National Highway Freight Network Components and Mileage

The United States National Highway Freight Network comprises four components with defined centerline mileages: 41,800 miles for the Primary Highway Freight System, 10,265 miles for other Interstate portions, 5,389 miles for Critical Rural Freight Corridors, and 2,656 miles for Critical Urban Freight Corridors. The dataset was compiled by the Federal Highway Administration in January 2023 to support the National Highway Freight Program.

Use Cases

• Analyze the spatial distribution and connectivity of the 41,800-mile Primary Highway Freight System relative to other network components.
• Assess freight corridor accessibility by comparing the 5,389 miles of Critical Rural Freight Corridors and 2,656 miles of Critical Urban Freight Corridors.
• Model national freight infrastructure capacity using the total defined mileage across all four NHFN components.
• Support funding allocation analysis for the National Highway Freight Program based on the legislatively defined network structure.

Strengths

• Provides legislatively defined network structure from 23 U.S.C. 167, ensuring authoritative classification.
• Includes specific, quantified mileage totals for each of the four network components, such as 41,800 miles for the PHFS.
• Sourced directly from the Federal Highway Administration and integrated into the National Transportation Atlas Database.

Limitations

• Critical Rural and Urban Freight Corridors are not included in the GIS database, limiting spatial analysis for over 8,000 miles of corridors.
• The dataset is a point-in-time snapshot from January 2023; mileage for components like 'other Interstate portions' may fluctuate.
• No attribute columns or sample data are provided in the input, limiting understanding of the data's granularity and structure.

Provenance

Source

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), U.S. Department of Transportation.

Collection Method

Compiled for the National Transportation Atlas Database (NTAD) as mandated by the National Highway Freight Program.

Time Range

Snapshot as of January 27, 2023.

Freshness

Compiled January 27, 2023; metadata last updated July 17, 2025.

Geography

United States.