Signed into law on December 18, 1991, it provided authorizations of highways, highway safety,and mass transportation for a six-year period. The purpose of the act is to develop a National Intermodal Transportation System that is economically efficient, environmentally sound, provides the foundation for the Nation to compete in the global economy, and will move people and goods in an efficient manner. Replaced in 1998 by TEA-21.
Federal law passed in 1991, provides state and local transportation planners and decision-makers with the flexibility to fund transportation projects, which best meet locally determined goals and objectives for mobility, economic opportunity, and air quality. In addition, ISTEA allows for the flexible use, with some restrictions, of selected traditional Federal Highway and Transit funding sources. In 1998 a new Federal Transportation Act, TEA-21, was passed which succeeds ISTEA.
The Federal authorizing legislation for transportation enacted into law in 1991.
ISTEA Signed by President George H.W. Bush in 1991, the ISTEA provides the framework for renewing surface transportation programs to address the changing needs for public transportation. ISTEA will create jobs, reduce congestion, and rebuild US infrastructure while maintaining mobility and helping state and local governments address environmental issues.
The 1991 law that reauthorized the federal surface transportation program for six years. ISTEA heralded a new era in surface transportation because of the emphasis on "intermodalism," the unprecedented increases in authorized spending for transit, the ability to use some highway funds for transit (and vice versa) and the increased reliance on regional planning agencies to weigh transportation options and make decisions utilizing public participation.
Enacted in 1991 by Congress (and superceded by TEA-21 in 1998), ISTEA inaugurated a new approach to transportation planning that emphasizes the interdependence and connections among major components of the national transportation system. To further "intermodalism," ISTEA created new flexible funding programs that encourage investment in those transportation projects that -- regardless of mode or agency jurisdiction -- will yield the greatest mobility, have the least environmental impact and make the most cost-effective use of available resources. MPOs such as the NJTPA have been entrusted with greatly expanded responsibilities for transportation planning under ISTEA.
ISTEA was enacted to develop a national intermodal surface transportation system. Funds were authorized for the construction of highways, and for highway safety and mass transit programs. The purpose of the National Intermodal Transportation System is to connect all forms of transportation to reduce energy consumption and air pollution, while promoting economic development and supporting international commerce.
The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (Public Law 102-240; ISTEA, pronounced Ice-Tea) is a United States federal law that posed a major change to transportation planning and policy, as the first U.S. federal legislation on the subject in the post-Interstate Highway System era. It presented an overall intermodal approach to highway and transit funding with collaborative planning requirements, giving significant additional powers to metropolitan planning organizations. Signed into law on December 18, 1991, it expired in 1997.
