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Sustainability

Recent Developments

This section describes recent developments related to transportation-related sustainability. If you would like to suggest a recent development on this topic, please submit a short description to AASHTO (including any pertinent links) on the  Share Info with AASHTO form.

• FHWA Designates 49 Roadways as ‘America’s Byways’

  The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has designated 49 new roadways the America's Byways® collection, including 15 All-American Roads (AAR) and 34 National Scenic Byways (NSB) in 28 states. The program recognizes certain roads based on one or more archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational and scenic qualities. This increases the number of America's Byways® to 184 in 48 states. For more information and the list of byways, link to the announcement and the America’s Byways web page. (2-16-21)

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• Arizona DOT Reports on Sustainability Accomplishments

  The Arizona Department of Transportation has issued an update on its sustainability program and focus areas for 20201. The agency is implementing sustainable strategies in areas of administration, planning, design, construction, operations and maintenance. The report details the agency’s participation in the Federal Highway Administration Infrastructure Voluntary Evaluation Sustainability Tool. Goals for 2021 include increased use of LED lighting, exploring solar energy on ADOT right-of-way, and linking sustainability with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), public involvement, and planning. The agency also is focused on life cycle assessment and life cycle cost analysis. For more information, link to the ADOT sustainability program website. (10-29-20)

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• AASHTO Committee on Environment and Sustainability Virtual Meetings Held in October

  The 2020 annual meeting of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Committee on Environment & Sustainability will take place over five virtual sessions in October. CES monitors national trends, promotes research on significant environmental issues, and acts as a forum to disseminate and exchange information and experiences among state departments of transportation and various other AASHTO committees and subcommittees, including the sharing of best practices and other innovations. CES also monitors federal environmental laws, regulations, procedures, and guidance related to air quality, cultural resources, environmental processes, and natural systems and ecological communities; recommending and supporting programs and initiatives to streamline the environmental review process and promote environmental stewardship. To register for these free meeting sessions please click here.

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• Minnesota DOT Releases Annual Sustainability Report

  The Minnesota Department of Transportation has released its fourth annual Sustainability Report, based on data through 2019. The report documents progress the agency has made toward its sustainability and climate goals. Progress includes reducing energy consumption per square foot by 17 percent between 2008 and 2019; leading a competitive request for proposal for community solar garden subscriptions that will save MnDOT more than $1.5 million and account for almost 25 percent of total agency electricity use; increasing the number of agency electric vehicles from four to 29; and exceeding MnDOT’s goal for reducing salt usage in the 2018-2019 winter season. The report also documented some setbacks, including increased carbon pollution from transportation, use of more fuel in MnDOT vehicles, and use of fewer native seedlings on projects. For more information, link to the announcement and the report. (7-22-20)

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• Pilot Projects Will Test New Highway Funding Approaches

  The Federal Highway Administration has awarded funding to five states for pilot projects to advance new methods of highway funding. The Surface Transportation System Funding Alternatives grants will fund seven projects in five states. The program’s goal is to test innovative ways to supplement the federal gas tax. The grants will fund projects that test the design, implementation and acceptance of user-based alternative revenue tools, such as a mileage-based fee. States include Delaware, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. For more information, link to the announcement. (7-9-20)

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• Study Provides Design Guidelines for Solid-State Roadway Lighting

  A design guide for solid-state roadway lighting has been issued under the National Cooperative Highway Research Program. The guide provides a research overview of the current guidance for the use of solid state lighting; identifies the research that still needs to be accomplished to assist in its proper implementation; and develops guidelines based on currently available information and new research. For more information, link to the report. (6-8-20)

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• FHWA Sustainability Evaluation Tool Updated

  The Federal Highway Administration has released Version 1.3 of its Infrastructure Voluntary Evaluation Sustainability Tool (INVEST). The latest version includes renaming of a section, and updating broken links and resources. To access the tool and revisions, link here. (4-15-20)

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• AASHTO Launches Campaign Promoting the Value of Transportation

  The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials is emphasizing the benefits of transportation investment in a new information campaign. The campaign includes a new website featuring the economic and quality-of-life benefits of transportation, along with a state-by-state collection of examples of transportation projects providing value to their communities. The campaign also includes a report covering selected projects that state transportation departments have done, demonstrating the connection between transportation investment and community benefits. For more information, link to the website. (3/2/20)

