Research Idea Details

Best Practices and Recommended Design Guidance for Constructing Bioswales in Historic Districts

Research Idea Scope

In the absence of national or state best practices and recommended design guidance, the objectives of this research, include: • Document current and emerging regional and nation-wide best practices, case studies and design guidance for siting, designing, and constructing bioswales in historic districts both eligible for inclusion and listed in the NRHP; • Identify future research needs and opportunities for best practices and recommended design guidance associated with planning, designing, constructing, and maintaining of bioswales in NRHP-listed/eligible historic districts in rural and urban settings; and, • Identify regionally-appropriate bioswale plantings that would concurrently function to treat stormwater, provide roadside pollinator habitat, and, be aesthetically compatible (formal/informal; short; tree/shrub; native; etc.) with NRHP-listed/eligible historic districts in rural and urban settings.

Urgency and Payoff

If best practices and recommended design guidance was developed through the objectives outlined above, project review time for FHWA-funded projects proposing to install bioswales in NRHP-eligible/listed historic districts would be significantly reduced through programmatic implementation of predictable, standardized best practices and recommended design guidance. Furthermore, best practices and recommended design guidance would also effectively function as a Section 106 and Section 4(f) review tool to help streamline project review, as well as accelerate the use of bioswales – a proven innovative practice and technology that improves highway efficiency, safety, mobility, reliability, service life, environmental protection, and sustainability.

Suggested By:
Kyle Obenauer Vermont Agency of Transportation
Submitted:
05/30/2019