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April 12, 2000 9:15 AM, EDT

Authorization for the federal highway program will not run out until 2003, yet the Department of Transportation is developing the first surface transportation proposal of the 21st century, with emphasis on intermodalism.

Transportation interests will get an early look at the agency’s thinking later this year when Secretary of Transportation Rodney E. Slater rolls out a report on trends in the field. The report and a follow-up symposium this fall will project the nation’s transportation needs through 2025 and outline in broad strokes how to fill those needs.

While the department’s leadership is expected to change with the inauguration of a new president Jan. 20, 2001, many of the mid-level planners and analysts should remain in place. With this in mind, groups interested in highways and mass transit are getting organized.

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials held its first meeting on the subject in February. The American Road and Transportation Builders Association asked its members to join a committee to help develop its position on the issues.

For the full story, see the Apr. 10 print edition of Transport Topics. .