The U.S. Department of Transportation recently awarded $185 million in grants to 45 projects through its new “Reconnecting Communities” pilot program – what the agency described as a “first-of-its-kind” initiative to reconnect communities “cut off from opportunity and burdened by past transportation infrastructure decisions.”

[Above photo by USDOT]

Established by $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act or IIJA, which was enacted in November 2021, the “Reconnecting Communities” program provides technical assistance and funding for communities’ planning and construction projects that aim to connect neighborhoods back together by removing, retrofitting, or mitigating transportation barriers such as highways and railroad tracks.

USDOT noted that this first round of grants – comprised of 39 planning grants and six capital construction grants – will fund construction and planning for transformative community-led solutions, including capping interstates with parks, filling in sunken highways to reclaim the land for housing, creating tree-lined “Complete Streets,” and creating new crossings through public transportation, bridges, tunnels and trails.

“Transportation should connect, not divide, people and communities,” noted Pete Buttigieg, USDOT secretary, in a statement. “We are proud to announce the first grantees of our Reconnecting Communities program, which will unite neighborhoods, ensure the future is better than the past, and provide Americans with better access to jobs, health care, groceries and other essentials.”

For example, the California Department of Transportation and the City of Oakland received one of those grants – worth $680,000 – to explore ways to reconnect communities divided by transportation infrastructure along I-980; one of five California projects receiving “Reconnecting Communities” program grants.

The I-980 corridor, completed in 1985, ended up dividing communities in West Oakland from downtown Oakland and today acts as a barrier to travel and economic opportunities between these communities. The new grant allows Caltrans and the City of Oakland to study alternatives for reconnecting communities along the corridor with an expanded focus on community integration and environmental justice.

“Transportation should always improve access to opportunity and be a uniter not a divider,” said Toks Omishakin, secretary of the California State Transportation Agency, in a statement. “These awards, coupled with the forthcoming $150 million state investment for a parallel ‘Highways to Boulevards pilot program,’ will allow California neighborhoods divided by transportation infrastructure – particularly historically disadvantaged communities – to take steps to remove literal barriers to opportunity and begin making up for past harms.”

Maryland DOT Begins Statewide Litter, Mowing Effort

The Maryland Department of Transportation recently launched “Operation Clean Sweep Maryland,” a new initiative that will nearly double the frequency of litter pickup and mowing efforts along state roads.

[Above photo by Maryland DOT]

This new effort – which launched in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C., regions – is under the purview of the Maryland State Highway Administration, one of Maryland DOT’s modal divisions.

The agency said it increased its annual maintenance budget more than 30 percent compared to 2022 to nearly $30 million to accommodate additional litter removal and mowing efforts as part of Operation Clean Sweep Maryland.

The agency added that it spent approximately $39 million over the last five years collecting and disposing more than 26,000 truckloads of litter along state roads. Annually, MDOT SHA collects approximately 5,300 truckloads of trash at a cost of more than $7 million.

“Operation Clean Sweep Maryland” also includes funding to hire additional state employees to increase litter pickup frequency as well as to purchase additional mowing equipment and develop contract resources to maintain both the increased mowing and litter removal cycles.

“Maryland’s highways connect us to friends, family, schools, jobs and recreation, and serve as the welcome mat for visitors to our state,” explained Paul J. Wiedefeld, secretary for the Maryland DOT, in a statement.

“We can’t allow litter to destroy the beauty of our communities and threaten our safety and the environment,” he added. “We need the help of everyone to tackle this problem, and our state highway crews are prepared to lead the way.”

In addition to hindering mowing and landscape efforts, as well as creating negative environmental impacts, roadway trash severely impacts drainage infrastructure, Maryland DOT said. Backed up drains cause rain and snow melt to “pond” on the roads, creating a major safety hazard for motorists, the agency said.

