Improving Intermodal Connectivity in Rural Areas to Enhance Transportation Efficiency: A Case Study

Congested roadways in Texas' metropolitan centers are important arteries for transporting agricultural commodities into domestic and international markets. Truck transportation of these commodities contributes to the observed congestion and delay in these urban centers. As an example, cotton, which is a major field crop in Texas, is transported via Dallas-Ft. Worth and Houston roadways to access container transport to the international market, the principal outlet for this commodity. This study examines the feasibility of investment in intermodal terminals in rural Texas with the implications for reducing roadway maintenance costs, greenhouse gases and truck transportation in Texas' metropolitan areas. The analyses show an intermodal terminal in west Texas' intensive cotton production region (Lubbock, Texas) would be economically viable, reducing loaded truck-miles on state roadways, C02 emissions, and truck travel in the Dallas-Ft. Worth metropolitan center.