# Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act

The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA, /aɪsˈti/) is a United States federal law that posed a major change to transportation planning and policy, as the first U.S. federal legislation on the subject in the post-Interstate Highway System era.
The act was signed into law on December 18, 1991, by President George H. W. Bush and codified as Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 102–240 and 105 Stat. 1914. The bill was preceded by the Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act in 1987 and followed by the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) in 1998, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) in 2005, the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) in 2012, the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST) in 2015, and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in 2021.

## Objective

The act presented an overall intermodal approach to highway and transit funding with collaborative planning requirements, giving significant additional powers to metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs).
ISTEA also provided funds for the conversion of dormant railroad corridors into rail trails; the first rail trail to be funded was the Cedar Lake Regional Rail Trail, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

## High priority corridors

Section 1105 of the act also defines a number of High Priority Corridors, to be part of the National Highway System. After various amendments in subsequent transportation bills and other legislation, this is a list of the corridors:
List of High Priority Corridors :
| Corridor # | Name | Location | Notes |
| 1 | North-South Corridor | Kansas City, Missouri to Shreveport, Louisiana | Interstate 49 |
| 2 | Avenue of the Saints Corridor | St. Louis, Missouri to St. Paul, Minnesota |
| 3 | East-West Transamerica Corridor | Hampton Roads, Virginia to southern Kansas | Interstate 66 (Kansas–Kentucky) Project officially cancelled on August 6, 2015 |
| 4 | Hoosier Heartland Industrial Corridor | Lafayette, Indiana to Toledo, Ohio |
| 5 | I-73/74 North-South Corridor | Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to Cincinnati, Ohio, Detroit, Michigan and Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan |
| 6 | United States Route 80 Corridor | Meridian, Mississippi to Savannah, Georgia |
| 7 | East-West Corridor | Memphis, Tennessee to Atlanta, Georgia and Chattanooga, Tennessee |
| 8 | Highway 412 East-West Corridor | Tulsa, Oklahoma to Nashville, Tennessee |
| 9 | United States Route 220 and the Appalachian Thruway Corridor | Bedford, Pennsylvania to Corning, New York | Interstate 99 |
| 10 | Appalachian Regional Corridor X | Fulton, Mississippi to Birmingham, Alabama | See corridor 45 |
| 11 | Appalachian Regional Corridor V | From Interstate 55 in northern Mississippi in the west to Interstate 24 in East Tennessee | Route is from Batesville, Mississippi, and via Tupelo, Mississippi, Russellville, Alabama, and Huntsville, Alabama, ending just west of Chattanooga, Tennessee See also corridor 42. |
| 12 | United States Route 25E Corridor | Corbin, Kentucky to Morristown, Tennessee |
| 13 | Raleigh-Norfolk Corridor | Raleigh, North Carolina to Norfolk, Virginia | Interstate 87 (North Carolina–Virginia) |
| 14 | Heartland Expressway | Denver, Colorado to Rapid City, South Dakota |
| 15 | Urban Highway Corridor | M-59 in Michigan |
| 16 | Economic Lifeline Corridor | I-15 and I-40 in California, Arizona, and Nevada |
| 17 | Route 29 Corridor | Greensboro, North Carolina to Washington, D.C. |
| 18 | | Port Huron, Michigan to Chicago, Illinois, Corpus Christi, Texas and Victoria, Texas | Interstate 69 (see Corridor 20) |
| 19 | United States Route 395 Corridor | Canada–US border to Reno, Nevada |
| 20 | United States Route 59 Corridor | Laredo, Texas to Texarkana, Texas | Interstate 69 (see Corridor 18) |
| 21 | United States Route 219 Corridor | Buffalo, New York to Interstate 80 |
| 22 | Alameda Transportation Corridor | Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to Interstate 10 | (See Corridor 34) |
| 23 | Interstate Route 35 Corridor | Laredo, Texas to Duluth, Minnesota and the Canada–US border (via Interstate 29) |
| 24 | Dalton Highway | Deadhorse, Alaska to Fairbanks, Alaska |
| 25 | State Route 168 (South Battlefield Boulevard) | Great Bridge, Virginia Bypass to the North Carolina state line |
| 26 | CANAMEX Corridor | Nogales, Arizona to the Canada–US border |
| 27 | Camino Real Corridor | El Paso, Texas to the Canada–US border |
| 28 | Birmingham Northern Beltline | Birmingham, Alabama | Appalachian Highway Development System Corridor X-1 |
| 29 | Coalfields Expressway | Beckley, West Virginia to Pound, Virginia |
| 30 | Interstate Route 5 | California, Oregon and Washington |