Concurrently, due to a mild winter, MDOT SHA said it anticipates roadside mowing will be required earlier than usual, thus necessitating earlier and more frequent seasonal trash removal efforts.

State departments of transportation across the country are involved in a wide range of anti-littering efforts.

For example, the Tennessee Department of Transportation sponsors an annual litter prevention campaign – called “Nobody Trashes Tennessee” – with Keep Tennessee Beautiful affiliates and Adopt-A-Highway groups.

In November 2022, more than 1,300 volunteers statewide removed more than 48,000 pounds of litter in their communities as part of its month-long “No Trash November” roadway cleanup effort.

Meanwhile, in August 2022, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation joined several fellow state agencies to help launch a new anti-litter campaign entitled “PA Fights Dirty: Every Litter Bit Matters.”

The creation of this campaign is one of the many recommendations made by Pennsylvania’s first-ever Litter Action Plan, released in December 2021. That plan also won a Pennsylvania Governor’s Awards for Excellence in May 2022.

Concurrently, in July 2022, Ohio launched a new litter control program – one administered by the Ohio Department of Transportation – that seeks to broaden engagement by the business community in its trash removal efforts.

That Ohio program allows businesses and groups to fund litter removal services along one-mile, one-direction segments of state highways. In exchange for their sponsorship, Ohio DOT displays the name of the business or group on a sign within their sponsored segment.

Buttigieg: We Are ‘Rebuilding’ the Foundation of Transportation

Pete Buttigieg, secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation (above), says his agency and the nation’s mobility community are currently involved in “one of the most exciting, productive, and challenging times in U.S. transportation history” – driven in no small part by “historic” levels of funding provided by the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act or IIJA, enacted in November 2021.

[Above photo by AASHTO]

Speaking at the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ 2023 Washington Briefing, held February 28 through March 3 at the Hilton Washington D.C. Capitol Hill hotel, Buttigieg explained that the Biden administration seeks to “rebuild the foundation of our nation’s transportation system” via IIJA funding both in terms of physical infrastructure – fixing roadways, bridges, airports, etc. – but also by making those transportation networks cleaner and safer.

“We are living in the season of project delivery for the IIJA – time is money and there is great pressure on costs, so we must make every transportation dollar go as far as we can,” he noted. “We have a lot to celebrate but also a lot more to do.”

[Buttigieg’s full remarks are in the video below]

For example, he noted that there are “many challenges” associated with the electric vehicle “revolution” USDOT and the Biden administration are trying to spur across the country. “This is not an incremental or layered change on our transportation system; it is a fundamental transformation of it,” he said. “We will look to you [state DOTs] and your experience on the ground as you deploy EV chargers and as you prepare communities and states for this revolution. Of all the new 40-plus programs funded by the IIJA, I do not think any are as novel as this [National Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure or NEVI] program.

Buttigieg also emphasized that USDOT also wants to maintain its focus on reducing roadway fatalities and injuries in line with its National Roadway Safety Strategy or NRSS, unveiled in January 2022, and encouraged the state department of transportation community – with the Washington State Department of Transportation and the Missouri Department of Transportation formally joining the agency’s “First Movers” initiative, along with AASHTO, in February – to bolster that effort.

“We would not settle for this level of death and destruction on our roads in any other facet of American life or mode of transportation,” the secretary stressed. “That’s why we’re setting a tone of urgency and will continue to do that.”

Buttigieg summed up his remarks with a “thank you” to the state DOT community for its work in trying to bring those and many other new mobility endeavors to life. “The level of expectation and work that have been placed on your shoulders from all of this is likely unprecedented, but we at USDOT are really excited about it,” he said. “This is the really fun part but also the really but hard part – this is where we encounter available workforce issues, supply chain problems, and rising material costs. But on the other side of this mountain is where we have not only transformed the physical transportation infrastructure of the country but the economic capacity of our country as well. We are lifting up the entire country’s ability to compete and to win.”

