View case studies and other economic development and transportation resources below.

Case Studies


Regional Alliance Pulls Toyota to Tupelo: PUL Alliance Efforts Attract New Jobs (August 2007) (PDF)
This special report by the NADO Research Foundation's Center for Transportation Advancement and Regional Development explores an innovative multi-county cost-sharing consortium focused on regional cooperation and job creation in Northeast Mississippi.

Southeast Tennessee Transportation: Positioning the Chattanooga Region in the Global Economy (September 2007) (PDF)
The NADO Research Foundation's Center for Transportation Advancement and Regional Development published this report, which explores how public and private sector leaders are working together to enhance the multi-modal transportation system of Southeast Tennessee, including Chattanooga, to remain competitive in today’s global economy.

Short Line Railroads: Saving an Endangered Species of Freight Transport (April 2008) (PDF)
Produced by the NADO Research Foundation's Center for Transportation Advancement and Regional Development, this report describes efforts to stymie the trend toward abandonment of short line railroads.  Short line railroads are railroads in the U.S. with a low annual revenue that connect local freight customers to each other—such as a limestone quarry to a cement plant—but also provide links to major rail lines and regional freight terminals.  The report explains the importance of preserving a region’s railroads, and highlights case studies, experiences and lessons learned from regional development organizations, notably the  SEDA-COG Joint Rail Authority in Pennsylvania and the Southern Tier West Regional Planning and Development Board in western New York State.

Arrowhead Region’s Transportation Assets: A Case Study of the Twin Ports Region of Duluth, Minnesota and Superior, Wisconsin (June 2008) (PDF)
This study conducted by the NADO Research Foundation's Center for Transportation Advancement and Regional Development examines the Twin Ports Region of Duluth, Minnesota and Superior, Wisconsin, with a special focus on the area’s transportation assets and the region’s efforts to capitalize on those strengths and create a system that maximizes their economic development value and minimizes their impact on the environment and other community values.

Local Development Districts: Pursuing Transportation-Led Economic Development (PDF)
This report, published by the Development District Association of Appalachia (DDAA), describes the efforts of Local Development Districts (LDDs) in Appalachia to improve regional transportation by forming partnerships, combining funding resources and ensuring that transportation projects are aptly prioritized throughout their respective coverage areas.  The report focuses on three case studies, located in south central New York State, northern Alabama, and southwest Virginia, to demonstrate how LDDs can undertake regional transportation initiatives that extend across political boundaries and promote economic development.

Economic Impact Study of Completing the Appalachian Development Highway System
This economic impact study was prepared for the Appalachian Regional Commission to estimate the economic impacts, benefits and costs of completing the Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS).  The report assesses the travel performance, trade and economic development impacts directly related to completing the ADHS.  It also addresses connectivity, accessibility and network effects to determine how the corridor improvements connect Appalachian people and businesses to other highway facilities, multimodal transportation and economic markets.  Results of this study include a full range of transportation performance and economic development indicators categorized into travel efficiency benefits, direct economic impacts, total economic impacts and benefit/cost analysis.

Developing Corridor Networks (PDF)
Jerrod Haberman of the Panhandle Area Development District, located in Gering, NE, created this presentation which describes the proposed development of three interconnected north-south highway corridors through America’s heartland: the Theodore Roosevelt Expressway, the Heartland Expressway, and the Port-to-Plains Trade Corridor.  He outlines the different organizational approaches employed at the local, regional, and national level to garner support for the development of these corridors.

Merging Transportation and Economic Development (PDF)
This presentation was delivered by Ed Morlan and Laura Lewis Marchino of the Region 9 Economic Development District, based in Durango, CO.  The presentation describes efforts to integrate transportation planning into economic development strategies.

Economic Impact of Public Transportation Investment (PDF)
This report focuses on how investment in public transportation affects the economy in terms of employment, wages and business income. The report, released in 2009, was prepared for the American Public Transportation Association by Economic Development Research Group and Cambridge Systematics.

