NATIONAL ROUND TABLE:
INSTITUTIONS FOR IMPROVING FREIGHT MOVEMENT IN MULTI-STATE CORRIDORS

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this Roundtable was to obtain advice from a group of national experts about potential multi-state institutional arrangements to improve freight corridor performance. A draft paper describing eight different options for institutional arrangements was sent to the Roundtable invitees before the meeting.

Twenty-three invitees attended the Roundtable. The meeting agenda and list of attendees are attached to this summary.

The background paper described approximately 80 illustrative examples of institutional options, which were grouped into eight types:

• interstate compacts
• joint services agreements
• special districts and authorities
• voluntary coalitions
• non-profit corporations
• commercial companies
• federal corporations
• federal agencies

The paper also described seven capabilities that these institutions might be expected to provide for helping to improve the performance of multi-state freight corridors. They included ability to address:

• multi-state geographic scope of systems and projects
• multi-modal scope
• strategic planning and goal-setting as a matter of public policy
• management of and accountability for broad-scale, modally integrated systems to achieve the measurable "outcomes" set by public policies
• implementation of projects and operational improvements
• financial needs
• reliable organizational effectiveness

Finally, the paper suggested several principles that could be used to determine which institutions might be most appropriate to meet multi-state transportation needs under differing circumstances, and illustrated how these principles might be applied in one sample case. The principles are described later in this meeting summary.

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