ETAP Podcast: Georgia’s Transportation Investment Act

The latest episode of the Environmental Technical Assistance Program or ETAP Podcast examines the impact of Georgia’s Transportation Investment Act or TIA a decade after its passage – a voter-approved 1 percent sales tax dedicated to funding state transportation and infrastructure needs.

[Above photo by the Georgia DOT]

In 2012, voters in three Georgia regions – River Valley, the Central Savannah River Area, and the Heart of Georgia Altamaha – approved a 1 percent sales tax that would last for 10 years to fund regional and local transportation improvements. Voters in the Southern Georgia Region passed the same transportation tax referendum in 2018. While TIA tax collections continued through 2022 for the original three regions, those collections will continue until 2028 for the Southern Georgia Region.

The Georgia Department of Transportation is responsible for the management of the budget, schedule, execution and delivery of all 1,022 projects contained in the TIA’s “Approved Investment Lists,” and

Kenneth Franks – state TIA administrator – details on this episode of the ETAP podcast how the regional and local impact of those projects. To list to the full episode, click here.

Environmental News Highlights – March 3, 2023

Environmental News Highlights – February 22, 2023

FEDERAL ACTION

Cities scramble to implement climate law – Energy News Network

Environmental groups call on Buttigieg to restore Obama-era train brake rule – The Hill

How to reform federal permitting to accelerate clean energy infrastructure: A nonpartisan way forward – Brookings

Governors Collaborate to Speed Energy Infrastructure Construction – National Governors Association (media release)

Biden-Harris Administration Announces Latest Steps to Deliver a National Network of Convenient, Reliable, Made-in-America Electric Vehicle Chargers – FHWA (media release)

COVID-19

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic; Continuation of National Emergency (Notice of February 10, 2023) – Presidential Document

INFRASTRUCTURE RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY

NCDOT ‘Bump-Outs’ Help Prevent Street Flooding – AASHTO Journal

To tap U.S. government billions, Tesla must unlock EV chargers – Reuters

Chattanooga Will Use Smart Intersection Insights To Plan EV Charging Stations – StateTech

California agencies form partnership to prepare Highway 37 for sea level rise – Pacific Sun

Who moves and who pays? Managed retreat is hard, but lessons from the past can guide us – The Conversation

AIR QUALITY

Colorado lawmakers want more flexibility for ozone-season free transit program – Colorado Newsline

DOE Funds Plans for EV Charging, Hydrogen Fueling on Freight Corridors – Transport Topics

Virginia lawmakers kill bill that would have repealed law on California car emission standards – The Virginian-Pilot

FAA clears hydrogen-powered airplane for first flight – Seattle Times

Air pollution now linked to late-life depression – Air Quality News

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

Road to Ruin – Baltimore Magazine

Not just building roads: MoDOT aims to fight homelessness – St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Researchers illuminate gaps in public transportation access, equity – University of Illinois

Why a pipeline project in Houston is raising concerns over environmental racism – USA Today

NATURAL RESOURCES

FDOT officials say drivers are responsible for over 200 tons of trash collected on Southwest Florida highway – WFTX-TV

Wildlife Crossings Along U.S. Roads Can Benefit Animals, People, and Climate – Pew

CULTURAL RESOURCES

Ferry to Angel Island State Park going electric – CBS/Bay City News Service

Take Me Out to the Wind Turbines – Bloomberg Green

HEALTH AND HUMAN ENVIRONMENT/ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION

Bicyclists say Albuquerque trail is getting dangerous – KRQE-TV

Montana Bill Allowing E-Bikes Wherever Bicycles Are Allowed, Advances In Key Vote – Montana Free Press

San Antonio’s population growth adds congestion, danger for local cyclists – San Antonio Report

Shenandoah Valley Rail Trail supporters to meet along proposed trail route – Northern Virginia Daily

VCU kicks off pedestrian safety campaign with referees – Axios

Norfolk, Nebraska adds cameras on traffic signals for pedestrians – Norfolk Daily News

