National Scenic Byway

As a National Scenic Byways roads are referred to in the United States, which are characterized in their course through attractions with an outstanding archaeological, cultural or historical significance, through an environment with a high recreational and leisure value or particularly significant natural and landscape conditions.

The corresponding intrinsic qualities that characterize such a route must be at least significant regional importance. A small selection from the National Scenic Byways, which are characterized by monuments of national importance that are also be found in the United States only at a single location will be classified as All-American Roads. A road that is to be recognized as an All - American Road, must have qualities they considered alone make it a worthwhile place to visit.

The expenditure for the 1991 National Scenic Byways program - amount to about 25 million U.S. dollars per year. For the first time in 1996 roads were included in the program. As of 2005, in 45 states, 27 roads as All-American Roads and National Scenic Byways 98 roads as recognized, most of them in the states of Colorado and Oregon. The longest continuous of these roads is the Ohio River Scenic Byway ( 1518 km ), the shortest of the Las Vegas Strip ( 7.2 km ).

A similar concept in Germany are the scenic routes.

History and legal foundations

The recognition of a road, a National Scenic Byway or All- American Road is provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation ( engl. United States Department of Transportation, U.S. DOT). The program is administered by the Federal Highway Administration. This shall periodically publish a call for nominations of appropriate roads. Proposals for a nomination may be submitted to the person responsible for Scenic Byways authority of any State, by any private person, through associations or other organizations or local authorities. In most cases, it involves the appropriate Department of Transportation. The nominations are then submitted to the competent regional offices of the U.S. Department of Transportation, carried out by the examination of documentation and possibly a preselection. The proposals are then forwarded to the Ministry. Then an examination of the proposals by a committee of independent experts from the fields of tourism, transport and traffic, as well as historic preservation. This is a single rating of each member of the Commission from every nomination. The results are then compiled by staff of the Ministry to a list of recommendations, based on which the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, the final decision on recognition hits.

The introduction of the program was launched in 1991 by the U.S. Congress as part of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act ( ISTEA ) decided to obtain these interesting, but often little-traveled roads and to promote tourism and economic development in the regions. By this law, 74.3 million U.S. dollars has been allocated for the program. In 1998 the program by the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA -21) and the grant of 148 million U.S. dollars was promoted again. The extension of the TEA- 21 in the form of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act ( SAFETEA ) in 2005, a further 175 million will be provided by 2009. Since 1992, about 25 million U.S. dollars have been spent on government subsidies in the National Scenic Byways Program - annually on average. From 2006 to the expenditure expected to rise by five million U.S. dollars per year to 43.5 million U.S. dollars in 2009. The quota for the promotion by funding from the federal budget is 80 percent as a rule.

In May 1995, guidelines were developed by the Federal Highway Administration for the first time published for the recognition process, and in 1996 became the first six All-American Roads and National Scenic Byways selected 14 more. The first All-American Roads were the running in the North Carolina portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Selma to Montgomery March Byway in Alabama, the Pacific Coast Highway in California, the San Juan Skyway and Trail Ridge Road / Beaver Meadow Road in Colorado and the Natchez trace Parkway in Mississippi, Tennessee and Alabama. In further recognition of rounds were in the years 1998, three All-American Roads and 30 National Scenic Byways, 2000, six All-American Roads and 24 National Scenic Byways, 2002 13 All-American Roads and 26 National Scenic Byways and 2005, eight All-American Roads and National Scenic Byways 37 recognized. These figures include reclassifications of National Scenic Byways to All-American Roads and expulsions of additional sections already recognized roads are so recognized with the level of 2005, a total of 27 roads as All-American Roads and 98 roads as National Scenic Byways. Another round of tenders was held in 2008, while the nominations submitted are currently being evaluated.

In 2005, the Federal Highway Administration for their activities under the National Scenic Byways program, the Historic Preservation Award by the U.S. Advisory Council on Monuments and Sites (English Advisory Council on Historic Preservation ) was awarded.

More Scenic Byways - programs

The Forest Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture operates since May 1988 a special program for identification of certain picturesque, idyllic roads as Scenic Byways National Forest, also sometimes referred to as the USDA Forest Service Byways. Similar programs exist in addition, in most states, so that there are other roads in addition to the 125 roads in the National Scenic Byways program, about 1,500, are marked as " Scenic Byway ", " Scenic Highway " or " Scenic Drive ". Multiple awards a road under different programs are possible.

As part of the National Survey on Recreation and the Environment, a regularly conducted in the U.S. consumer survey on leisure, gave in 2002 to 70 per cent of respondents to know the name " Scenic Byways ". 38 percent were aware of the National Scenic Byways - program. About 63 percent said they occasionally use roads marked accordingly, about a third does so regularly by its own account.

