Using Constraints in Freight Volume to Identify Regional Needs for Roadway Infrastructure

Abstract

Policy decisions on the allocation of funds among sub-national regions for transportation infrastructure, specifically for motorways, face budgetary constraints and problems of geographical allocation. The purpose of this research is to assist the policymakers in efficiently allocating resources. The objective of this research is to test the ability of a limited model to identify regions whose freight transport capacity is constrained by lack of motorway infrastructure. This paper conducts an analysis of the relationship between freight transport volume, indicators of the demand for goods, indicators of congestion, and the availability of motorways and class one roadways across regions to determine if a model based on available data may inform the policymakers to effectively use limited funds and avoid unnecessary construction. The NUTS3 regions in the Czech Republic are used to estimate a preliminary model that may be generalized for the use across countries. The analysis finds sufficient variability across regions in the marginal effect of motorways on freight transport to assist the policymakers in determining which regions face the most economically severe constraints, and to separate the effects of population density from the lack of infrastructure. Although the Czech Republic is a developed country, there is significant emphasis, due to the increasing volumes of transportation flows, on the analysis of transportation in relation with the land use.

Keywords

• transportation infrastructure policy
• freight transport
• transportation demand
• transportation economics
• roadways and motorways
• czech republic
• regional economy
• nuts3