California’s Roads, Highways and Bridges

California’s roads, highways, and bridges are invaluable assets that are critical to our future. Most of the state’s highways and bridges were built in the 1950s and 1960s, at a time of major public investment in California’s transportation system. Recent highway investments have focused on system preservation, rehabilitation, and operating improvements, rather than capacity expansion.

The highway network is the largest component of California’s freight network in terms of infrastructure, tonnage shipped, and value shipped. The highway freight network provides first and last mile connections to other modes in addition to supporting California’s key industries.

Trucks are by far the single most-used mode (between air, train, marine, and pipelines) to move freight, moving 79 percent of the tonnage in 2015 and 71 percent of the value of commodities into, within, and out of California. Tonnage for trucking is forecast to grow by 26.4 percent by 2040.

Because of the anticipated growth of freight tonnage on California’s Highways, Caltrans should continue to encourage the identification and inclusion of projects in Regional Transportation Plans (RTPs) for infrastructure improvements on federally designated Trade Corridors of National and Regional Significance, on the Primary Freight Network, and along other corridors that have a high volume of freight movement on key freight trading corridors. Including these freight specific transportation projects in an adopted RTP will allow for the project to be competitive for the Trade Corridor Enhancement Program (TCEP), created by Senate Bill (SB) 1, which provides approximately $300 million annually to infrastructure improvements on corridors listed above.

Linking state and local transportation investments, especially in freight transportation infrastructure, to economic development is vital for the regional, local, and overall state economy, as well as keeping and attracting businesses to California. Adequate transportation is one of several key factors considered in site location decisions (e.g., utilities, work-force skills, and tax structure). These factors affect an area’s business costs, markets, and overall competitiveness for attracting business investment. All businesses require some level of transportation access to labor, materials, and customers in order to operate and survive. As such, transportation is a factor that influences the ability of local and regional economic development agencies to increase their areas’ business attractions, expansions, retentions, and startups. Investments in transportation services and infrastructure may contribute to the economic vibrancy of a region by: 1) reducing business operating costs and increasing business productivity; 2) expanding the size of labor markets; and 3) increasing business access to needed labor, supplies, services, and materials.

The next update to the California Transportation Asses Management Plan (TAMP) will need to address pavement and bridge assets along federally designated Trade Corridors of National and Regional Significance, and on the Primary Freight Network as described in the California Sustainable Freight Action Plan. The California TAMP describes the vision for how good asset management will help to deliver broad transportation goals and fundamental objectives supported by information on current asset conditions, the desired conditions in the future, and the likely conditions given future funding scenarios.[footnoteRef:2] The current and desired conditions of California’s transportation assets along freight corridors needs to be addressed in order for California to stay competitive. Since California’s economy is the fifth largest economy in the world, maintaining and preserving California’s assets on critical freight corridors is vital for California’s Economy.

Domestic Freight Flows- Truck (Highway) Commodity Flow Profile

The needs of California’s freight system are driven by both current and future demand for freight transportation. Trucks traveling on California’s highways carry a wide variety of commodities. In 2015, 911 million tons of freight moved over California’s highway system by truck, valued at $1.2 trillion.[footnoteRef:3] This section provides an overview of actual and projected demand for freight transportation in California, including top commodities moving in the state, domestic trading partners, and county level trade to demonstrate the importance of freight movement in California.

In 2015, the top 10 truck commodities carried 73 percent of the tons to, from, and within California and 65 percent of the value. By weight (in tons) in 2015, the top commodity moved by truck to, from, and within California was gravel, accounting for about 12 percent of total weight of all goods transported by truck. The other top two commodities by weight were Non-metallic Mineral Products, and Other Foodstuffs. Mixed Freight (which includes consumer goods [items and foods for grocery], supplies, and food for restaurants and fast food, hardware, plumbing or office supplies, and other miscellaneous products[footnoteRef:4]), Motorized Vehicles, and Electronics were the top three commodities carried by truck by value in 2015.

By 2040 it is forecasted that California’s highway system will carry nearly 1.2 billion tons of freight annually, valued at $1.9 trillion, an increase of 26.4 percent by tonnage and 52 percent by value from 2015. Other Foodstuffs passes Gravel and Non-metallic Mineral Products as the top commodity, carrying about 12 percent of total weight of all goods transported by truck to, from, and within California; followed by Gravel, and Non-metallic Mineral Products. In 2040, the top 10 truck commodities carried about 72 percent of the tons to, from, and within California and about 68 percent of the value.

Table xx shows that nearly 84 percent of truck movement of goods by both weight and value begin and end within California. Total ktons transported within California by truck were 784,083.91 in 2015 and forecast to reach 971,171.90 ktons in 2040. The data show that Los Angeles (LA) is the strongest generator of shipments (322,287.23 ktons) and the largest recipient (317,265.82 ktons). By 2040, LA is still the leader in total shipments with 427,038.58 ktons, with a 52 percent value increase from 2015 to 2040. Another large California shipment generator is San Francisco (SF), with 160,407.72 ktons in 2015, a majority of which is expected to remain in the area of origin. The weight of shipments from SF will only increase by 20 percent in 2040 to 193,790.19 ktons, with a value increase of 47 percent, to $209,233.40 million. The increase of weight through all regions combined is projected to increase by 24 percent from 2015 to 2040, with value projected to increase by 46 percent over 25 years.

Table xx represents domestic flows between the neighboring states of California (Nevada, Arizona, and Oregon), including Texas, and Arizona which are California’s top 5 domestic trading partners (imports and exports). Nevada and Arizona lead in weight of commodities, and Arizona and Texas lead in value of commodities coming from California in 2015, and those 3 states are projected to continue to be the top recipients of commodities by weight and value in 2040. With regards to freight coming to California from other states, in 2015 Nevada and Arizona transported the most commodities by weight to California; by 2040, it is forecasted to stay the same, with Texas increasingly catching up with Arizona. By Value, the top states importing to California were Texas and Arizona in 2015 and is forecasted to remain the same in 2040. However, Texas’s value of commodities shipped to California is projected to increase dramatically by 68 percent, where the next contender, Arizona, is projected to increase value shipped by 54 percent.

California is an attractive global gateway because of its geographic position, large population, robust and vast transportation system. The state must continue to improve this system and marginalize costs in order to stay ahead of increasing competition and support the state’s economic growth. Failure to invest will put the state and the rest of the nation, which depends on our gateways, at a competitive disadvantage at a time when production and the supply chain offers greater geographic flexibility.

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