There should be a little counter on the side of this New York Times op-ed to tally the billions that all of these ideas to transform America’s highway system will actually cost. An excerpt:

The most obvious use for the Interstate’s corridors is rail transportation. If we are going to spend billions rehabbing the highways, shouldn’t we, at the same time, invest in adjacent rail lines like the 800-mile high-speed rail system voters approved last year in California
The corridors are also perfectly suited for the transportation of energy. Power generated from rural wind farms and solar plants could run through lines buried under the highways to big cities where electricity is needed. The plug-in hybrid vehicles that will someday use the highways could charge up from this grid. And when left idling, these cars would also be able to supply power back to the grid at times of peak demand, while their owners work or shop by the roadside.
Instead of continuing to write off the no man’s land beyond the highways — that sprawl of gas stations, motels and fast-food restaurants — we should look at this acreage as a resource. Cars and trucks will soon have to pollute less, and they will also make less noise. There’s no reason that this land can’t be transformed into urban hubs, places where people might actually want to live, work or shop, change trains or go for a stroll.