categories of roads is by their functions. The roads functional classification map from the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) shows interstates, principal and minor arterials, major and minor collectors, and local roads for the urban and rural areas. In terms of length, about 43% of the road network is classified as collectors whereas 46% is classified as arterials. The shares of urban and rural interstates are 2.8% and 7.6% respectively.

What agencies are involved in transportation planning?

Transportation planning in USA is carried by regional and state planning agencies, such as regional council of governments, metropolitan planning organizations, and state department of transportation. Of the 92 counties in Indiana, 69 counties are within the jurisdiction of a regional council of governments, which are responsible for regional planning, comprehensive economic development strategies, and in few cases transportation planning. A few regional councils of governments serve as the metropolitan planning organization and hence do transportation planning for the urbanized areas of the state. The jurisdiction of metropolitan planning organizations vary from a portion of a county, such as Howard County; a single county, such as Tippecanoe County; to multiple counties, such as the Indianapolis MPO. Three metropolitan planning organizations in Indiana serve multiple states and have jurisdictions in Ohio and Kentucky. They are the Evansville MPO serving Indiana and Kentucky; Kentuckiana Regional Planning and Development Agency serving Indiana and Kentucky; and the Ohio Kentucky Indiana Regional Council of Governments serving the tri-state of Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky.

Transportation planning for a county not located in any metropolitan planning organization is taken care by the state transportation planning department through its transportation district offices.

What is the status of freight transportation in Indiana?

Freight movement is a result of demand for finished goods, commodities, intermediate goods, and raw materials by the growing economies. As the regional and national economies grow, supply chains are extended across the nation and overseas, the freight grows likewise. According to Freight Facts and Figures 2008 (http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/freight/freight_analysis/nat_freight_stats/docs/08factsfigures/index.htm), population and the economic growth are drivers for the freight movement however; the demand for freight transportation depends on the geographic distribution of population and economic activities and patterns of regional, national, and international trade.

According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in 2002, the top commodities by value that were moved by freight within Indiana were motor vehicles; mixed freight; machinery; electronics; and gasoline. Motor vehicle was the top commodity by value for freights “going out of state” whereas machinery was the top commodity by value for freights “coming into the state”. In 2002, Indiana’s top trading partners were Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, and Kentucky by freight weight (tons) as well as value ($ millions). FHWA's summary of Indiana's freigh shipment is available at http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/freight/freight_analysis/faf/state_info/faf2/in.htm.

Freight Analysis Framework data for 2002 shows the modeled flow of truck traffic over the freight network. Major corridors where there is a heavy daily traffic of 10,000 trucks or more include parts of I-64; I-65; I-69; I-70; I-74; I-94; and I-465, the beltway around Indianapolis. The map also shows the distribution of intermodals that are located around centers of population and economic activities. All the 105 intermodals in Indiana including the intermodals with two or more transportation modes have trucks as primary or secondary modes.

The map of concentration of truck traffic shows corridors where daily truck traffic is 10,000 trucks or more and the trucks constitute 25% or more of the total traffic on the corridor. While we have studied freight movement by trucks in Indiana, other modes of transportation, such as rails, water, air, and pipelines are also used for freight hauling. In terms of freight value in dollars, trucks hauled 81% of freight within the state; 75% of freight from state; and 74% of freight to state in 2002.  

Where are the active and abandoned railroad corridors?

According to our geographic information system (GIS), Indiana has about 7,500 railroad route miles including active and in-use railroads. The active railroads are comprised of about 4,922 railroad route miles including freight and passenger railroads. According to INDOT’s 2030 Long Range Transportation Plan, Indiana has 4,877 railroad route miles. INDOT’s Plan states that in 1999, 100.1 million tons of rail freight was originated and/or terminated in Indiana (http://www.in.gov/indot/files/04_multimodal.pdf). The products hauled by railroads are coal, primary metal products, farm products, scrap metal, and chemicals.

Freight railroads are an integral part of regional and national economy. Nationally, about 42% of total freight measured in ton-miles is moved through the railroads. The railroads are an efficient way to move freight. According to National Atlas, a single railroad train takes off about 280 trucks or an equivalent of 1,100 cars off the road. According to the Association of American Railroads study, freight railroads account for only 0.7% of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), compared to 5.7% from trucking and 20% emission by passenger transport (http://www.aar.org/~/media/AAR/BackgroundPapers/466.ashx). In 2007, a railroad could haul one ton of freight to an average of 436 miles in one gallon of fuel, an 85% increase in fuel efficiency since 1980.

