States responsible for a significant portion of the nation’s freight traffic generated many benefits when they worked together to meet the national freight planning requirements of the FAST Act.

In his keynote address at the Ohio Planning Conference, Ernest Perry, PhD, discussed how Mid-America Freight Coalition (MAFC) states are sharing best practices, working to align efforts, and provide regional and national leadership in collaborative freight development. In his morning address on July 27 in Columbus, Ohio, Perry, MAFC Program Administrator and Facilitator, spoke about the work that the coalition does to support its members as they pursue local, state and national goals and, most recently, to create freight plans for their states.

The MAFC Freight Plan Alignment Project was initiated to create a catalog of the freight planning practices, enabling each state to look across the border and see how their peers plan for freight and create freight networks. This effort made visible all of the processes, data, and organization surrounding freight planning efforts in departments of transportation across the MAASTO region. The final report is now available for download here.

About the Conference:

The Ohio Planning Conference gives transportation planners from across the state an opportunity to discuss emerging trends and new tools for effective transportation planning. This year’s conference theme, “Transport Ohio’s Future,” conveyed the critical role that Ohio’s transportation system plays in the state’s future.

The presentation, “FAST and Furious: A look at MAASTO States Freight Plan Development,” can be downloaded in the Resources section of this website.