Transportation projects can protect the environment
State transportation departments are concerned about protecting the environment, says a report by the National Cooperative Highway Research Program, which is administered by the Washington, D.C.-based Transportation Research Board. The report examines 16 transportation projects from 11 states that have helped preserve the environment.
“State transportation departments are listening to our customers, and nowhere is that more evident than in the state DOTs’ commitment to develop transportation projects that enhance the environment,” says John Horsley, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO).
The report focuses on how transportation development projects can use process management, scoping, visualization techniques, technology, context-sensitive design, conflict avoidance and dispute resolution to address environmental aspects of a project. Case studies include New York State DOT’s “New Ethic Environmental Initiative” and South Carolina’s “Sandy Island Mitigation,” in which an entire ecosystem was protected from commercial development.
For a copy of the report, call AASHTO at (202) 624-5800 or visit the organization’s Web site at www.transportation.org.