Where are the "Rails to Trails" opportunities

About one-third of the railroad corridors in Indiana are abandoned railroads or currently not in use. Of the 92 counties in Indiana, 82 counties have certain length of the abandoned railroad corridors. The abandoned railroads including their right-of-way form a major asset that can be re-used. One usage of abandoned railroad corridors is converting those into a multimodal trail system.

The Rails to Trails Opportunities map of Indiana shows a half-mile wide corridor along the abandoned railroads. A significant number of community facilities and services are located along these corridors. For example, 36% of museums, 33% of libraries, 43% of county courthouses, and 22% of schools are located within the half-mile opportunity corridor. The map indicates existing trails, land cover, sensitive areas, streams, and communities along the corridors. There are opportunities for creating regional level trail system by connecting to the existing trails. For example, existing county wide trails in Grant and Delaware counties can be connected via the abandoned railroad corridor. The Indiana State Trails, Greenways, and Bikeways Plan prepared by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the Indiana Department of Transportation have proposed this corridor as the American Discovery Trail (http://www.in.gov/indot/files/04_multimodal.pdf). The Plan also has the goal of a “trail within 15 minutes of every Hoosier by 2016 and the trails goal will be measured in terms of having a trail within 7.5 miles of every Hoosier” (http://www.in.gov/indot/files/04_multimodal.pdf, p.62).

There are well documented benefits of walking and bicycling. According to “Active Transportation for America”, a recent research by the Rails to Trails Conservancy, if a safe convenient infrastructure for walking and bicycling is available, modest increases in bicycling and walking could decrease about 70 billion miles of automobile travel, which is equivalent to decreasing gas consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by about 3% (http://www.railstotrails.org/resources/documents/whatwedo/atfa/ATFA_20081020.pdf, p.3).

Since 1/5th of school buildings are located within the opportunities corridor, it can be used for the Safe Routes to School Program authorized under the SAFETEA-LU (Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users) Transportation Act. The objective of this program is to improve safety and infrastructure for non-motorized transportation and promote walking and biking to and from schools.

What is the status of aviation infrastructure?

According to INDOT, Indiana has a well developed aviation system serving businesses, tourism, recreation, and travelers. The National Transportation Atlas data for 2008 shows that Indiana has 650 facilities within the aviation infrastructure, which includes public and private airports, heliports, seaplane bases, ultralight aircraft landing facilities, and STOLports (short take-off and landing airports). Indiana had 633 facilities in 2006 as per the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
    
 According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), 65 airports in Indiana were included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) in 2007. While the NPIAS includes only airports, Indiana’s State Aviation System Plan (ISASP) included one heliport and 68 airports in 2003 (http://www.in.gov/indot/files/summary_report_modes_of_transport.pdf). Any airport included in the national as well as state system is eligible for federal and state funding.

Indiana is well endowed with airports and other aviation facilities. Other than Martin County, each of the 91 counties has one-or-more of the public or private airports or other kinds of facilities. Crawford, Daviess, Floyd, Ohio, Perry, and Union Counties have one airport each whereas, Marion County has 29 aviation facilities. Allen County has 24 such facilities; Hamilton and Lake Counties have 19 facilities each; and Hendricks and Marshall Counties have 18 such facilities.

The aviation facilities in Indiana are also strategically located near the central business district of their assigned cities. More than 75% of those facilities are located within 5 miles of the nearest central business district. Approximately 26% are located within 1.5 miles of the nearest central business district. Airports and other aviation facilities are important assets for regional and local economic development. They also affect the land uses in the vicinity in terms of heights of the structure, compatibility of the land uses and activities, flight paths, etc.

Regardless of well distributed network of aviation facilities in Indiana, only a few airports had enplanements in 2006. The number of passengers boarding an aircraft in an airport is known as enplanements and exclude the arriving and through passengers. Indianapolis International Airport had more than 4 million enplanements (passenger boarding) in 2006. Less than 7% of airports had any enplanement in 2006 however; Indiana has only four primary airports. They are the Indianapolis International Airport, South Bend Regional Airport, Fort Wayne International Airport, and Evansville Regional Airport.