What economic impact do interstate highways have in an area?

[mightyace]

In a number of threads, I've seen that politicians and/or businesspeople have proposed building or re-designating a highway as an interstate.  (The I-376 extension in PA and the designation of NY 17 as I-86 are examples of re-branding.)

Other than building of services along a new freeway, does anyone have an hard data or at least good anecdotal evidence that a new interstate has on an area.


Fixed the title - it was getting on my nerves - ms

[froggie]

There's at least anecdotal evidence that business look at Interstate access when deciding whether to locate to an area.

At the same time, though, there's also anecdotal evidence that it takes a lot more than Interstate access to really develop economically.  For this, I cite Meridian, MS.  This town should be absolutely booming.  Two Interstates, a major 4-lane highway that's been 4-laned over the past 15 years, a major rail junction, the longest airport runway in the state, a major hospital, a community college, a Mississippi State University satellite campus, and a major Navy training facility 15 minutes away.

Yet, Meridian is barely hanging on.  It even lost population during the 1990s and 2000s, despite two large annexations since the early 90s.  The only thing going for it is it's a regional medical and shopping mecca, with the next nearest regional centers an hour-and-a-half away.  But it hasn't been enough to stem the loss of manufacturing jobs.

[golden eagle]

That's especially true of manufacturing and transportation companies locating near interstates.

For smaller locales, interstates do tend to bring new businesses to the area, like hotels and restaurants. However, they also tend to drive businesses away from downtowns, especially if a Wal-Mart is involved.

[leifvanderwall]

Economically, the service industries and the McDonalds and Burger Kings get a boost , but that's pretty much it. Also a phenonmenon I've been noticing too is  the downtown area of the towns really suffer. For instance, Mattawan, Mi. a I-94 "stop": new banks, Movie Gallaries, new drug stores and Family Dollars are being built next to the freeway on the main drag, but the downtown area is really not existant. Also with the speed limit being 65 or 70 mph , drivers are just going to keep driving , they are not going to slow down and stop at too many exits and spend their money.

[froggie]

For smaller locales, interstates do tend to bring new businesses to the area, like hotels and restaurants. However, they also tend to drive businesses away from downtowns, especially if a Wal-Mart is involved.

One could make the argument that this really isn't bringing new businesses...but instead is shifting already existing business from the downtown to the Interstate exit.

Furthermore, the service/retail industry doesn't exactly offer a lot of high-wage jobs.  Certainly less than manufacturing or corporate or technology jobs...

[njroadhorse]

Not all areas on interstates are surrounded with all retail sprawl.  My example here is I-287 in Parsippany, NJ.  At the junction of I-287 and I-80, there is a major interchange and several small interchanges surrounding it, which you would think would equal massive amounts of retail garbage.  Not true at all, because all along the I-287 corridor between NJ 24 and I-80 are corporate parks that bring in decent wages for the workers, including some big name companies.  This is not the only place I've seen this, but its the one that sticks out in my head the most.

[Hellfighter]

I-75/I-375 destroyed a neighborhood near Downtown Detroit...

[Duke87]

Having freeway access doesn't so much encourage development as it enables it. Not having any freeway access certainly does stifle it, but there are many other factors that control the growth of a town.

That said, whether or not that freeway is designated an interstate, you'd think, wouldn't make a practical difference. And it doesn't, but it does make a psychological difference for people not familiar with the area. You get on an interstate, you know you're guaranteed a decent freeway-grade of facility (Breezewood and Jersey City notwithstanding...). You get on a US or state highway, it may be a nice freeway now but you don't know you're not going to start hitting red lights or narrowing down to 2 lanes a few miles down the road based on that information alone. Brand name recognition is important.

Although, nowadays, with more and more people getting directions online or from GPS devices in their car rather than looking at a map and figuring things out themselves, that probably matters a lot less than it used to since those people will go whatever way the computer tells them regardless of how the road is designated.

[golden eagle]

For smaller locales, interstates do tend to bring new businesses to the area, like hotels and restaurants. However, they also tend to drive businesses away from downtowns, especially if a Wal-Mart is involved.

One could make the argument that this really isn't bringing new businesses...but instead is shifting already existing business from the downtown to the Interstate exit.

I say it's a mix of both, and it could be that some of those businesses are adding another location to what they already have there rather than closing down and relocating.