| 31 | Mon–Fayette Expressway and Southern Beltway | Pennsylvania and West Virginia |
| 32 | Wisconsin Development Corridor | Dubuque, Iowa to Eau Claire, Wisconsin | Consists of three different corridors in the state of Wisconsin |
| 33 | Capital Gateway Corridor | Washington, D.C. to the Baltimore-Washington Parkway in Maryland | U.S. Route 50 |
| 34 | Alameda Corridor-East and Southwest Passage | East Los Angeles, California to Barstow, California and Coachella, California, and San Bernardino, California to Arizona | (See Corridor 22) |
| 35 | Everett-Tacoma FAST Corridor | Everett, Washington to Tacoma, Washington |
| 36 | NY-17 | Harriman, New York to I-90 in Pennsylvania | ISTEA mandates that route be Interstate 86 |
| 37 | United States Route 90 | Lafayette, Louisiana to New Orleans, Louisiana | Interstate 49 |
| 38 | Ports to Plains Corridor | Laredo, Texas to Denver, Colorado | Interstate 27 (Lubbock, Texas to Amarillo, Texas) |
| 39 | United States Route 63 | Marked Tree, Arkansas to Interstate 55 | Interstate 555 |
| 40 | Greensboro Corridor | Danville, Virginia to Greensboro, North Carolina | Interstate 785 |
| 41 | Falls-to-Falls Corridor | International Falls, Minnesota to Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin |
| 42 | | Batesville to Fulton, Mississippi | formed from portions of ADHS corridors V and X; law designates highway as a future Interstate highway (route number not specified in law) |
| 43 | United States Route 95 Corridor | Eastport, Idaho to Oregon |
| 44 | Louisiana Highway 1 Corridor | Grand Isle, Louisiana to U.S. Route 90 |
| 45 | United States Route 78 Corridor | Memphis, Tennessee to Birmingham, Alabama | Interstate 22 |
| 46 | Interstate Route 710 | Long Beach, California to California State Route 60 |
| 47 | Interstate Route 87 | Quebec to New York City |
| 48 | Route 50 High Plains Corridor | Newton, Kansas to Pueblo, Colorado |
| 49 | Atlantic Commerce Corridor | Jacksonville, Florida to Miami, Florida |
| 50 | East-West Corridor | Watertown, New York to Calais, Maine |
| 51 | SPIRIT Corridor | El Paso, Texas to Wichita, Kansas |
| 52 | | Swifton, Arkansas to Jonesboro, Arkansas |
| 53 | United States Highway Route 6 | Interstate 70 to Interstate 15 |
| 54 | California Farm-to-Market Corridor | south of Bakersfield, California to Sacramento, California | California State Route 99 |
| 55 | | Dallas, Texas to Memphis, Tennessee |
| 56 | La Entrada al Pacifico Corridor | Lamesa, Texas to Presidio, Texas |
| 57 | United States Route 41 corridor | Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Green Bay, Wisconsin | Interstate 41 |
| 58 | Theodore Roosevelt Expressway | Rapid City, South Dakota to Raymond, Montana |
| 59 | Central North American Trade Corridor | border between North Dakota and South Dakota to the Canada–US border |
| 60 | Providence Beltline Corridor | Hope Valley, Rhode Island to Massachusetts |
| 61 | | various corridors in Missouri |
| 62 | Georgia Developmental Highway System Corridors | various corridors in Georgia |
| 63 | Liberty Corridor | various corridors in northern New Jersey |
| 64 | | various corridors in southern New Jersey |
| 65 | Interstate Route 95 Corridor | Connecticut |
| 66 | Interstate Route 91 Corridor | Connecticut |
| 67 | Fairbanks-Yukon International Corridor | Canada–US border to Fairbanks, Alaska |
| 68 | Washoe County corridor | Reno, Nevada to Las Vegas, Nevada |
| 69 | Cross Valley Connector | Interstate 5 to State Route 14, Santa Clarita Valley, California |
| 70 | Economic Lifeline corridor | I-15, I-40 and other roads in California, Arizona and Nevada |
| 71 | High Desert Corridor | Los Angeles, California to Las Vegas, Nevada |
| 72 | North-South corridor | Kansas City, Missouri to Shreveport, Louisiana | Interstate 49 |
| 73 | Louisiana Highway corridor | Grand Isle, Louisiana to U.S. Route 90 |
| 74 | | Lafayette, Louisiana to New Orleans, Louisiana | Interstate 49 |
| 75 | Louisiana 28 corridor | Fort Polk, Louisiana to Alexandria, Louisiana |
| 76 | | Toledo, Ohio to Cincinnati, Ohio |
| 77 | | Indiana to Toledo, Ohio |
| 78 | | Cincinnati, Ohio to Cleveland, Ohio |
| 79 | Interstate Route 376 | Monroeville, Pennsylvania to Sharon, Pennsylvania |
| 80 | Intercounty Connector | Interstate 270 to Interstate 95/U.S. Route 1 in Maryland |
| 81 | Interstate 795 | Goldsboro, North Carolina to Interstate 40 west of Faison, North Carolina |
| 82 | U.S. Route 70 | U.S. 70 from Interstate 40 at Garner, North Carolina to the port of Morehead City, North Carolina | law designates highway as a future Interstate highway (route number not specified in law). Assigned Interstate 42 by AASHTO |
| 83 | Sonoran Corridor (State Rte. 410) | A new highway from Interstate 19 to Interstate 10 south of Tucson International Airport, Arizona | law designates highway as a future Interstate highway (route number not specified in law) |
