State and local officials widened roads to handle more cars. Before long there were traffic signals, left turn lanes, and four, six, and even eight travel lanes. Access management is the planning, design and implementation of land use and transportation strategies that control the flow of traffic between the road and surrounding land. In order to understand the role of access management, it is critical to keep in mind the close connection between land use and transportation. Highways provide access to land which enables the development of that land.
Land uses generate vehicle, pedestrian, bicycle, and transit trips.
In order to manage traffic along a highway, both land use and transportation strategies are necessary. To manage one without the other will result in congestion, deterioration of the highway corridor, and resident, business and landowner dissatisfaction. Not all highways influence land development in the same way. For example, interchanges attract industries and warehouses, whereas local streets pose problems for these uses due to weight limits, neighborhood conflicts, and limited maneuvering space. Highway systems can be barriers or connectors between land uses.