Hawaii DOT Unveils Island Chain’s Energy Security Plan
The Hawaii Department of Transportation recently released its first ever statewide Energy Security and Waste Reduction Plan; a document that agency calls a “bold roadmap” for reducing transportation emissions and expanding affordable transportation options for all residents.
[Above photo by Hawaii DOT]
The Hawaii DOT said this new plan provides strategies for the transportation sector to achieve the state climate targets set in law – a 50 percent emissions reduction from 2005 levels by 2030, net negative transportation emissions by 2045 – meaning Hawaii should capture more emissions than it produces – and, ultimately, zero transportation emissions.
“[This] plan is a call to action,” said Ed Sniffen, Hawaii DOT director, in a statement. “Together, we can create a transportation system that is cleaner and safer while fulfilling its purpose to connect our communities. The strategies outlined in this plan will help us build out the system for future generations.”
The pillars of the plan are energy security and affordability for the island chain’s residents as well as emissions reduction. A sampling of strategies in the plan includes incentives for electric vehicles and cleaner fuels; the build out within five years of significant pedestrian, bicycle, and transit projects to foster more active transportation options; and immediate investment in carbon sequestration efforts such as native reforestation.
The plan also fulfills a commitment made by the Hawaii DOT under the youth-led Navahine Settlement Agreement reached in June 2024.
“Transportation impacts everyone in Hawaiʻi and we therefore encourage feedback and ask for partnership from industry, fellow agencies and the public, including Hawaiʻi’s youth,” Sniffen noted. “Collective action across all sectors, public and private, will increase transportation choice, decrease costs for users of the system, and enable us to achieve these ambitious targets.”
In mid- to late-July, Hawaii DOT expects to host a series of public presentations via videoconference to provide an opportunity for the public to learn more about the plan, ask questions, and provide feedback. The agency added that it expects to update its new energy plan annually to reflect new data, technological developments, and feedback from communities across the island chain.
New WSDOT Pedestrian Bridge Delivers on 2018 Promise
In 2018, the Washington State Department of Transportation improved two intersections along State Road 500 in Vancouver, WA, reducing crashes by 70 percent – but those safety changes left some people with no way to cross the busy road. That’s when the need for a new pedestrian bridge became clear.
[Above photo by WSDOT]
Part of SR 500 is a major connector between I-5 and I-205; a six-mile stretch of four-lane highway that averages 60,000 cars a day. In 2018, there were only two traffic signals on that section of SR 500 – one at Northeast Stapleton Road/Northeast 45th Ave., and one at Northeast Falk Road/Northeast 42nd Ave.
Those two intersections were averaging about 400 crashes a year, many of which were rear-end crashes at the traffic signals. That’s why WSDOT removed the traffic signals on the highway seven years ago; allowing only right turns at the interchanges.
With no signals or left-hand turns to slow traffic, crashes plummeted, but the unabated 55-mile-per hour traffic made at-grade pedestrian crossings impossible. A pedestrian bridge already was in place at Falk/42nd Avenue, but it was a half-mile away from Stapleton/45th Avenue, where SR 500 bisects two residential areas.
“When we removed the signalized intersections to improve driver safety, it impacted those who walk, bike, or use mobility devices,” explained Sarah Hannon-Nein, WSDOT’s Southwest Region communications manager. “We fixed one problem and potentially created another one.”
While active transportation users and advocates pushed WSDOT to build a pedestrian bridge over the busy highway, the agency said funding wouldn’t be available for several years. “We made it very clear to the community that once funding was available, we would restore access,” Hannon-Nein said. “That promise was always there.”
Now, WSDOT has delivered on that promise – finishing construction in mid-June on a $8.7 million bridge above SR 500 exclusively for pedestrians and other active transportation users.
With no funding for a new bridge, WSDOT bought time in 2018 by contracting with a local transit agency to provide free, on-demand bus rides for pedestrians, bicyclists, or wheelchair users who needed to cross SR 500. Those free rides continued through the completion of the pedestrian bridge.
The agency also undertook “pretty extensive community engagement” in 2018 to get feedback about the planned bridge, Hannon-Nein said. People wanted a safe crossing for pedestrians, bicyclists, and wheelchair users that would be low-cost, low-maintenance and would fit the visual aesthetic of the corridor. “We listened to the community and we put those priorities into the design,” she noted.
The new bridge has straight, gradually inclining ramps that tie into existing sidewalks. It features a halfway landing on each bridge approach to give users a rest, and a wide turning radius to make the climb easy for bicyclists and people using wheelchairs.
“This is a project that we are really excited to deliver for the community,” Hannon-Nien pointed out. “This project reflects the promise to the community, but it’s more than just a structure. It’s a step forward in safety and equity in transportation for all users.”