| 84 | Central Texas Corridor | Two routes from Interstate 10 (Pecos County) and Interstate 20 (Midland–Odessa), joining in Brady and continuing east to the Sabine River, passing in or near Fort Hood; College Station; Huntsville; and Livingston; all in Texas (paragraphs A–C) Also designates spurs from I-14 North in Eden to I-10 near Junction following U.S. 83 (paragraph D), from I-14 in Woodville to I-10 in Beaumont via U.S. 69 (paragraph E), from I-14 in Jasper to I-10 in Beaumont via U.S. 96 (paragraph F), and from I-20 in Odessa to I-10 in Pecos County via U.S. 385, RM 305, and U.S. 190 (paragraph G). | FAST mandates that route be Interstate 14; IIJA designates Bryan–College Station loop as Interstate 214, the spur from Brady to I-10 as Interstate 14 South, and the spur from Brady to I-20 as Interstate 14 North. Routes in paragraphs D–G are designated as future Interstate highways (route number not specified in law) See also corridors 93 and 99–102 |
| 85 | Interstate 81 | From Interstate 86 to the Canada–United States border |
| 86 | Interstate 70 from Salt Lake City, Utah to Denver, Colorado | Utah and Colorado |
| 87 | Newberg-Dundee Bypass route | From Newberg, Oregon to Dayton, Oregon | |
| 88 | Interstate 205 | Interstate 205 in Oregon |
| 89 | I-57 Corridor Extension | Extending Interstate 57 from its southern terminus at I-55 in southeastern Missouri to I-40 in North Little Rock, Arkansas | ISTEA mandates that route be Interstate 57 |
| 90 | Pennyrile Parkway | From Interstate 69 near Nortonville, Kentucky in the north, to Interstate 24 south of Hopkinsville, Kentucky | ISTEA mandates that route be Interstate 169 |
| 91 | Western Kentucky Parkway | The portion of the Western Kentucky Parkway between Interstate 69 in the west (near Nortonville, Kentucky) to Interstate 165 (formerly the William H. Natcher Parkway) in the east | ISTEA mandates that route be Interstate 569 |
| 92 | | U.S. 421 from I-85 in Greensboro to I-95 in Dunn, North Carolina | IIJA designates as future Interstate highway (route number not specified in law) |
| 93 | South Mississippi Corridor | U.S. 84 from Natchez to Laurel, Mississippi, I-59 from Laurel to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and U.S. 49 and MS 601 from Hattiesburg to Gulfport, Mississippi | Largely identical to Central Mississippi Corridor (Corridor 100). IIJA designates the U.S. 84 and I-59 portions as a future Interstate highway (indirectly mandating it to be I-14); see also Corridor 94 |
| 94 | Kosciusko to Gulf Coast Corridor | Starting at I-55 near Vaiden, Mississippi, running south and passing east of the vicinity of the Jackson Urbanized Area, connecting to U.S. 49 north of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and generally following U.S. 49 to I-10 near Gulfport, Mississippi. | Overlaps with corridors 93 and 100 south of Hattiesburg; IIJA designates as future Interstate highway (route number not specified in law) |
| 95 | Interstate 22 Spur | U.S. 45 from I-22 in Tupelo south to near Shannon, Mississippi. | IIJA designates as future Interstate highway (route number not specified in law) |
| 96 | | U.S. 412 from I-35 in Noble County, Oklahoma via Tulsa, to its intersection with I-49 in Springdale, Arkansas | IIJA designates as future Interstate highway (route number not specified in law) |
| 97 | Louie B. Nunn Cumberland Expressway (sic) | Cumberland Parkway from I-65 in Barren County to U.S. 27 in Somerset, Kentucky | Part of the cancelled East-West Transamerica Corridor route (Corridor 3); IIJA mandates this route be Interstate 365 |
| 98 | | MS 7 from I-55 in Grenada via Oxford to I-22 in Holly Springs, Mississippi | |
| 99 | Central Louisiana Corridor | From the Sabine River, follows LA 8 and LA 28 to Alexandria, continuing east to join U.S. 84 and cross the Mississippi River near Natchez, Mississippi | IIJA mandates this route be Interstate 14 See corridors 84, 93, and 100–102 |
| 100 | Central Mississippi Corridor | U.S. 84 east from Natchez to Laurel, Mississippi, then follows I-59 northeast through Meridian to the Mississippi–Alabama state line near Cuba, Alabama; also includes a spur following I-59 south to Hattiesburg, then U.S. 49 and proposed MS 601 to Gulfport | IIJA mandates the route from Natchez to the Alabama state line be Interstate 14 See corridors 84, 93, 99, and 101–102 |
| 101 | Middle Alabama Corridor | U.S. 80 east from I-20/59 near Cuba to Montgomery, then follows the partially-completed Montgomery Outer Loop (AL 108) to I-85, continuing east from Tuskegee via either U.S. 80 or I-85 and U.S. 280 to the Alabama–Georgia border in Phenix City | IIJA mandates this route be Interstate 14 See corridors 84, 93, 99–100, and 102 |
| 102 | Middle Georgia Corridor | Fall Line Freeway (GA 540) from Columbus via Warner Robins and Macon to Augusta, Georgia | IIJA mandates this route be Interstate 14 See corridors 84, 93, and 99–101 |

