Knoxville Regional Freight Movement Plan
The movement of goods and freight represents a $13 trillion industry in the United States, with over 20 billion tons of freight moved each year, a nearly 30% increase from the early 1990’s. Numerous forecasts and projections produced by the Federal Highway Administration show the tonnage of freight moved throughout the country will increase 65% by 2020, placing a strain on the nation’s transportation system.
The need to integrate freight and goods movement into the long range transportation planning policies of Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO’s) became increasingly evident with the passage of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act- A Legacy for Uses (SAFETEA-LU) in 2005. SAFETEA-LU allocated $244 billion over 5-years in transportation funding and established funding pools for freight planning and projects.
In understanding that a more proactive role must be undertaken to include freight and goods movement in their planning activities, the Knoxville Regional Transportation Planning Organization (TPO), in coordination with the Lakeway Area Metropolitan Transportation Planning Organization (LAMTPO) in Morristown, has undertaken the development of the Knoxville Regional Freight Movement Plan.