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• Study Reviews Impact of Emerging Technologies on Transportation

  The effects of new transportation-related technologies on public agencies is the subject of new research issued under the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP Research Report 924). The research evaluated the potential impacts of transformational technologies, including wireless telecommunications, shared vehicles, connected vehicles, fully autonomous vehicles, alternative fuel vehicles, smart cities and communities, big data analytics, and the internet-of-things. The report includes background information, provides a desk reference that describes various technologies, and discusses technologies’ impacts on transportation agencies. For more information, link to the research report. (2-6-20)

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• Research Outlines Sustainable Construction Practices for Highways

  A guidebook that outlines sustainable construction practices for highways has been developed under the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP Research Report 916). The guidebook provides information on what constitutes sustainability in the context of highway construction and how to evaluate proposed construction practices for sustainability potential. It includes 79 sustainable construction practices and outlines ten sustainability categories. The guidebook also outlines methods for procurement and contracting to achieve sustainable highway outcomes. For more information, including links to the guidebook and associated presentations, link here. (1-27-20)

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• FHWA Issues Report on Automated Vehicle Modeling Peer Exchange

  The Federal Highway Administration has issued report on a one-day peer exchange on Automated Vehicle (AV) modeling, held June 27, 2019, in Phoenix, as part of the Transportation Planning Capacity Building (TPCB) Peer Program. With increasing interest in AVs and the potential impacts they are expected to have on the nation's transportation network, many transportation agencies are actively exploring ways to address AV modeling considerations in the long-range transportation planning process. The peer exchange brought together five MPOs to discuss their approaches to AV modeling. The peers discussed AV modeling, managing risk and uncertainty in modeling, communicating model results, modeling information gaps, and resource needs. For more information, link to the report. (12-11-19)

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• Study Develops Social, Economic Sustainability Performance Measures

  Performance measures concerning social and economic sustainability for public transportation have been issued in a guidance document developed under the Transit Cooperative Research Program. The document, TCRP Research Report 205: Social and Economic Sustainability Performance Measures for Public Transportation: Final Guidance Document, is intended to help transit agencies plan, evaluate, and report on the social and economic dimensions of sustainability, as a complement the environmental performance measures that transit sustainability reports primarily focus on. The document identifies top social and economic sustainability performance measures and transit service measures that address community building and engagement, economic impacts, employees and workforce, financial considerations, accessibility, and safety and emergency preparedness. For more information, link to the document. (11-26-19)

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• ASCE Launches Future Vision for Infrastructure

  The American Society of Civil Engineers has launched a vision project regarding the future of infrastructure. The project includes a report, a recent article, and an interactive website that map out key trends and the potential outcomes of alternative energy, autonomous vehicles, climate change, smart city technologies, advanced materials, and governmental policy and funding. The project also reviews a range of possible future scenarios, including resilient cities, progressive megacities, dispersed settlements, and the potential for inequity in future technological development. For more information, link to the Future World Vision website. (11-5-19)

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• Report Highlights Use of 'Big Data' for Traffic Incidents

  A report that documents the use of “big data” to improve traffic incident management has been issued under the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP Report 904). Big data uses in transportation include applications in the areas of planning, parking, trucking, public transportation, operations, and intelligent transportation systems. The report finds that use of big data “represents a radical change from traditional approaches—a complete paradigm shift—and many of the benefits of Big Data analytics will require aggregating data at least at the state level, if not at the national level.” The ability to merge datasets and mine the data could provide significant opportunities to advance the state of the practice in traffic incident management policies, it said. For more information, link to the report. (10-15-19)

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• NCHRP Reviews Impacts of New Technologies on Transportation, Land Use

  The impacts of changes on regional economic activity and land use initiated by newer technologies has been analyzed in a report issued under the National Cooperative Highway Research Program. The report, NCHRP Research Report 924: Foreseeing the Impact of Transformational Technologies on Land Use and Transportation, discusses the ways in which transportation agencies need to rethink how policies and plans are developed and the types of expertise they need to obtain. Technologies that could impact land use include wireless telecommunications, shared vehicles, connected and autonomous vehicles, alternative-fuel vehicles, smart cities and communities, big data analytics, and others. For more information, link to a pre-publication draft of the report. (9-25-19)