## High-speed rail corridors

The legislation also called for the designation of up to five high-speed rail corridors. The options were studied for several months, and announced in October 1992. The first four were announced by United States Secretary of Transportation Andrew Card, while the last was announced by Federal Railroad Administration head Gil Carmichael.
* October 15, 1992: The Midwest high-speed rail corridor with three links from Chicago, Illinois to Detroit, Michigan, St. Louis, Missouri, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
* October 16, 1992: The Florida high-speed rail corridor linking Miami with Orlando and Tampa.
* October 19, 1992: The California high-speed rail corridor linking San Diego and Los Angeles with the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento via the San Joaquin Valley.
* October 20, 1992: The Southeast high-speed rail corridor connecting Charlotte, North Carolina, Richmond, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.
* October 20, 1992: The Pacific Northwest high-speed rail corridor linking Eugene and Portland, Oregon with Seattle, Washington and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
There was not significant funding attached to these announcements: $30 million had been allocated to several states by 1997 to improve grade crossings, but that was a very tiny amount in comparison to the billions required for a true high-speed network. Aside from a few places in California and the Chicago–Detroit Line, most areas outside the Northeast Corridor continued to be limited to 79 mph (127 km/h) until $8 billion from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 was distributed in January 2010.
Jeff Morales one of the principal drafters of this bill, served as CEO of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, which is currently constructing a high-speed rail line along the route originally proposed in this bill, from 2012 to 2017.

## Airbags

The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 also mandated that passenger automobiles and light trucks built after September 1, 1998, to have airbags installed as standard equipment for the driver and the right front passenger.