Commissioned study underscores economic benefits of the Appalachian Development Highway System

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Today, the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) released its impact study for the Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS). The study was conducted jointly by Cambridge Systematics, Economic Development Research Group and HDR Decision Economics.   The goal was to assess how the corridor improvements will enhance the connectivity of the Appalachian people and businesses to other highway facilities, multimodal transportation, and markets. Results showed that completion of ADHS would yield significant economic benefits for both Appalachia and the broader national economy.

            “The Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS) is a connecting path of progress, for institutions of higher learning, research capacities, and cultural and tourism development,” said Pickering. “The ADHS will provide prosperity for the region and help obtain economic parity.”  

Mississippi’s third district has five counties in the ARC: Oktibbeha, Winston, Kemper, Noxubee, and Webster. Completion of the ADHS would create new jobs and greater value-added activity by facilitating national freight flows, reducing travel times, improving safety, and enhancing access to markets. The ADHS is a 3,090 mile highway system composed of 31 corridors located in the 13 Appalachian states.  It is the first highway system authorized by Congress for the purpose of stimulating economic development.  Currently the system is 85% finished, and its completion will fit into an integrated network connecting to national markets and trade flows.

Key findings from the study show:

·         Completion would generate 80,500 jobs by 2035, and $3.2 billion annually in increased wages

·         Greater market accessibility would result in $2.1 billion annually in value-added activity in Appalachia, returning $3 in economic benefits to the nation for every $1 spent to finish

·         More than 65% of the benefits to freight movement would accrue outside Appalachia, suggesting the importance to the national economy of completing the ADHS

·         Savings in travel time, fuel and non-fuel operating costs, and increased safety would reach $1.6 billion annually by 2020

“Whether you’re in the Appalachian region or the Midwest, one of the most important factors in spurring

new economic development growth is the availability of a highway system that can efficiently meet the transportation needs of the current market.  I’m confident that completion of this safer, more modernized transportation network will enhance our job creation efforts on a state and regional basis while also improving the quality of life for our citizens,” said Governor Haley Barbour.

            ARC Federal Co-Chair Ann B. Pope said, “Just like the U.S. interstate highway system the ADHS is designed to be a complete system.  And for it to be a true system, all of its corridors have to be connected, either to other corridors or to the interstate.  So to realize its full potential, the ADHS must be completed.  Of course, a number of the remaining miles have to be built in some of the most difficult terrain there is in Appalachia.  But we can’t stop now after all the investments we have already made.”

            There are 434 miles in the ADHS that remain to be constructed.  The new study is available at www.arc.gov.

 

Congressman Chip Pickering represents Mississippi’s Third Congressional District and serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. He is co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission Caucus.  This is his sixth term.