Environmental News Highlights – June 25, 2025
Maryland DOT Issues Transit-Oriented Grants
The Maryland Department of Transportation recently issued $1.25 million in grants to three projects as part of the initial phase of its Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Capital Grant and Revolving Loan Fund or TOD Fund program launched by the agency in February.
[Above image collage via Maryland DOT]
Maryland DOT said the TOD Fund program – established by the Equitable Inclusive TOD Enhancement Act signed into law by Governor Wes Moore (D) in 2023 – aims to help advance development projects near transit stations that will spur economic activity and increase connectivity in communities statewide. The funding program includes a total of $5 million to support the construction and design of transit-oriented developments across the state and help advance the state’s transit, economic development, climate and housing goals.
Awards for this first round of TOD Fund grants support the implementation of dense, mixed-use development projects at Reisterstown Plaza Metro Station in Baltimore City; Odenton Maryland Area Rail Commuter or MARC Station in Anne Arundel County; and the North Bethesda Metro Station in Montgomery County.
“These grants will help jumpstart the progress of building unique, dense communities around transit stations that will further connect Marylanders to opportunities,” explained Maryland DOT Secretary Paul Wiedefeld in a statement. “Our collective vision and investment to increase development near transit stations will create dividends of economic prosperity in Maryland for decades to come.”
The agency noted that it works closely with several other state agencies – including its Maryland State Highway Administration and Maryland Transit Administration divisions, as well as the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development – to evaluate grant applications and select awardees.
Maryland DOT pointed out that a new round of TOD Fund awards will be announced later this year. Eligible local jurisdictions can apply for up to $1 million for planning, design, or public infrastructure improvements. Nonprofit or private development partners are eligible to apply in partnership with a local jurisdiction for up to $1 million in gap funding for projects within a state-designated transit-oriented development, the agency noted.
TxDOT Helps Highlight ‘Throne’ From the Past
Texas is full of unique and historic sites, but one stop in Rusk County is a literal “throne” from the past – a unique outhouse that has survived for decades and thus rated its very own historical marker; installed courtesy of the Texas Department of Transportation.
[Above photo via TxDOT]
TxDOT works with the Texas Historical Commission to properly install historical markers. While the commission received many “unusual” applications for historical designations, the request filed for “The Arnold Outhouse” proved most atypical.
“It’s fancy, and very elaborate for that time period,” explained Vickie Armstrong, director of the Rusk County Depot Museum – located in Henderson, TX – in a TxDOT blog post. “John Arnold built it to match his home. He was a prominent lawyer and businessman here in Rusk County.”
And it is fancy indeed, featuring louvred windows (for ventilation, of course) as well as a glass-paned window in the back.
While the world moved to indoor plumbing, and outhouse use went down the drain, this fancy outhouse endured – proof that not everything gets flushed away by time, Armstrong noted. “Outhouses have more or less disappeared now,” she said. “They are a disappearing piece of history. Which, here at the museum, is why we try and keep history alive. That is what we have done with the outhouse.”
Interestingly, while John Arnold’s home was torn down to make way for a new library, a concerted effort saved the outhouse – relocating it 200 feet from where it was originally built and installing it on the library’s grounds.
“At first, when we wanted to apply for the marker, there were some giggles and laughs. Virginia Knapp, who was the chairman of the historical commission then, she’s the one who got the ball rolling,” Armstrong said. “After the marker was installed, the news media, newspapers, everything, came around to see and write about the outhouse.”
Yet preservation of this lavish outhouse – which has become a definitive part of Henderson’s unique charm – helped preserve a “unique treasure” to allow residents and visitors alike to remember how everyday life once looked in East Texas.
This is one of several unusual preservation efforts undertaken by TxDOT.
For example, six years ago, TxDOT helped preserved a grove of “clones” of the famous “Treaty Oak” in Austin, TX.
Located in Treaty Oak Park in Austin’s West Line Historic District, the roughly 500-year-old “Treaty Oak” is the last living member of the Council Oaks; a grove of 14 trees that served as a sacred meeting place for Comanche and Tonkawa tribes. And, earlier this year during an environmental review for the Loop 88 highway project outside Lubbock, TX, TxDOT planners uncovered the bones of large, prehistoric animals called “megafauna” and called in the agency’s archeologists to help preserve them as well as search for signs of prehistoric human activity at the site.
NCDOT to Rebuild I-40 with National Forest Rocks
The North Carolina Department of Transportation plans to mine three million cubic yards of rock from a 33-acre site in the Pisgah National Forest to help rebuild parts of I-40 that collapsed and washed away in the wake of Hurricane Helene in September 2024.
