Hawaii DOT Finalizes Statewide Energy Security Plan

The Hawaii Department of Transportation has finalized its Energy Security and Waste Reduction Plan following a 65-day public review process and after incorporating extensive stakeholder feedback.

[Above image by the Hawaii DOT]

The plan provides a roadmap for Hawaii’s transportation sector to meet statewide emissions reduction targets established by Hawaii’s legislature in 2018. The 2030 target is to cut greenhouse gas or GHG emissions by 50 percent from 2005 levels, with the aim by 2045 of capturing more carbon than the state emits; thereby achieving net-negative emissions.

During the public comment period on the draft of its Energy Security Plan, issued in late June, the agency said it conducted six virtual public presentations, met with many stakeholders, and received 310 public comments.

Comments ranged from calls for more walking and biking paths, concerns about the cost of transitioning to clean fuels and electric vehicles, as well as demands for equitable investment to benefit disadvantaged and rural communities, Hawaii DOT noted.

Key revisions incorporated into the final plan include use of updated data, including the most recent State Greenhouse Gas Inventory from 2022 that shows 50 percent of emissions come from transportation, with 85 percent of those transportation emissions coming from domestic aviation.

Other revisions include allowing cruise operators to continue operating as long as they use ships that burn cleaner fuels, as well as prioritizing emissions reduction strategies that will lower the cost of transportation for the most vulnerable, such as by adding bus stops or routes.

The plan also sets forth immediate actions which should guide the state’s transportation investments over the next five years, which include expanding electric vehicle or EV public charging; incentives for cleaner fuels; filling critical gaps in pedestrian, transit and bicycle networks; and investing in carbon sequestration projects. The plan is a living document that will be adjusted annually with changes in law, technology and commitments.

“[We are] grateful for the public’s comments and thank residents, businesses, and stakeholders who have all contributed to shaping the final Energy Security and Waste Reduction Plan. It will guide us as we work to lower emissions and increase our energy security, while meeting Hawaii’s transportation needs,” said Ed Sniffen, Hawaii DOT director, in a statement.

“[We] can take immediate actions by expanding EV public charging and having incentives for cleaner fuels. We will continue to work on the dynamic plan which will be updated annually with community input, new data, and analysis,” he added.

Environmental News Highlights – October 15, 2025

Colorado’s ‘Safe Routes to School’ Celebrates 20th Year

The Colorado Department of Transportation recently celebrated the 20th year of its “Safe Routes to School” program by hosting a “Walk and Roll to School Day” for kindergarten through 12th grade students on October 8; one of the many ways the agency seeks to promote active transportation as a way to create healthier, more connected, and safer communities.

[Above photo by Colorado DOT]

Established in 1997 as part of the “International Walk to School Day” program, Colorado’s “Walk and Roll to School Day” is also part of a global initiative where children from more than 40 countries who all walk to school on the same day.

For the 2025 “Walk and Roll” event, Colorado DOT distributed 20,000 free stickers upon request along with commemorative 20th anniversary posters printed double-sided in English and Spanish.

“This is the 20th year for Colorado’s Safe Routes to School program, which has encouraged students to be more physically active and helped motivate them to instill healthy habits that can also translate into enhanced performance in the classroom,” said Shoshana Lew, Colorado DOT’s executive director, in a statement.

“Safe Routes to School also improves safety through our grant program, which provides funding to improve infrastructure around schools, like for new sidewalks and signage, signalized crosswalks, and better lighting,” she added. Those efforts dovetail with the agency’s updated Statewide Active Transportation Plan that seeks to beef up safety and convenience for pedestrians, bicyclists, and others engaged in non-motorized mobility. That plan – a draft of which was offered for public review in July – is viewed as an ambitious update to the agency’s 2012 Statewide Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan. Meanwhile, across the country, state departments of transportation support a wide variety of active transportation initiatives, including “Safe Routes to School” endeavors. For example, in September, the Maryland Department of Transportation issued 26 grants totaling $8.2 million for 25 bicycle, pedestrian, and trail projects statewide; funding the agency said will help state and local partners improve safety, enhance sustainability, and boost economic development.

Maryland DOT added that those fiscal year 2026 grants include more than $6.2 million in federal funding for 14 projects through the Transportation Alternatives Program and Recreational Trails Program and nearly $2 million in state funding for 12 projects through its Kim Lamphier Bikeways Network Program. In August, the Washington State Department of Transportation issued a total of $15.8 million to support 15 active transportation projects statewide via its Sandy Williams Connecting Communities Program or SWCCP, named for the late community organizer who worked to reconnect her East Central neighborhood in Spokane after the construction of I-90 split the community in half.

