It's peak rush hour on U.S. I-35, North America's busiest trade artery. International cargo is rocketing along its 1,585 miles (2,536 km.), bound for every corner of the globe. In fact, I-35 has become its own economic engine, powering unprecedented growth at every major intersection.

Stretching from Laredo, Texas, to Duluth, Minn., I-35 links the world's wealthiest continent, with US$7.5 trillion gross domestic product. And I-35 traffic is still accelerating, pushed by growing international market demands and trade barriers' rapid fall.

Five years ago, North American nations celebrated the U.S. decision to designate I-35 a "High Priority Corridor." Then, 1994's North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) created a still-rising continent-wide swell in cross-border trade.

NAFTA inspired the formation of North America's Superhighway Coalition (NASCO), which aims to ease trade flows and attract more funding for I-35, dubbed by supporters "the NAFTA Superhighway."

A 'Smarter' I-35
Now, NASCO wants I-35 and connecting trade highways designated as an "International Trade Corridor," a more global and "smarter" superhighway.

NASCO is proposing high-tech "international trade processing centers" in major I-35 cities, says Tiffany Newsom, coalition executive director. The centers would rapidly track I-35 trade, spurring faster flow and cutting transportation costs.

Already, U.S. North American Trade Automation Prototype (NATAP) pilot projects are in place. Participating vehicles carry transponders that electronically track and pre-approve cargo movements, eliminating standard border processing.

NASCO member Laredo, Texas, home to the world's busiest inland port and nearly 75 percent of U.S.-Mexico truck traffic, is a NATAP test site.

Another test site is at the Ambassador Bridge at the U.S.-Canadian border at Detroit, Mich., a NASCO member through its I-94 link to I-35. NATAP equipment automatically debits a toll account for participating U.S., Canadian and Mexican firms crossing Ambassador Bridge, North America's busiest border crossing, with 10 million-plus vehicle crossings in 1996.

The area is also the site of the $100 million Gateway Project, a host of traffic-flow-facilitating projects spearheaded by Ambassador Bridge and the Michigan Transportation Dept. Already, Michigan ranks as the No. 4 U.S. exporter.

KC's Inland Site
Kansas City, Mo., is in NATAP's feasibility study stage. "We're the only inland Treasury Dept.-designated NATAP pilot site," says Agnes Otto, Greater Chamber of Commerce international development manager at NASCO member Kansas City.

Practicality underpins NASCO's funding drive. Massive expansions and improvements are needed along the corridor, showing strain from traffic increases sure to escalate as NAFTA eliminates remaining trade barriers. 1997's first-quarter U.S. exports to Mexico and Canada rose 14 percent; by 2000, $250 billion in total volume is expected.

"Right now, I-35 is a parking lot from some cities, so we're talking about possible reliever routes and designated truck lanes," Newsom says. Improvements will likely cost $3.8 billion over five years, says a NASCO report; but that's only 2 percent of the $175 billion in Transportation Efficiency Act funds proposed for U.S. states during the next five years.

NASCO members (Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Ambassador Bridge, and various federal agencies and private firms) cite studies showing that each highway-system dollar invested yields $2.60 in economic benefits. Some funding may get early 1998 Congressional approval, Newsom says.