One of the major factors associated with North Carolina or any state’s growth and prosperity is its transportation system. The efficient movement of people and freight is a vital element of a state’s current economic well being and its further development. A coordinated effort needs to be made by state and local agencies in order to ensure that all parts of the transportation system are maintained in good condition. Each part of the overall transportation system must be integrated with the other parts. Each part of the system is important in that it provides accessibility and mobility to meet personal travel requirements, or the need to transport various types of freight.
The components of the transportation system described in this chapter include highways, waterways, air travel, and the rail system. Vehicles that use the highway system include, of course, personally owned vehicles (POVs), but also trucks, buses and other larger vehicles to accommodate passenger travel and freight. Street and highway systems are also experiencing a growing demand to more safely and conveniently accommodate bicycle and pedestrian travel as well. These “highway modes” are covered in the sub-section of this chapter called “the highway system.” To more completely describe some aspects of the transportation system, statistics are shown that illustrate the personal aspect of transportation – one component of the so-called “person – vehicle – infrastructure” system. The transportation system also works as a “system of systems” with these three components involved, no matter what the mode of travel. This chapter focuses on various aspects of North Carolina’s multi-modal transportation system as an integrated whole, although the general public may logically view each component of the transportation system as an entity by itself. Following the section on the Highway System, trends and other facts concerning marine transportation (water), travel, air travel, and the rail system will be described, and the chapter concludes with a look at the future.
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