The agency said that SWCCP grants aim to help communities develop and build infrastructure that enables safer walking, biking, and rolling along and across current and former state highways while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This spans everything from constructing sidewalks, bike paths, and biking trails to developing community engagement processes, WSDOT noted. The program, now in its third year, prioritizes communities and tribes most affected by environmental health disparities and by barriers to opportunity, the agency said.

Finally, the Ohio Department of Transportation plans to issue nearly $52 million in grants over the next four years to improve safety for bicycle and pedestrian traffic through the state’s Transportation Alternatives Program; supporting 44 projects in 33 counties.

Nebraska DOT Seeks More Environmental Review Duties

The Nebraska Department of Transportation is moving forward with an effort to take on additional environmental review responsibilities for infrastructure projects; ones currently assigned to the Federal Highway Administration.

[Above photo by Nebraska DOT]

That effort stems from a letter of intent signed in July 2025 by Governor Jim Pillen (R) to pursue an agreement with the federal government to allow Nebraska DOT to assume more environmental review duties for federally funded transportation projects.

Under the National Environmental Policy Act or NEPA, FHWA can assign environmental review and compliance responsibilities to individual states.

As a result of the governor’s letter, Nebraska DOT – which currently has limited NEPA review authority – has now formally initiated the process of seeking full NEPA assignment duties.

The agency said full NEPA assignment would remove unnecessary bureaucracy and administrative burdens, while strengthening project-delivery consistency.

“Governor Pillen has made it clear that state agency leaders must continue to find more efficiency in government,” said Vicki Kramer, Nebraska DOT director, in a statement.

“For Nebraska DOT, this means looking for new ways to streamline and expedite the delivery of key transportation projects,” she added. “Full NEPA assignment will allow Nebraska highway users to see a better return on investment, while federal environmental standards will continue to be upheld.”

As of September 2025, states with a full NEPA assignment program with the FHWA include Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, Ohio, Texas, and Utah – and those states report “significant benefits” from having full NEPA duties, Nebraska DOT said; including faster project delivery and cost savings.

Environmental News Highlights – October 8, 2025

Montana Locales Get ADA Upgrades for Walkers, Bikers

Sidewalks and other active transportation infrastructure are getting upgrades in three Montana communities from the Montana Department of Transportation.

[Above photo by the Montana DOT]

In the towns of Bridger and Lewiston, crews are nearing completion of new sidewalk corner ramps that are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act or ADA, along with new sidewalks and driveway approaches, said Lisa Olmsted, a Montana DOT public information consultant.

Pedestrians and bicyclists along King Avenue in Billings will see new corner ramps and new pavement markers for walkers.

In Lewistown – home of the annual Montana Cowboy Poetry Gathering – the design-build contracting team is installing 17 ADA corner ramps, 29 sign replacements, 26 reconstructed approaches, and more than 11,000 square feet of new sidewalk, Olmsted said – adding that all of that work in the town of 6,200 residents began in the fall of 2024 and is nearly complete.

[Editor’s note: In July, the Montana DOT highlighted a variety of community outreach initiatives it regularly engages in to promote safe bicycling practices statewide.]

Crews also will install cast-iron detectable warning plates into the sidewalk at one intersection. The plates, which have raised bumps, allow visually impaired pedestrians to know when they are approaching an intersection, Montana DOT noted.

About three hours south in the town of Bridger, crews are installing 27 new corner ramps, 16 driveway approaches and 1,200 square feet of new sidewalk, Olmsted said. Construction is expected to be completed this fall.

Pedestrians in Billings will be getting some extra protection from vehicles with the installation of rapid flashing beacons to warn motorists that pedestrians are in the area. Olmsted said the beacons and other improvements are being installed at the end of the I-90 westbound exit at King Avenue, a heavily travelled commercial corridor.

Crews also will install 19 corner ramps and one new driveway approach in Billings, Olmsted said. That work is expected to continue through the fall.

All upgrades in the three cities are in line with Montana DOT’s ADA Transition Plan, which was first published in 2001 and updated in 2021. The plan guides the department’s efforts to establish “a consistent approach for accommodating disabled individuals by identifying methods to assist Montana DOT in complying with ADA regulations and removing accessibility barriers.”

