Many of us in the United States take our country's nearly 4 million miles of paved public roads and highways for granted. All we want is a safe, smooth ride. Yet our country depends on its highways to move people, goods, and services - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In fact, a healthy and well-connected highway system is critical to a strong national economy. But the United States highway system - valued at $1.75 trillion - is steadily deteriorating. Allocating more resources to rebuild more roadways faster is not the solution unless we are serious about preserving our newly rebuilt roadways.

Now, the National Center for Pavement Preservation (NCPP) and The Road Information Program (TRIP) announce the publication and availability of a book entitled At the Crossroads: Preserving Our Highway Investment. The Foundation for Pavement Preservation (FP2) is a proactive partner in presenting this message.

This book, which was written to stimulate serious discussion among highway agencies, legislators, motoring organizations, the highway contracting community, and highway advocacy groups, comes at a time when the nation's public road systems are facing serious deterioration and funding problems.

"At the Crossroads" chronicles the long decline of our roads, offers insight into the causes, and presents a new paradigm to help agencies move away from ruinous short term, "worst first" policies to self-sustaining long term approaches involving asset management and pavement preservation.

Copies of "At the Crossroads" may be obtained by downloading and completing the order form, or by contacting the NCPP directly at 517-432-8220.