Should Electric Scooters Make A Universal Sound To Alert Pedestrians? – InsideEVs

State Patrol says Coloradans need to become better pedestrians – KRDO-TV

Port Authority Opens Newly Renovated And Vastly Improved Bicycle And Pedestrian Walkway On North Side Of George Washington Bridge As Part Of Comprehensive ‘Restoring The George’ Program – Port Authority of New York & New Jersey (media release)

TRB RESOURCES/ANNOUNCEMENTS

Advancing Transportation Equity – Key Insights from 2021 and Looking to 2024 – TRB (Webinar)

The Jury is Still Out – The Latest on Recycled Plastic Waste in Asphalt – TRB (Webinar)

TRB Webinar: Use of Recycling Agents in Asphalt Concrete Mixtures – TRB (Webinar)

Partnerships for Equitable Pandemic Response and Recovery – TCRP

Safety at Midblock Pedestrian Signals – NCHRP

Systemic Inequality in the Airport Industry: Exploring the Racial Divide – ACHRP

Launching a Transit Revolution: Addressing Barriers Preventing Youth from using Public Transportation to Get to and from School – Mineta Transportation Institute

FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICES

Notice of Public Meeting of the Invasive Species Advisory Committee – National Invasive Species Council (Notice)

Protection of Marine Archaeological Resources – Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (Notice of proposed rulemaking and request for comment)

Navigation and Navigable Waters, and Shipping; Technical, Organizational, and Conforming Amendment – Coast Guard (Final rule)

National Environmental Policy Act Guidance on Consideration of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate Change – Council on Environmental Quality (Notice of extension for request for comments)

Air Plan Approval; California; Innovative Clean Transit Regulation – EPA (Final Rule)

Advisory Committee for Environmental Research and Education; Notice of Meeting – National Science Foundation (Notice)

Response to Western Water Quantity (WWQ) Listening Session – Natural Resources Conservation Service (Notice)

Public Conduct on Bureau of Reclamation Facilities, Lands, and Waterbodies – Bureau of Reclamation (Notice of proposed rulemaking)

Caltrans to Help Build Highway/Rail Wildlife Overpass

The California Department of Transportation, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), and passenger rail provider Brightline West plan to jointly design and construct three wildlife overcrossings across Interstate 15 and the future Brightline West high-speed rail system connecting Las Vegas and Southern California.

[Above photo by Caltrans]

Those overcrossings seek to provide a sustainable and safe path for wildlife – especially for bighorn sheep – over the existing northbound and southbound highway lanes and the future 218-mile high-speed rail system to be built within the median, explained California Governor Gavin Newsom (D).

“Roadways and rail lines must be designed to connect, not divide,” he said in a statement. “This project will not only protect the precious wildlife and habitat of the Mojave Desert region but will also get people between Las Vegas and Southern California safely and efficiently – preserving one of the most popular corridors in our state.”

Beyond building those three wildlife overcrossings, the Brightline West project aims to maintain or improve more than 600 culverts and large-scale crossings under I-15 that exist today as well as restore and install desert tortoise fencing and directional wildlife exclusionary fencing.

Over the past year, Brightline, Caltrans and CDFW said they have worked together to develop a coordinated plan to fund, design, construct and maintain these wildlife overcrossings. The parties intend to fund the overcrossings using a mix of Caltrans, CDFW and Brightline West capital resources, while also seeking federal dollars.

Concurrently, a recent blog post by the Pew Trusts highlights how the growing success of wildlife crossings – bridges, underpasses, and culverts designed to help animals avoid vehicle traffic – across the U.S. is drawing a surge of interest from policymakers seeking to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and protect animals.

State departments of transportation across the country continue investing in a variety of wildlife crossing projects.