Final Environmental Report Issued for Maui Highway Project

The Hawaii Department of Transportation  recently issued its Final Environmental Impact Statement or FEIS for the Honoapi‘ilani Highway improvements project.

[Above image by Hawaii DOT]

That $298 million project seeks to move a portion of Honoapi‘ilani Highway further away from the coastline and is intended to provide a reliable transportation facility in West Maui by reducing the highway’s vulnerability to coastal hazards, including sea level rise, higher than normal tides – known as “king tides” – that occur during new or full moons, and storms.

As a result of those issues, over the past 10 years, a long stretch of the Honoapi‘ilani Highway – from Pāpalaua Beach Park to Launiupoko – has been repaired multiple times after storm and high wave events damaged the roadway.

Hawaii DOT noted in a statement that it conducted two public hearings and solicited written comments to gather public feedback on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement or DEIS for the proposed project.

The subsequent FEIS addresses much of the public feedback gathered during the DEIS process, the agency said, including the addition of a shared-use path for pedestrians and bicyclists, a second signalized intersection at Ehehene Street in Ukumehame, potential passing lanes between Ehehene Street and Luawai Street, and some infrastructure changes.

Hawaii DOT added that the publication of the FEIS ensures compliance with the National Environmental Protection Act and signifies that the necessary environmental analysis to move forward has been completed; with work on this highway project expected to begin in 2028.

Environmental News Highlights – October 1, 2025

Michigan DOT Gets Funds for Wildlife Collision Study

The latest episode of the “Talking Michigan Transportation” podcast details how federal grant money will help the Michigan Department of Transportation fund a study of wildlife crossings to better protect motorists and animals statewide.

[Above image by the Michigan DOT]

On the podcast, Amanda Novak – a resource specialist at Michigan DOT who helped lead the effort to secure the federal grant funding – explains the potential safety benefits of that. For starters, the latest State Farm report on vehicle collisions with wildlife shows Michigan is ranked fourth among states for the highest number of such crashes.

Those crashes pose tremendous risk and costs to drivers, Michigan DOT noted. For example, white-tailed deer alone account for more than 55,000 collisions and a $130 million cost to drivers in the U.S. per year.

On the podcast, Novak talks about what she’s learned from other government agencies that have studied the problem and implemented mitigation efforts. For example, a podcast episode in 2024 featured a conversation with a connectivity specialist with the Yellowstone to Yukon or Y2Y Conservation Initiative about creative and successful solutions implemented on the Trans-Canada Highway in Banff National Park.

“The whole background of this grant is to [help wildlife] meet all of their ecological needs, as well as providing safe passage for them so they don’t collide with motorists,” explained Novak on the podcast.

“I have learned a lot from the other [state] DOTs [so] we won’t be starting from scratch,” she added. “They have a lot of background

information on what’s worked and what hasn’t with other various mitigation measures used in fencing areas and things like that. So, there’s a lot of great information out there that we can use once we get these hot spots [for wildlife collisions] identified.” To listen to the full podcast, click here.

Local Microtransit Service Sees Early Success

A new microtransit program funded by the North Carolina Department of Transportation is experiencing strong ridership across its service area; signaling early success for an on-demand public transit service only five months old.

[Above photo by McDowell Express]

In 2024, NCDOT received a $10.4 million discretionary federal grant to help rural transit agencies expand public microtransit services. That one grant supports 11 mostly rural communities by funding software, operations, and capital investments for local microtransit services. NCDOT noted that “microtransit” is a form of public transportation that operates based on rider request rather than a fixed schedule, allowing for more flexible and efficient travel. The new service – named McDowell Express and operated by McDowell County Transit – has provided more than 1,900 rides since it began operations on May 1; experiencing steady month-over-month growth in ridership as it works to connect rural communities with jobs, healthcare, education, and more.

“McDowell’s microtransit success is part of our ongoing efforts to work with local communities to improve mobility,” said Brennon Fuqua, director of NCDOT’s Integrated Mobility Division, in a statement. “NCDOT is committed to ensuring that local public transit options meet the needs of residents, especially in rural areas.”

The McDowell Express on-demand transit service operates Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; primarily serving residents and visitors within a seven-mile radius around the town of Marion, NC, in McDowell County.

“[We are] extremely proud of the success of McDowell Express [as] ridership has far exceeded our expectations,” added Jason Hollifield, director of McDowell Transit. “We are happy to provide a new, much-needed transportation option to our citizens. We are appreciative of the support of our local government, NCDOT, and the federal grant that made it all possible.”