Building an optimized freight transportation system

Abstract

The United States of America created a transportation system for both passengers and freight that was based upon a reality that no longer exists. Cheap, abundant, and largely domestic oil as well as an endless supply of land for expansion were all assumed. Fuel taxes too low to pay for maintenance and eventual replacement of the roads were levied, and we assumed that point-to-point trucking over free-ways was the most efficient way to deliver goods-efficiency being measured solely by time and flexibility.