Resources:
National Infrastructure Protection Plan: Transportation Systems Sector
The National Strategy for the Physical Protection of Critical Infrastructures and Key Assets
Nationalatlas.gov - Learn about transportation in the United States and create a map, showing the locations of airports, highways, railroads and rivers.
5,000 Public Airports
120,000 Miles of Major Railroads
590,000 Highway Bridges; 4,000,000 Miles of Public Roadways
2,000,000 Miles of Pipelines
300 Inland/Coastal Ports
500 Major Urban Public Transportation Operators
The United States has a complex and inter-connected transportation network that has developed primarily over the last 100 years, and is what makes our fast-paced lives possible. Our ability to travel efficiently from place to place and to transport materials and consumer products around the world is essential to our modern lifestyle, and to our nation’s security and economic health. At the same time, our transportation infrastructure (e.g., roads, bridges, bus stations, railways and railway stations, airports, inland waterways, seaports and pipelines) is vulnerable to damage from both natural and man-made disasters.
The transportation infrastructure in the United States includes:
Aviation
Passenger Rail and Railroads
Highways, Trucking, and Busing
Pipelines
Maritime
Mass Transit
In the event of a natural disaster or terrorist attack, damage to transportation systems can result in injury and loss of life, hamper emergency evacuation from the scene of the disaster, and inhibit rescue workers’ ability to get to the scene to provide aid. Sometimes, as in the case of Hurricane Katrina, the existing transportation systems, even if undamaged, are insufficient to effectively evacuate a disaster area. Recovery from a disaster can take years and be very expensive for individuals, private companies and government agencies.
Focusing on transportation security means that we are doing what we can to predict, plan for and prevent, if possible, these catastrophic events. This includes developing resilient transportation systems, mitigating the effects of a disaster, and planning for recovery.
