PUBLIC ROADS

Equity in Transportation

https://highways.dot.gov Spring 2023

Equity in Transportation

Bridging 

the 

for All

theGap

for All
COVERS and ABOVE—Equity in transportation 

provides for safer, more accessible and reliable 

roads, bridges, and tunnels, and provides 

opportunities for underserved and underrepresented 

populations to participate in future planning.

© freshidea / ABCDstock / Monkey Business / Pavel 

Losevsky / elypse / LIGHTFIELD STUDIOS / toa555 / Syda 

Productions / NAMPIX / Vane Nunes / Roman / Tan Kian 

Khoon / Dragana Gordic / Rawpixel.com / GAYSORN / 

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Equityin

Transportation

© 2017 Colorado Department of Transportation.

PAGE 12

Recommended citation: Federal Highway Administration, Public Roads, Spring 2023 

(Washington, DC: 2022) https://doi.org/10.21949/1521994

DEPARTMENTS

Guest Editorial .................................................2

What’s New......................................................4

Along the Road ..............................................33

Training Update .............................................36

FEATURES

6 Integrating Equity into Transportation: 

An Overview of USDOT Efforts

Advancing a safe, accessible, affordable, reliable, comfortable, healthy, 

and sustainable transportation system that serves all people.

by Anthony Boutros, Sharon Field, and Kevin Resler

12 Integrating Equity into Transportation

Funding and Project Prioritization

Equitable transportation funding improves safety, 

health, and opportunity for all people.

by Anthony Boutros, Kevin Resler, and Sharon Field

18 Integrating Equity into Transportation Planning

Equity data screenings and meaningful public involvement can 

promote safe, healthful, and livable communities for everyone.

by Mack Frost and Anthony Boutros

23 Incorporating an Equity-Based Approach

into Transportation Operations

An overview of current activities, resources, and planned 

approaches for operating an equitable transportation network.

by Ewa Flom

28 Meeting Transportation Goals with Equity

The Colorado Department of Transportation successfully addresses 

key transportation needs and provides equitable benefits within lowincome and minority communities through its Central 70 Project.

by Shaun Cutting

Spring 2023 | Vol. 87, No. 1
Source: FHWA.

Are you a longtime transportation 

professional conducting new 

research on a particular topic? Or 

an industry freshman looking to 

expand your knowledge base?

The Federal Highway Administration 

(FHWA) has the online research tool 

that can help. 

Since 2006, “What’s New” in FHWA publications 

has been the comprehensive online resource 

for fact sheets, TechBriefs, reports, and more to 

support your research needs. These publications 

cover a wide range of topics, including:

• Roadway safety and 

enhancements.

• Pedestrian and 

bicycle safety.

• Transportation equity.

• Connected and 

automated vehicles.

• Nondestructive 

evaluations.

• Bridge innovations, 

reconstruction, and 

rehabilitation.

• Pavement technology 

and materials.

• Intersection 

improvements 

and design.

• Intelligent transportation 

systems. 

To access the list of downloadable research 

documents, visit www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications 

/lists/whatsnew/index.cfm.

U.S. Department of Transportation

Pete Buttigieg, Secretary

Federal Highway Administration

Shailen P. Bhatt, Administrator

Office of Research, Development, and Technology

Kelly Regal, Associate Administrator 

Jessie Yung, P.E., Acting Director, Office of Corporate 

Research, Technology, and Innovation Management

TaMara McCrae, Editor-in-Chief

Ana Maria Eigen, Distribution Manager

Editorial Board: 

E. Biondi, T. Hess, H. Kalla, M. Knopp, A. Lucero, 

I. Rico, G. Shepherd, C. Walker 

Editorial and Design Contractor: 

Schatz Strategy Group 

R. Nemec, C. Williams, A. Jacobi, J. Love,

T. Tolbert, A. Lax, D. Davis, M. Mitchell

Public Roads (ISSN 0033-3735; USPS 516-690) 

is published quarterly by the Office of Research, 

Development, and Technology, Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA), 6300 Georgetown Pike, McLean, 

VA 22101-2296. The business and editorial office of Public 

Roads is located at the McLean address above. Phone: 

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postage paid at McLean, VA, and additional mailing offices 

(if applicable).

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to 

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Requests for subscriptions should be sent directly to New 

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The electronic version of Public Roads can be accessed 

through the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center 

home page (https://highways.dot.gov/research).

The Secretary of Transportation has determined that 

the publication of this periodical is necessary in the 

transaction of the public business required by law of 

this department.