Transportation Planning and Cluster-Based Economic Development
NADO members and staff recently participated in the NADO members Lyle Wray, Executive Director of the Capital Region Council of Governments (CRCOG) in Hartford, Connecticut, and Scott Turnoy, Mobility Manager at the Mid-Columbia Economic Development District (MCEDD), based in The Dalles, Oregon, presented at the International Transportation and Economic Development (ITED) conference, hosted by the Transportation Research Board’s Transportation and Economic Development committee.  The conference was held in Charleston, West Virginia from May 1-3, 2011.  Wray and Turnoy spoke about regional transportation planning efforts support cluster-based economic development strategies.  Their presentations are located here:

Other Resources


Economic Development - Planning Web site
The Federal Highway Administration maintains this website focused on highway related economic development, which contains links to reports, studies and other resources, including links to research on rural interstates.

Economic Effects of Selected Rural Interstates at the County Level
The Federal Highway Administration summarizes a report which examines the economic development history of completed rural interstates or long portions of such interstates to evaluate the impact of highway improvement on economic development.

Small City Synthesis of Transportation Planning and Economic Development: User’s Guide (PDF)
This document, published by Texas Transportation Institute, is a traffic-modeling template designed to act as a guide for small cities in Texas (those with a population between 10,000 and 50,000 residents) to increase the cooperation and communication between transportation planning and economic development groups. The template establishes a foundation for coordinating traffic forecasts with projected urban/economic development plans, with the goal of forming stronger linkages between transportation planning and economic development.

Guidebook for Assessing Social & Economic Effects of Transportation Projects
Part 1 (PDF) Part 2 (PDF)
This guidebook, prepared for the National Cooperative Highway Research Program, aims to improve the capacity of transportation professionals in assessing the social and economic implications of transportation projects for their surrounding communities.   The report identifies current best methods, tools and techniques, with an emphasis on those that are most likely to produce analyses that can be understood by community residents and decision-makers.

Transportation Improvements Grow Wisconsin’s Economy: The Economic Benefits of Transportation Investments (PDF)
Prepared for the Transportation Development Association of Wisconsin, this study describes the positive economic impacts of transportation investment in Wisconsin through both quantitative and qualitative research.

Proceedings from the 2002 Transportation and Economic Development Conference (PDF)
This report, published by the Transportation Research Board Standing Committee on Transportation and Economic Development, provides a summary of each presentation delivered at the Transportation and Economic Development 2002 Conference.  Topics addressed include rural development, benefit-cost analysis, econometric modeling tools, sustainability, social capital and case studies exploring the causal relationship between transportation investment and improved economic productivity.

Overview of State Economic Development Highway Programs
This report, prepared for the Federal Highway Administration, summarizes the nature of the highway-related economic development programs funded by U.S. states, and the level of total dollar funding for these programs being undertaken by state transportation departments during FY 2001-2002.  The aim is to provide a better understanding of the scope of highway related economic development being undertaken by State Transportation Agencies, and to consider whether national guidelines could benefit the public by making such programs better.

Handbook for Assessing Economic Opportunities from Appalachian Development Highways (PDF)
Prepared for the Appalachian Regional Commission, this handbook is designed to help economic development practitioners in Appalachian Region communities to identify and pursue economic opportunities, specifically including those made possible by newly-completed segments of the Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS).  It is designed for the use of local planners who do not necessarily have much prior experience in economic development analysis, and aims to help them identify targets and strategies for business attraction and growth. 

Economic Effects of Highway Relief Routes on Small and Medium-Size Communities: Literature Review and Identification of Issues (PDF)
This report, prepared for the Texas Department of Transportation, explores the impact of highway relief routes on small- and medium-size communities in Texas.  It summarizes the first phase of the research: the identification of key issues from the affected communities’ perspective and from TxDOT’s perspective, a review of the literature on highway relief routes pertaining to theory and methodologies, and a summary of the findings of previous research on this topic.

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