For example, to date, Colorado DOT said it has built more than 60 wildlife mitigation structures crossing above or under highways throughout the state. Additionally, it has installed 400 miles of high big game fencing along state and U.S. highways or next to the interstates.

In August 2022, the agency completed a wildlife overpass and underpass on U.S. Highway 160 in the southwestern part of the state; a stretch of road where more than 60 percent of all crashes are due to wildlife-vehicle collisions.

Meanwhile, a research document released in July 2022 by an international pool funded study led by the Nevada Department of Transportation provides an “authoritative review” of the most effective measures to reduce animal-vehicle collisions, improve motorist safety, and build safer wildlife crossings.

With as many as two million collisions with large mammals in the United States leading to approximately 200 human deaths every year, the review compiled, evaluated, and synthesized studies, scientific reports, journal articles, technical papers, and other publications from within the United States and beyond to determine effectiveness of 30 different mitigation measures.

Video: How KYTC Biologists Restore Streams, Wetlands

A recent video released by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet highlights how the agency’s biologists work to restore and improve streams and wetlands involved in state transportation projects.

[Above image via KYTC]

KYTC has worked closed with the Federal Highway Administration as well as other federal, state, and local agencies to identify and resolve environmental challenges on transportation projects. That results in more efficient environmental processes, thereby reducing time and funds to be expended on transportation projects, noted KYTC.

KYTC noted that it works with a wide range of groups to tackle such mitigation projects, including the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife, the American Indian Tribal Outreach program, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, among others. Each of those “partnering efforts” discusses particular challenges common to transportation projects and provide resolutions beneficial to the environment.

State departments of transportation across the country tap into a variety of “biological resources” to minimize the environmental impact of infrastructure projects under their purview.

For example the Arizona Department of Transportation detailed in April 2022 how “biomonitor” teams from Northern Arizona University or NAU help the agency’s crews find and relocate endangered species – including snakes, birds and fish – from construction sites.

Specifically, those biomonitor teams train construction workers and others involved in transportation projects to identify any endangered species and what to do if they come across one. The teams also monitor construction activity and help safely remove any endangered species out of harm’s way.

Meanwhile, July and August every year, the North Carolina Department of Transportation temporarily lowers speed limits from 55 mph to 20 mph on the William B. Umstead Bridge – locally known as the old Manns Harbor Bridge – at dusk and dawn during the roosting period of purple martin bird flocks.

NCDOT noted in August 2022 that it has collaborated with the Coastal Carolina Purple Martin Society since 2007 to educate the public about the purple martin flocks, to protect both the birds and motorists.

From late July through August, the west end of the bridge becomes home to as many as 100,000 purple martins as they prepare for their annual migration to Brazil. The birds roost under the bridge at night, departing at dawn to feed and returning at sunset. The flock is so large during its peak that it is visible on radar.

Environmental News Highlights – February 15, 2023

FEDERAL ACTION

Biden Touts Infrastructure in State-of-the-Union Speech – AASHTO Journal

Mobility Study Cites Roadblocks for U.S. Electric Vehicles, Sustainable Aviation – Reuters

State and Local Governments Face Persistent Infrastructure Investment Challenges – Pew

White House unveils plan to boost use of U.S.-made goods in infrastructure – Reuters

Republican Policymakers Spotlight Autonomous Vehicles’ Benefits – Transport Topics

INFRASTRUCTURE RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY

How Hawaii DOT Plans for Resilience – AASHTO Journal (podcast)

Electric Vehicle Charging Networks Trend Toward Convenience – Government Technology

Kansas Lawmakers Want To Tax Public EV Charging – Green Car Reports

Planned EV fees aim to replace Vt. gas tax revenue – WCAX-TV

Nebraska DOT seeking information for electric vehicle charging network – KETV-TV

AIR QUALITY

Colorado Emissions Reduction Plan Ties Sustainable Transportation to State Funding – Planetizen

FHWA to Start Funding Program to Lower Truck Emissions at Ports – Transport Topics