All articles are advisory or informational in nature and 

should not be construed as having regulatory effect.

Articles written by private individuals contain the personal 

views of the author and do not necessarily reflect those 

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All photographs are provided by FHWA unless 

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Contents of this publication may be reprinted, provided 

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For more information, representatives of the news 

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NOTICE

This document is disseminated under the sponsorship 

of the U.S. Department of Transportation in the interest 

of information exchange. The U.S. Government assumes 

no liability for the use of the information contained in 

this document. This document does not constitute a 

standard, specification, or regulation. 

The U.S. Government does not endorse products 

or manufacturers. Trademarks or manufacturers’ 

names appear in this document only because they are 

considered essential to the objective of the document; 

they are included for informational purposes only and 

are not intended to reflect a preference, approval, or 

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2 | PUBLIC ROADS | SPRING 2023

FHWA: Advancing Safety and 

Equity for All Road Users

The U.S. transportation system relies on our Nation’s roads, bridges, and highways. They connect people to jobs and 

schools, keep raw materials moving to businesses, and let companies move the finished 

goods to you, the consumer. They help first 

responders save lives every day and let adult 

children care for the parents who helped 

them take their first steps. They allow folks 

who dream of opportunities to connect with 

resources that could help them achieve their 

dreams. Finally, when built and managed 

well, roads, bridges, and highways support 

safe, equitable transportation.

Earlier in my career, I was a transportation leader in Delaware and Colorado, 

where I always felt responsible for safety 

on the roads in our States. Now, as the 

21st Administrator of the Federal Highway 

Administration, I’m responsible for 

advancing national safety priorities for the 

U.S. Department of Transportation, as well 

as working with partners at the State and 

local levels to make travel safer and more 

equitable for everyone in the United States.

Safety is our number-one priority, and 

our focus on safety is all-encompassing. 

For us, safety means using every tool in 

our toolbelt to protect the people on and 

around our roadways, whether by creating 

new paths for pedestrians, building separated bike lanes, promoting the Complete 

Streets model of transportation development, developing electric vehicle charging 

infrastructure, or implementing proven 

safety countermeasures to reduce fatalities 

and serious injuries on our highways.

In the past, roadways were not always 

planned or executed as well as they are 

today. Highways divided neighborhoods, 

roads were planned without consideration 

for cyclists or pedestrians, and little thought 

was given to climate change or equity. 

Now, all that is changing. President Biden 

committed to equity on his very first day in 

office; and, thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law—the largest infrastructure 

investment in the Nation’s history—we have 

the funding to help ensure that transportation is not only equitable, but safer, more 

resilient, and more affordable for all.

I am not alone when I say that roads are 

one of the best ways to create opportunities 

and more equitable outcomes. Communities 

with low median incomes or many residents 

of color often suffer from congested roads 

and polluted air, which can lead to myriad 

health issues. However, we can choose 

greener materials when paving or repaving 

roads and restructure those roads to reduce 

congestion, support zero-emission vehicles, 

and increase transit access, thus enhancing 

air quality and upholding transportation 

equity. We can also promote transportationoriented development, which spurs significant social and economic benefits.

One program that has an outsize impact 

on equity is FHWA’s Every Day Counts 

(EDC) initiative, which helps remove the 

barriers that block large-scale transportation 

innovation. The program isn’t named EDC 

by accident: the name reflects the urgent 

need to deliver better infrastructure for 

the people who use it. Every day counts, 

and we can’t afford to waste a single day 

when what we’re delivering can change—or 

save—a life. The EDC program doesn’t just 

have a catchy name that drives innovation: 

it also helps us make roadways safer, more 

equitable, and more resilient.

Yet we at FHWA cannot transform the 

network of U.S. highways, bridges, and 

tunnels on our own. On February 3, 2023, 

the U.S. DOT issued a call to action on the 

National Roadway Safety Strategy, which 

outlines the U.S. DOT’s comprehensive 

approach to significantly reducing serious 

injuries and deaths on our Nation’s roads, 

streets, and highways. This call to action 

asks those in law enforcement, the transportation industry, nonprofit and advocacy 

organizations, research organizations, all 

levels of government, and beyond to do 

their part to implement the Safe System 

Approach, which will help make our 

streets safer.

