Initiative 2

Reliable data is the foundation of all effective 21st century infrastructure decision-making.

For too long, our nation has not reckoned with the long-term implications, both positive and negative, of major transportation infrastructure decisions. There has been no cohesive system-wide data development and collection effort, leaving legislators, planners and stakeholders to depend on narrowly focused or outdated datasets.

Congestion, climate change, and other environmental factors hasten the need for a rapid expansion of intelligent decision-making processes.

Lifecycle Freight Data Bank Program Action Steps:

Gathering: Taking full inventory of existing data.*

Assessment: Convene representatives from all freight transportation perspectives to gauge the timeliness and value of each factor-set, and from that exercise, create a prioritized wish-list of data needed.

Commission: Gather funding and then commission the needed research.

Dissemination:  Make data available for low cost to the nation’s infrastructure planners, including campaign to promote awareness of new data.

*OnTrackNorthAmerica and its advisors have advanced much of this step, by undertaking existing research literature.