Here’s how lawmakers want to fix Utah’s terrible air quality – Salt Lake Tribune

$150m public health benefit from electrification of Port of New York and New Jersey – Seatrade Maritime News

Five Powerhouse Climate Policies Can Rapidly Slash Emissions And Strengthen The Economy In Any State – Energy Innovation: Policy and Technology (Commentary)

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

FTA Funding Research into ‘Transportation Insecurity’ – AASHTO Journal

IATA: Airline Passengers With Disabilities Should Travel With Dignity – eTurboNews

Kalamazoo, Holland, other cities to make rail stations ADA compliant after settlement – MLive

NATURAL RESOURCES

‘Slow down’: Colorado mountain residents concerned over wildlife deaths caused by trains – KMGH-TV

‘A national scandal’: how US climate funding could make water pollution worse – The Guardian

CULTURAL RESOURCES

Google Maps is getting this new ‘immersive’ view. Here’s why it might be useful – ZDNET

How The Los Angeles Crosswalk Collective Is Trying To Make Streets Safer … Their Own Way – LAist

HEALTH AND HUMAN ENVIRONMENT/ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION

Just two hours spent in traffic fumes impairs brain function – Sustainability Times

Researchers find a link between traffic noise and tinnitus – University of Southern Denmark

Richardson, Texas looking to add 54 miles of bike trails for new transportation network – Community Impact

A tale of trails: Colorado bike riders, advocates consider options for getting around – Fort Lupton Press

Efficiency Maine may add electric bikes to its rebate program – Sun Journal

How E-Bike Rebates Will Make Cycling Safer – CityLab

A call for integrating active transportation into physical activity and sedentary behaviour guidelines – The Lancet (Commentary)

TRB RESOURCES/ANNOUNCEMENTS

Planning and Environment Linkages: Review of Statutory Authority and Case Law – NCHRP

Strategies to Reduce Highway Traffic Noise – TRB (webinar)

FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICES

Guidance for Grants and Agreements – OMB (Proposed rule; notification of proposed guidance)

Major Disaster Declarations and Related Determinations: Expiration of COVID–19-Related Measures – FEMA (Notice)

Notice of Intent To Prepare a Joint Draft Environmental Impact Statement/ Environmental Impact Report for the Proposed Searsville Watershed Restoration Project, Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties, CA – Army Corps of Engineers (Notice)

Air Plan Approval; NC; Transportation Conformity – EPA (Proposed rule)

Proposed Consent Decree, Clean Air Act Citizen Suit – EPA (Notice; request for public comment)

Moore County Solar Environmental Impact Statement – TVA (Record of decision)

Notice of Meeting of the National Parks Overflights Advisory Group – FAA (Notice)

Notice of Joint and Individual Colorado Resource Advisory Council Meetings – Bureau of Land Management (Notice)

FEDERAL ACTION

INFRASTRUCTURE RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY

AIR QUALITY

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

NATURAL RESOURCES

CULTURAL RESOURCES

HEALTH AND HUMAN ENVIRONMENT/ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION

TRB RESOURCES/ANNOUNCEMENTS

FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICES

FEDERAL ACTION

COVID-19

INFRASTRUCTURE RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY

AIR QUALITY

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

NATURAL RESOURCES

CULTURAL RESOURCES

HEALTH AND HUMAN ENVIRONMENT/ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION

TRB RESOURCES/ANNOUNCEMENTS

FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICES

FEDERAL ACTION

COVID-19

INFRASTRUCTURE RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY

AIR QUALITY

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

NATURAL RESOURCES

CULTURAL RESOURCES

HEALTH AND HUMAN ENVIRONMENT/ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION

TRB RESOURCES/ANNOUNCEMENTS

FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICES

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INFRASTRUCTURE RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY

AIR QUALITY

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

NATURAL RESOURCES

CULTURAL RESOURCES

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