Tunnels, bridges, and roadways are 

essential for the movement of people 

and goods across the United States. They 

connect us in a way that past generations 

could have hardly imagined; however, if 

they aren’t equitable and safe, they still fall 

short of their purpose. Each and every one 

of us has a role to play in the safety of our 

Nation’s roadways. You can help support 

roadway safety, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law can fund safety initiatives, and we 

at FHWA will always be here to help lead 

the way.

Even the smallest act can make a difference. Let’s make that difference together.

Shailen Bhatt

Administrator

Federal Highway Administration

© zhu difeng / iQoncept / AdobeStock.com.

Source: FHWA.

GUEST EDITORIAL
© Michal / AdobeStock.com.

WRITE FOR 

Public Roads offers FHWA and State department of transportation staff an avenue for 

communicating both technical and general-interest topics with peers (such as engineers, 

scientists, and economists) and other stakeholders across the highway industry.

Other Federal agencies, local and Tribal DOTs, field researchers and 

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but are encouraged to collaborate with FHWA and State DOTs.

Check out our Writing for Public Roads: How-to Guide to learn about the many ways 

you can contribute to Public Roads. From full-length feature articles to 200-word 

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To access the guide and learn more about article types, submission 

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Questions? Contact us at PublicRoads@dot.gov.
4 | PUBLIC ROADS | SPRING 2023

Building and Leading

Highly Effective Teams:

The 2-Day Kickoff Meeting

Applying W. Edward Deming’s “Long-time 

Forgotten” Total Quality Management

by KENNETH ATKINS, GREGG A. HOSTETLER, and R. EDWARD MINCHIN, JR.

“

Every organization rises or falls based on leadership or the lack thereof,” says the legendary co-inventor of frozen concentrated orange juice, Cedric “C.D.” Atkins. According to the 

Federal Highway Administration, departments of transportation, cities, counties, 

Tribes, and the like, are facing mounting 

pressure to deliver programs better, faster, 

smarter, and cheaper. This pressure is 

intensified when linked with a sentiment 

expressed by engineer, author, scholar, 

and management consultant W. Edwards 

Deming—who revolutionized Japan’s 

manufacturing industry. Deming said, 

“In my experience, most troubles and 

most possibilities for improvement add up to proportions something like this: 94% belong to the system (the responsibility of 

management) 6% are attributable to special causes. No amount of 

care or skill in workmanship can overcome fundamental faults of 

the system.”

Comparatively, imagine as a leader 

the possibility of significantly reducing 

85 percent of all delivery problems, 

creating measurable innovations, and 

reducing major project risks—while 

also decreasing delivery times up to 

50 percent. It may come as a surprise to 

some, but many owners are already 

accomplishing such impactful results 

via a unique, yet tried and true system 

for delivering projects better, faster, 

smarter, and more efficiently, 

encouraging owners to garner the best 

value for their investments.

This system—the 2-day kickoff 

meeting—in large part, arose out of a 

leadership course offered at the 

University of Florida’s (U.F.) M.E. 

Rinker, Sr. School of Construction 

Management. Explored via a FHWA 

10-year nationwide pilot, this system 

has harvested a method for achieving 

unparalleled successes. Kickoff meeting 

successes have equated to measurable 

reductions in overall costs, risks, procurement, design, and 

construction times. Not to mention the tremendous innovations 

that arose. For example, in several instances, 1 to 7 years were cut 

from the original procurements, designs, and construction project 

durations. Many of these successes come from clearly setting 

measurable targets during the kickoff meetings, along with 

assigning teams to accomplish these targets while reporting initial 

goals and progress to executive management.

Resulting from some of the 

highest performing infrastructure 

teams in the Nation, the creators of 

this system arranged for a strategic 

meeting at the start of each 

infrastructure project. These kickoff 

meetings—which are designed to 

motivate and inspire cohesion—have 

been orchestrated on national Tribal 

programs, local public agencies, and 

State highway agencies since 2013. 

To name a few, FHWA’s kickoff 

meeting pilot programs were held at 

Pueblo of Acoma (for two back-toback capital improvement programs), 

Arkansas Department of 

Transportation, Delaware 

Department of Transportation 

(DelDOT), and Pawnee Nation. 

David Deutsawe, director of 

community development at Pueblo of Acoma states he can provide 

“a great testimony to this process and how it works.” Similarly, 

Chris Wilson, director of Public Works at Pawnee Nation, says, 

“The 2-day kickoff is a vital part of the construction. ... This is 

where your team starts to mesh and begins to identify innovations, 

risk reductions, and project timelines. By the end of the two days, 

the team is taking ownership of the projects and seeing the 

owner’s vision.”

