Print

Air Quality

Topic Home

The Air Quality topic describes a range of programs, policies, case studies, resources, and tools related to air quality impacts as they relate to surface transportation. Pollutants of concern from the surface transportation sector include volatile organic compounds, oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter as well as air toxics and greenhouse gas emissions. Transportation planners work to address air quality issues at both the regional and project scales.

View Overview

Recent Developments

• FHWA Publishes Ozone Nonattainment Area Maps
• Group Urges Congestion Pricing in Cities
• EPA Announces Latest Version of Calif. Emissions Model
• Researchers Develop Simplified Tool to Calculate Emission Reductions under CMAQ
• EPA Outlines Achievements of Diesel Emissions Reduction Act
• EPA Proposes Revised Rule for Sources of Hazardous Air Emissions
• FHWA Posts Resources on Alternative Fuel Corridors
• NCHRP Issues Guide on Enhanced Truck Data for Emissions Modeling
• EPA Awards Over $13 Million for Cleaner School Buses, Diesel
• FHWA Newsletter Provides Air Quality, Climate Updates

View Full Listing of Recent Developments >

Subscribe to Website Updates for this topic >

Key Resources

• • AASHTO Air Quality Community of Practice and State of the Practice Reports
  • Addressing Air Quality Issues in the NEPA Process for Highway Projects (June 2017) (Practitioners Handbook #18
• FHWA Air Quality Program website
• FHWA Transportation Conformity Resources
• FHWA Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) Program information
• FHWA Air Toxics information
• EPA Transportation and Air Quality Information
• Air Quality Fundamentals Video Series (2016), Developed by TRB, FHWA and AASHTO.
• NCHRP 25-25, Task 89 - Establishing Representative Background Concentrations for Quantitative Hot-spot Analyses for Particulate Matter: Final Report, Case Studies, Power Point (2014)
• NCHRP 25-25, Task 78 - Programmatic Agreements for Project-Level Air Quality Analyses Using MOVES, CAL3QHC/R and AERMOD (2015): Project Description including Final Report, Appendix B: Programmatic Agreement Template, Appendix C, Technical Support Document Template, and Data Files

View Full Listing of Key Resources >