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• NCHRP Project to Look at Impacts of Connected and Automated Vehicles

  The National Cooperative Highway Research Program has announced new tasks to be undertaken by NCHRP Project 20-102 on the impacts of connected vehicles (CVs) and automated vehicles (AVs) on state and local transportation agencies. The tasks are based on a research roadmap and include review of freeway-based vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technologies, dynamic curbside management, realistic estimates of connected and automated vehicle implementation timing, best practices for AVs and CVs in work zones, and incorporating new mobility options in transportation demand modeling. Nominations for panel members to oversee each of the tasks are currently being sought. For more information, link to the announcement. (9-16-19)

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• Group Issues Report on States With the Most Cost-Efficient Highways

  The Reason Foundation has issued a report that ranks states based on the cost-effectiveness of their highway networks. The report says that North Dakota, Virginia, Missouri, Maine, and Kentucky are the five states with the highest overall highway performance ratings. The rankings were based on several factors including the amount of disbursements, pavement conditions, urban congestion, bridge conditions, and road fatalities. Disbursements relative to state-controlled lane miles provides a cost per mile of state infrastructure. For more information, link to the report. (9-3-19)

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• Guide Highlights Sustainability in Pavement Procurement

  The National Asphalt Pavement Association has issued a new document in its Sustainable Asphalt Pavements series. Procuring and Evaluating Sustainability addresses how sustainability is included in public project procurement and how such efforts are evaluated within the industry. The guide discusses ways of specifying sustainable practices and materials in contracts; using change orders or alternative bids; the use of alternative technical concepts; requiring sustainability qualifications from contractors; and requiring tracking, reporting, and certification. The guide also discusses the use of sustainability rating systems such as LEED, Greenroads, Envision, Green Globes, or INVEST. For more information, link to the guide. (8-9-19)

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• FHWA Highlights Five ‘Right-Sizing’ Projects

  The Federal Highway Administration has issued five case studies on cities that have taken steps to revise their approach to transportation infrastructure in ways that connect neighborhoods, promote public well-being, and create more livable communities. The case studies look at the context and development of the Indianapolis Cultural Trail, an eight-mile urban bicycle and pedestrian path in downtown Indianapolis created from excess right-of-way; the demolition of the elevated Park East Freeway in Milwaukee that has led to the redevelopment of 64 acres downtown; and the filling of a half mile of the Rochester, N.Y., Inner Loop expressway, a below-grade highway that cut through downtown, in phase one of the removal of the loop. The case studies also look at the demolition of the Central Freeway in San Francisco and the Alaskan Way Viaduct in Seattle, two structures damaged by earthquakes and suitable for a more context sensitive solution. For more information, link to the Right-Sizing Case Studies. (8-6-19)

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• NCHRP Review of Motor Vehicle Laws to Address Automated Vehicles

  A report on the implications of connected and automated vehicles on state motor vehicle laws has been issued under the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP 20-102, Task 07). The report provides a review of state laws and regulations that may need to be reconsidered in light of the fact that, with connected and automated vehicles, drivers may not always be maintaining continuous involvement in the driving task or be fully responsible for managing traffic safety hazards. The report also identifies possible barriers to implementation and addresses processes and stages for modifying relevant vehicle codes. For more information, link to the report. (7-8-19)

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• Report Describes TRB ‘Mobility on Demand’ Workshop

  The latest information and trends related to mobility on demand (MOD) services and technologies are described in a summary of a workshop held as part of the Transportation Research Board’s annual meeting in January 2019. MOD allows consumers to access travel and goods delivery services on demand by dispatching or using public transportation, shared mobility, courier services, urban air mobility, and other innovative and emerging technologies. The report provides an overview of the workshop, including recent trends, results from demonstration projects and development of a research agenda on the topic. For more information, link to the TRB circular. (5-25-19)

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• FHWA Announces Environmental Excellence Award Recipients

  The Federal Highway Administration has announced the 2019 recipients of its biennial Environmental Excellence Awards. The awards recognize partners, projects, and processes that use Federal Highway Administration funding sources to go beyond environmental compliance and achieve environmental excellence. For more information, including the 12 recipients, link to the 2019 Environmental Excellence Awards web page. (7-1-19)

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• Webinar Highlights Effective Complete Streets Policies