[Above photo by NCDOT]
By using materials close to the construction site, NCDOT said in a statement it can rebuild the interstate faster, cheaper, and safer while protecting the adjacent forest and wildlife. This plan also will put less construction traffic on I-40, which is reduced to one lane in the eastbound lanes for a seven-mile section and a five-mile section of I-40. Five miles of one-way traffic also are in effect on I-40 in Tennessee, up to the state line, because of hurricane damage.
To get permission to remove rocks from the national forest, NCDOT partnered with several government agencies – including the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), which gave the transportation agency a special use permit to test potential sites for suitability. The USFS then granted a temporary land transfer to the Federal Highway Administration, which gave NCDOT a temporary easement to remove rocks from the forest.
Other agencies coordinating on reconstruction of I-40 include the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, North Carolina Division of Water Resources and North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.
NCDOT also has identified an adjacent 11.5-acre site designated as a holding area for overburden material – anything that was taken from the larger site but not needed for construction. When the interstate construction is completed, crews will use the overburden material to restore the forest areas that had been disturbed.
Besides the logistical and bureaucratic considerations, NCDOT and its state and federal partners are taking several extra measures to make minimal impacts to the forest, its abundant wildlife, and habitat.
“Our agencies’ collective experts reviewed numerous data sources and performed field reviews for a wide variety of resources,” said David Uchiyama, western communications manager for NCDOT. “We have accounted for nearby streams, wetlands, protected plants, terrestrial species, aquatic habitat, geology, archaeological remains, historic resources, recreational use, property owners, access constraints, and hydroelectric energy generation facilities, amongst other things. We diligently worked to avoid particularly sensitive resources such as old growth forest, higher quality stream valleys, and avian nesting areas.”
NCDOT also is developing a long-term environmental plan with FHWA, the USFS, and other agencies to restore the forest and to improve the wildlife habitat, Uchiyama noted. The 500,000-acre forest features hardwood and old-growth trees, waterfalls, miles of hiking trails, and is home to black bears, white-tailed deer, bobcats, squirrels, and numerous bird species.
“We are working closely with stakeholders to navigate a variety of mitigative opportunities in the forest,” Uchiyama added. “This is an ongoing coordination effort that we want to resolve quickly so that all parties have assurances of their respective responsibilities, costs, and benefits.”
Between the forest and the interstate lies the Pigeon River, which provides more challenges. To give geotechnical crews access to the base of the interstate to gather data to design retaining walls, NCDOT is building a causeway along the river, will allow the contractor to safely build the retaining walls without additional lane closures on I-40.
Later this summer, NCDOT will build a bridge over the river so crews can begin extracting the rocks for road construction.
Environmental News Highlights – June 18, 2025
Podcast: Garrett Eucalitto Talks Safety & Reauthorization
The latest episode of the “The Stream by AASHTO” podcast features Garrett Eucalitto, commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Transportation and the 2024-2025 president of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, discussing his commitment to “safer communities, safer users, and safer workers” and federal surface transportation reauthorization as part of his emphasis areas for his presidential term.
[Above image by AASHTO]
The “Stream by AASHTO” podcast series is part of the AASHTO Environmental Management technical service program and it explores a wide array of environmental topics that affect state departments of transportation and the infrastructure programs they oversee.
In this episode, Eucalitto delves into his family’s connection to the transportation industry, how his career path shifted from foreign relations to transportation policy, and why he’s made “centering safety” a key focal point not only for his AASHTO presidential emphasis areas but as the nucleus of his transportation career.
He also discusses the critical importance of ongoing surface transportation funding reauthorization work by Congress and how that legislative effort impacts safety. He explains on the podcast that reauthorization “impacts everything we do” as state DOTs, especially in the safety arena. That’s why it is critical to ensure that the current reauthorization package maintains – if not expands – the current level of federal funding to fully support the nation’s transportation systems.
[Editor’s note: AASHTIO’s board of directors unanimously approved six policy resolutions in May during its 2025 Spring Meeting in Hartford, CT, that detail the organization’s positions on key issues that Congress needs to address as it works on renewing critical surface transportation reauthorization legislation.]
Eucalitto is also AASHTO’s first openly gay president and discusses how this part of his identity has helped make him more empathetic about protecting people physically, mentally, and emotionally – especially in terms of fostering a level of comfort so people can live openly in the workplace.
Finally, Eucalitto looks to the future as part of his podcast interview – examining the ways state DOTs are seeking to broaden their “non-traditional” partnerships, along with ways state DOTs are working to improve the exchange of information between one another for disaster response and other needs.
To listen to the full podcast episode, click here.