No amount of care or 

skill in workmanship can 

overcome fundamental 

faults of the system.”

—W. Edwards Deming

W. Edwards Deming with Kenichi Koyanagi, managing director 

of the Japanese Union of Scientist and Engineers in 1955.

Photo courtesy of The W. Edwards Deming Institute®.

Every organization 

rises or falls based 

on leadership or 

the lack thereof.”

—C.D. Atkins

C.D. Atkins, co-inventor of frozen concentrated 

orange juice, often verbalized the importance of 

leadership on an organization’s success. 

© Florida Citrus Hall of Fame.

WHAT’S NEW
HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 5

Kicking Off the Kickoff

The 2-day kickoff process begins by assembling the entire project 

team—including planning, permitting, right-of-way, design, and 

construction team members as well as stakeholders—no later than 

the first day of the contractor’s Notice to Proceed date. To 

expediate their occurrence, mandatory kickoff meeting dates are 

pre-established within all parties’ original contracts—and as early 

as inclusion in a project’s request for proposal or request for 

quotation. Prior to the kickoff meeting, extensive agendas are 

preplanned, working with a neutral, and expert kickoff meeting 

facilitator and the project team members to ensure that all parties 

involved are thoroughly prepared to conduct briefings to the group 

related to their specific area of specialty. “The 2-day kickoff 

workshop was a huge success, with the biggest benefit [being] the 

relationships formed among the team of DelDOT, the design 

consultant, the contractor, independent cost estimator, and 

construction inspection consultant. This gained extra importance 

4 months into the project, as the pandemic forced the team into a 

completely virtual environment,” says Jason Hastings, chief of 

Bridges and Structures at DelDOT.

Wrapping-Up the Kickoff

The last part of this 2-day meeting system is pinpointing, for the 

team and leadership, concerns/identified issues, action items and 

next steps (with deadlines and responsible parties to report back 

to), and a battle rhythm (otherwise called a summary sheet of all 

meetings, with required attendees, necessary for the successful 

completion of the design phase of the operation).

In summation, the two most important parts of the 2-day 

kickoff meeting are: 1) the opening remarks by leadership that 

encompasses the vision, strategic goals, and objectives of the 

project; and 2) the wrap-up portion that outlines the actions 

necessary for true success, while also establishing a burning sense 

of urgency to complete the project safely, cost-effectively, and 

on time.

KENNETH E. ATKINS, PE, a graduate of U.F.’s and the University of South 

Florida’s civil engineering programs, is a former FHWA contract administration 

engineer; battalion commander in U.S. Army; U.F. adjunct professor; and 

public speaker in the areas of alternative contract delivery, leadership, and 

project management.

GREGG A. HOSTETLER, PE, a graduate of the University of Central Florida’s 

college of civil engineering, is the executive vice president of a construction 

engineering company as well as a thought-leader, educator, and public 

speaker in the areas of bridge management, alternative contract delivery, 

leadership, and team building.

R. EDWARD MINCHIN, Jr., Ph.D., PE, a professor at U.F.’s M.E. Rinker, Sr. School 

of Construction Management, has worked within eight major areas of 

construction for the past 34 years, including as a researcher, consultant, 

and adjudicator. He holds a doctorate in civil engineering from Pennsylvania 

State University, as well as a master’s and bachelor’s in engineering.

For more information, contact Kenneth E. Atkins at 

Kenneth.edwin.atkins@gmail.com or 706-970-5458.

The 2-day kickoff workshop was 

a huge success, with the biggest 

benefit being the relationships 

formed among the team.”

—Jason Hastings, chief of Bridges and Structures at DelDOT

Kickoff successes equate to measurable reductions in overall costs, risks, procurement, design, and construction times.

© Pueblo of Acoma.
6 | PUBLIC ROADS | SPRING 2023

by ANTHONY BOUTROS, SHARON FIELD, and KEVIN RESLER

At its best, the American transportation network allows people to safely and 

comfortably walk, bike, roll, drive, or take 

transit. People use these transportation 

modes to access work, school, grocery stores, 

medical care, and community resources as 

well as to connect with loved ones. A wellplanned, designed, and managed transportation system can improve safe access and 

mobility independence for people of all ages 

and abilities, while providing more opportunities for physical activity and connections 

to the nature and aesthetics of our Nation’s 

rural, suburban, and urban areas.

