On the Way to Greener Highways

When building and maintaining a safe and efficient surface transportation system, impacts on the natural and cultural environments are inevitable. Federal, State, and local highway agencies are taking steps to integrate environmental sensitivity into their day-to-day activities, ranging from recycling old pavements and protecting watersheds during construction to involving community members and business leaders in the transportation decisionmaking process. In 2002, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) designated environmental stewardship and streamlining as 1 of its 3 vital goals, along with safety and congestion mitigation. Subsequently, FHWA made substantial investments in improving the quality and efficiency of environmental decisionmaking through various initiatives designed to link planning and the environment. Building on this momentum, a new multidisciplinary partnership brings together the diverse initiatives/activities that contribute to the "greening" of U.S. highways. This article provides an overview of the Green Highways Partnership, a voluntary, collaborative effort aimed at fostering partnerships to improve upon natural, built, social, and environmental conditions, while addressing the functional requirements of transportation infrastructure. Green Highways provides State departments of transportation the opportunity to highlight the many good environmental practices already underway and encourages additional innovations.

• Record URL:
  • http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/publicroads/06nov/07.cfm
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/1586080
• Authors:
  • Osterhues, Marlys
• Publication Date: 2006-11

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; Photos;
• Pagination: pp 41-45
• Serial:
  • Public Roads
  • Volume: 70
  • Issue Number: 3
  • Publisher: Federal Highway Administration
  • ISSN: 0033-3735
  • Serial URL: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/publicroads/
• Publication flags:

  Open Access (libre)

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Environmental impacts; Environmental policy; Environmental protection; Environmental streamlining; Highway design; Highway planning; Public private partnerships; State departments of transportation
• Identifier Terms: Green Highways Partnership; U.S. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject Areas: Design; Environment; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Policy; I21: Planning of Transport Infrastructure; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01042284
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, ATRI
• Created Date: Mar 1 2007 8:37AM