Characteristics of Scenic Byways

Scenic Byways are usually conceived as a addition to a regular route highways and reported accordingly to the latter by signs. In many cases it is older roads that were replaced by newly built long-distance and ring roads, and have thus lost their original meaning as a way for long-distance travel and freight transport. The condition of these roads, for example, in relation to their width, the number of tracks and other street no longer meets specifications, therefore partially the applicable standards nowadays. Part of the Scenic Byways has been modernized but also by the program as part of the promotion. In addition, there are also Scenic Byways that have been designed and built from the outset as a priority tourist routes or as a feeder to a certain attraction. Some Scenic Byways are designed as routes that follow in its course, its thematic orientation, consist of several different cuts of regular highways. You are then not be seen at normal road maps as an independent road with consistently the same numbers, so one has to rely in this case on the signs as a Scenic Byway. Most National Scenic Byways already indicate by an appropriate name for their relevance, such as the George Washington Memorial Parkway in Virginia, the Ohio River Scenic Byway in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, or The Native American Scenic Byway in North Dakota and South Dakota.

The total of 125 All-American Roads and National Scenic Byways located in 45 states, except so far are only the states of Hawaii, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Iceland and Texas. The states with the most of these roads are Colorado and Oregon with ten, eight and New Mexico with California, Illinois, Minnesota and Utah with seven All-American Roads or National Scenic Byways. 13 of these roads pass through two states and three roads through three states. The roads that traverse most states, the Great River Road - Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana, on several sections with a total length of 3,330 kilometers ( 2069 miles ) - and the Historic National Road, which at a length of 1,326 kilometers ( 824 miles ) through Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia follows the course of the first interstate highway in U.S. history. The longest continuous road under the National Scenic Byways, with a length of 1,518 kilometers ( 943 miles ) of the Ohio River Scenic Byway, the shortest with a length of 7.2 kilometers ( 4.5 miles ), reported as an All - American Road Las Vegas Strip. A special feature under the National Scenic Byways, the Alaska Marine Highway dar. It is a beginning in Washington state ferry service that runs over a distance of 14,217 kilometers ( 8834 miles ) along the Pacific coast of Alaska. Several sections of the famous Route 66 are reported since 2005 to a total length of 2,269 kilometers ( 1410 miles ) under the name Historic Route 66 as a National Scenic Byway. From the Lincoln Highway, the oldest transcontinental highway in the United States, ( 3389 miles ) is a 288 km ( 179 miles ) long section in Illinois recognized as a National Scenic Byway from its original length of 5,455 kilometers.

The Beartooth Highway in Montana and Wyoming, often referred to as the most beautiful highway in America, was recorded in addition to the recognition as an All- American Road in the National Forest Scenic Byways - program and the Wyoming State Scenic Byways - program. It provides for a distance of 111 kilometers ( 69 miles ) a transition from a lush forest landscape to a tundra -like vegetation and Eisgletschern, and the Beartooth Pass a rise to a height of 3,345 meters. The other mentioned hereinafter Scenic Byways are characterized by a recording in three different Scenic Byways programs. This selection thus represents roads whose qualities as well as regional and national importance for tourism are widely recognized. Such a triple recognition from the National Scenic Byways Program, the National Forest Scenic Byways program and the corresponding program of any State, shall apply to the Talladega Scenic Drive in Alabama, the The Seward Highway in Alaska, the Coronado Trail Scenic Byway, the Kaibab Plateau North Rim Parkway and the Sky Iceland Scenic Byway in Arizona, the Talimena Scenic Drive in Arkansas and Oklahoma, the Grand Mesa Scenic and Historic Byway and the San Juan Skyway in Colorado, the Russell - Brasstown National Scenic Byway in Georgia, the Tioga Road / Big Oak Flat Road in California, the Edge of the Wilderness and the North Shore Scenic Drive in Minnesota, the, Kancamagus Scenic Byway and the White Mountain Trail in New Hampshire, the Trail of the Mountain Spirits Scenic Byway and the Turquoise Trail in New Mexico Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway, Hells Canyon Scenic Byway, the Rogue - Umpqua Scenic Byway and the McKenzie Pass - Santiam pass Scenic Byway in Oregon, the Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway in South Dakota, the the Energy loop: Huntington & Eccles canyons Scenic Byways the Flaming Gorge - Uintas Scenic Byway, Highway 12 - A Journey Through Time Scenic Byway, the Logan Canyon Scenic Byway and the Nebo loop Scenic Byway in Utah, the Stevens Pass Greenway in Washington and Highland Scenic Highway in West Virginia.