However, the transportation system may 

also create negative impacts on health and 

well-being, including fatalities and serious 

injuries from traffic crashes; air and noise 

pollution from vehicle traffic; greenhouse 

gas emissions; contaminated stormwater 

runoff and infiltration; and urban heat 

islands, and barriers to mobility and access 

through transportation infrastructure 

construction that has divided communities. 

Historically, many transportation decisions 

have disparately impacted individuals living 

in underserved, disadvantaged, and overburdened communities who have borne 

the burdens of the transportation system 

without realizing many of its benefits.

Today, transportation decisionmakers 

have the opportunity to redress these 

disparities and improve the transportation 

system for all people, particularly those 

who have been underserved and overburdened. America’s roadway network 

is a complex, decentralized system with 

multiple actors responsible for planning, 

designing, constructing, operating, and 

maintaining highways, roads, streets, and 

multiuse trails. State, Tribal, regional, 

and local governments manage many 

elements of this system with significant 

levels of autonomy and flexibility to make 

context-specific decisions. Such decisions 

encompass roadway location and design, 

funding and program administration (how 

and where funds are spent to build and 

maintain road networks and how roadway 

performance is assessed), and policy development and legislation (which laws should 

be enacted within their jurisdiction, and 

how they are implemented). Transportation 

leaders and professionals—and community 

members—at every level need to work 

together to create a truly equitable transportation system. This can be accomplished 

by critically examining existing practices 

and making intentional commitments to 

meaningfully integrate equity throughout 

the transportation process. 

“Elected leaders and transportation 

professionals have unprecedented funding to 

redress past harms caused by the transportation system and access to data to determine 

the most effective ways to do so. But as 

we try to do this, we must recognize that 

government leaders will have to build trust 

and credibility with the community through 

engagement that demonstrates a willingness to do things differently and prioritizes 

INTEGRATING EQUITY 

into TRANSPORTATION: 

An Overview of 

USDOT Efforts

Advancing a safe, accessible, affordable, 

reliable, comfortable, healthy, and sustainable 

transportation system that serves all people.

Under equality, everyone gets the same resources. 

Under equity, the specific historical and presentday circumstances and abilities of individuals and 

communities are taken into consideration to provide 

appropriate solutions that provide everyone with 

opportunities to live safe and healthy lives.

© 2017 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. 

Modified, with permission, by FHWA.

Traffic crashes disproportionately impact 

people who are Black, Native American, and 

live in rural communities.

(USDOT, National Roadway Safety Strategy, 2022, https:

//www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2022-02

/USDOT-National-Roadway-Safety-Strategy.pdf. )
HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 7

different outcomes than the ones that 

created the problems we are dealing with 

today,” says Beth Osborne, vice president for 

Transportation and Thriving Communities 

at Smart Growth America.

This special issue of Public Roads brings 

together transportation professionals from 

cross-cutting fields, including civil rights, 

planning, safety, and operations, to provide 

an overview of ongoing U.S. Department of 

Transportation activities and highlight State, 

Tribal, regional, and local activities that are 

building an equitable transportation system.

What is Equity in Transportation

Executive Order (EO) 13985, Advancing 

Racial Equity and Support for Underserved 

Communities Through the Federal Government, defines equity as “the consistent and 

systematic fair, just, and impartial treatment 

of all individuals, including individuals 

who belong to underserved communities 

that have been denied such treatment, 

such as Black, Latino, and Indigenous and 

Native American persons, Asian Americans 

and Pacific Islanders and other persons 

of color; members of religious minorities; 

lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and 

queer (LGBTQ+) persons; persons with 

disabilities; persons who live in rural areas; 

and persons otherwise adversely affected by 

persistent poverty or inequality.”

Transportation equity refers to safe, 

accessible, affordable, reliable, comfortable, healthy, and sustainable mobility and 

access that facilitates social and economic 

opportunities and meets the needs of all 

community members—particularly those 

identified as underserved, disadvantaged, 

and overburdened.

According to Derrell Turner, director 

of Federal Highway Administration Field 

Services South, in his 2022 Public Roads

article, “Equity in Transportation,” the 

long-term goal of USDOT efforts is to 

help grant recipients make more informed 

decisions that fully take into account equity 

impacts just as we account for other social, 

environmental, and economic impacts when 

developing transportation projects.

Disparities in 

Transportation Outcomes

The Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention (CDC) defines health disparities 

as preventable differences in the burden of 

disease, injury, violence, or in opportunities 

to achieve optimal health experienced by 

socially disadvantaged racial, ethnic, and 

other population groups and communities 

(https://www.cdc.gov/aging/disparities/index.htm

#:~:text=Health%20disparities%20are%20

preventable%20differences,other%20population

%20groups%2C%20and%20communities). 

