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By the time you read this, the U.S. population may have already hit the 300 million mark. During the nearly 30-year period it took to add another 100 million residents (and counting), we have seen substantial growth in other areas — not all of them positive. Consider that in 1967, you could buy a home for $24,600; gas cost $.33 a gallon; and a postage stamp was $.05 (U.S. Census Bureau).

Our love of motor vehicles has also risen exponentially over this period. Vehicle registrations more than doubled, from 98.9 million in 1967 to 237.2 million in 2006. Unfortunately, the Interstate Highway System — which turned 50 this year — has failed to keep pace.

The majority of the 46,572 miles making up the Interstate System were built during the 1960s and 1970s. Since then, only about 50% of the needed mileage has been added to accommodate increasing traffic levels ("The 2005 Urban Mobility Report", May 2005, Texas Transportation Institute, The Texas A&M University System).

In the period from 1990 to 2004 alone, Interstate travel expanded 51%, while capacity grew only 6%. TRIP (The Road Information Project) points out that travel is increasing at a rate eight times faster than lane miles are being added. It forecasts a further 60% increase in travel by the year 2026.

Without a dramatic increase in highway capacity, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) estimates that by 2020, 29% of urban National Highway System routes will be congested or exceed capacity for much of the day and 42% of these routes will be congested during peak periods. By comparison, only 10% of the routes were congested in 1998.