The Economic and Technical Feasibility
of an Underground Freight Pipeline in Texas
Stephen Roop, Texas Transportation Institute, U.S.A.
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has
accelerated the rate of trade growth between Canada, Mexico, and the United
States. Tremendous quantities of goods
now flow between these three trading partners, mostly transported by
truck. Texas, because of its geographic
location, serves as the principal landside gateway to Mexico, and, as a
consequence, hosts truck traffic from all over the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. This truck traffic is beginning to dominate
certain Texas highways, most notably Interstate 35, which runs south from
Dallas, Texas to the border with Mexico at Laredo, Texas. It costs the state large sums of money to
maintain the condition of the affected roadways and additional social costs related
to safety, air quality, and congestion are creating conditions conducive to
innovative alternatives to over-the-road transport. The current research is aimed at determining whether
non-traditional systems can alleviate the congestion and wear problem by
shifting truck-borne goods to an alternative mode. Freight-conveying pipelines are being evaluated in this
context. This paper addresses key
technical issues associated with aerodynamics, vehicle design, energy
consumption and availability, trucking logistics, Texas geology, system
capacity, and terminal design. The
paper also presents a business model formulation that will serve to induce use
of the system by a customer base comprising the current freight transportation
industry.