  An overview of the 10 best complete streets policies of 2018 was provided in a May 21, 2019, webinar sponsored by Smart Growth America. The top policies, announced in a report issued by the National Complete Streets Coalition, included communities in Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Ohio, and Wisconsin. A complete streets approach integrates people and place in the planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of transportation networks. This helps to ensure streets are safe for people of all ages and abilities, balance the needs of different modes, and support local land uses, economies, cultures, and natural environments. For more information on the selected policies, link to the report and the webinar. (5-29-19)

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• Best Practices to Manage Mobility Data Issued by NACTO

  Methods to help cities better access and manage mobility data are described in policy guidance issued by the National Association of City Transportation Officials. The report, Managing Mobility Data, provides a common framework for sharing, protecting, and managing data based on four principles: data is a public good; data should be protected; data should be collected purposefully; and data should be portable. It provides guidance on how to ensure individual privacy as data collection becomes easier and more widespread. For more information, link to the report. (5-30-19)

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• District of Columbia Issues Sustainability Plan

  Washington D.C. has announced a new sustainability plan that, among other things, aims at increasing the use of transit and active transportation to reduce vehicle emissions and increase the city’s resilience to climate change. The plan, Sustainable DC 2.0 Plan, contains 36 goals and 167 actions across 13 separate sustainability topics including governance, equity, built environment, climate, economy, education, energy, food, health, nature, transportation, waste, and water. It follows the recent issuance of the city’s Resilient DC plan. For more information, link to the sustainability plan. (5-7-19)

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• Florida Agency Uses INVEST Tool for Regional Transportation Planning

  MetroPlan Orlando, the metropolitan planning organization for Central Florida, used the Federal Highway Administration’s Infrastructure Voluntary Evaluation Sustainability Tool (INVEST) to help the agency consider health and sustainability when evaluating its regional transportation plan. Using funds awarded by the FHWA, MetroPlan evaluated what it was already doing through its planning and organizational efforts. It also hosted the Transportation Think-In: Making 2045 Healthy, Sustainable, and Resilient, bringing together community leaders to discuss how transportation impacts their work. Additionally, it followed up the evaluation and summit by publishing three white papers. For more information, link to the FHWA case study. (2-11-19)

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• Report Highlights Transportation in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

  A report from the U.S. DOT’s Volpe Center highlights findings from a thought leadership series, Transportation in the Age of Artificial Intelligence and Predictive Analytics, held from June to October 2018. The series convened experts in government innovation, vehicle automation, and logistics to consider the promise and potential of recent breakthroughs in machine learning and data analysis. These experts shared their visions for how new technologies can be applied throughout the transportation enterprise—such as data from mapping applications that can improve traffic modeling and save lives on U.S. roads. For more information, link to the report. (1-29-19)

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• Army Corps of Engineers Issues Engineering with Nature Atlas

  The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Engineer Research and Development Center has issued the Engineering With Nature Atlas, a collection of 56 projects illustrating the Corps’ initiative to develop more sustainable delivery of economic, social, and environmental benefits associated with water resources infrastructure. The Atlas includes information on a diverse portfolio of contexts and successful projects using nature-based approaches, including beaches and dunes, wetlands, islands, reefs, river systems, floodplains, natural materials, and habitat. The Engineering With Nature initiative is an alignment of natural and engineering processes that involves collaborations among multiple civil works research, development and technology programs and non-USACE partners. For more information, link to the Atlas. (1-15-19)

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• Report Evaluates Issues Regarding Dedicated Lanes for Automated Cars

  A report evaluating opportunities, constraints, and guiding principles for implementing dedicated lanes for connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) has been issued under the National Cooperative Highway Research Program. NCHRP Report 891: Dedicating Lanes for Priority or Exclusive Use by Connected and Automated Vehicles, describes the intended benefits when dedicating lanes for the exclusive use of CAVs in terms of safety, mobility, social concerns, and the environment. It also describes the conditions that would support dedicating lanes for priority and exclusive use of vehicles equipped with cooperative adaptive cruise control and dynamic speed harmonization, and provides a review of laws and regulations regarding dedicating lanes. The analysis, based on computer-based models, helps identify potential impacts associated with various conditions affecting lane dedication, market penetration, evolving technology, and changing demand. For more information, link to the report. (1-11-19)

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