No Relief For Congestion Woes

Imagine:
The sea of brake lights disappears, one by one, as impatient drivers begrudgingly shift into park. Traffic has been at a stand-still for nearly ten minutes, yet a seemingly endless string of rail cars continues rumbling past the red flashing lights and striped gate at the crossing. A typically free-moving, heavy-traffic artery has become a virtual parking lot full of drivers on tightening schedules.

Citizens can expect an increase in these rail-induced traffic jams, says The Riverside/Brookfield Landmark, a daily suburban Chicago newspaper.

While the recent acquisition of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Company by Canadian National will reportedly ease inner-city rail congestion, The Landmark says that the merger has been met by intense opposition from numerous outlying suburbs. Those suburbs can expect to see train traffic significantly increase, which will lead to vehicular traffic delays at grade crossings.

Reports indicate that motorists are delayed by long, slow trains that sometimes block every grade crossing in the two towns. Residents, meanwhile, are often harassed by engineers who sound their loud train horns in early morning hours.

Though many tout the ability of the railroads to alleviate roadway congestion by removing tractor trailers, few admit that more railroad traffic means more roadblocks at crossings.

Transportation of freight plays a critical role in the success of our nation's economy, and in the next 10 years ATA predicts total U.S. freight tonnage will increase more than 25 percent. Currently, trucks deliver nearly 100 percent of consumer goods and about 70 percent of overall freight tonnage in the United States, a trend economists predict will continue.

Combining those figures with the fact that a mere 20 percent of all communities have access to railroad tracks illustrates why our nation must focus on short and long-term transportation strategies that recognize the essentiality of the trucking industry and address the need for expanded highway infrastructure.