Thoughtful consideration of environmental needs during the planning process can shorten the environmental review process. This Handbook is intended to help transportation planners and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) practitioners improve linkages between the planning and NEPA processes, while also complying with recent legislative changes that require increased consideration of environmental issues in the planning process.
Issues covered include: establishing organizational linkages; establishing a vision for the state or region’s transportation system; defining corridor-level goals and/or the purpose and need; eliminating alternatives identifying the affected environment and potential; environmental impacts; and considering environmental mitigation activities.