Health disparities are a result of inequities in 

the distribution of the social determinants 

of health, which CDC defines as the conditions in the places where people live, learn, 

work, and play.

Transportation is a key determinant in 

influencing a person’s health, including 

access to public and active transportation, 

safe and health-promoting green spaces for 

exercise and recreation, and connectivity to 

economic and social opportunities. Social 

determinants of health are interconnected, 

and transportation infrastructure can play a 

key role in reducing health disparities.

“Designing communities to increase 

physical activity makes it easier for people 

to safely walk, bike, or take transit to 

Transportation decisionmakers have the opportunity 

to improve the transportation system for all people, 

particularly those who have been historically 

underserved and overburdened.

© senicphoto / jStock / AdobeStock.com.

Over one million rural households

do not have access to a car.

56 percent of the counties in the U.S. where at least 10 percent 

of households do not have vehicle access are in rural areas.

(Smart Growth America, More Than One Million Households Without 

A Car In Rural America Need Better Transit. 2020, https:

//smartgrowthamerica.org/more-than-one-million-householdswithout-a-car-in-rural-america-need-better-transit/.)

27 percent of households below the 

poverty line do not own a car, compared to 

only 4 percent of households above the 

poverty line.

(Federal Highway Administration, National Household 

Travel Survey, 2022, https://nhts.ornl.gov/.)
8 | PUBLIC ROADS | SPRING 2023

everyday destinations such as workplaces, 

schools, healthcare facilities, and food 

outlets,” says CDC Director Rochelle 

Walensky, M.D., M.P.H. “Community 

design requires working with multiple 

agencies such as public health, transportation, housing, and economic development. 

Collaboration can lead to increased physical 

activity as well as better places to live, safer 

communities, and greater health equity.”

Transportation infrastructure can 

connect people to opportunities such as safe 

housing, nutritious food, physical activity, 

education, and job opportunities. Some 

transportation infrastructure decisions, 

however, have exposed some groups to 

disproportionate burdens—including poorer 

safety outcomes (i.e., fatal and serious 

injury crashes), higher noise and pollution 

impacts, and higher rates of displacement 

and impacts to community cohesiveness 

and economic opportunities. The disparities in transportation burdens and benefits 

are, in large part, a result of historic and 

present-day disinvestment in underserved 

communities and underrepresentation 

of disadvantaged communities in the 

planning, project development, construction, operations, and maintenance of the 

transportation system.

Many of the present-day disparities 

faced by underserved communities stem 

from decisions that were made through 

the construction of the Interstate Highway 

System that began in the 1950s. Under 

the Federal-aid Highway Act of 1956, the 

Federal Government extended funding to 

State transportation agencies to construct 

the interstate system. Planning decisions 

resulted in the destruction of many homes 

and neighborhoods in disadvantaged urban 

areas and facilitated car ownership and 

suburban home ownership for many white 

households, often in racially segregated 

developments. Communities living in urban 

areas were also disproportionately displaced 

for the construction of parking lots, major 

roads, transit hubs, and highways. Infrastructure for private vehicles constructed 

through residential areas created barriers 

to transportation by other modes, such as 

walking, bicycling, and transit.

Today, Black, Indigenous, and people of 

color communities, immigrant populations, 

and those with limited English proficiency 

continue to live, on average, in communities 

exposed to higher concentrations of harmful 

air and noise pollution, in part due to the 

transportation system. Additionally, people 

living in lower-income areas are less likely to 

have access to safe and comfortable walking 

and biking facilities. For example, sidewalks, 

adequate lighting, crosswalk markings, and 

other safety features are not as common in 

low-income neighborhoods.

Integrating Equity throughout 

the Transportation Process

Historic advocacy by underserved communities led to the enactment of several 

Federal statutes to prevent discrimination 

and promote opportunities for all. First, 

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 

(Title VI) prohibits discrimination on the 

basis of race, color or national origin in 

programs that receive Federal funding. In 

1973, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act 

(29 U.S.C. 794) prohibited discrimination 

on the basis of disability in Federally assisted 

programs. In 1990, the Americans with 

Disabilities Act expanded civil rights protections for people with disabilities. These 

watershed civil rights statutes were followed 

by the signing of EO 12898—Federal Transportation infrastructure can 

play a key role in reducing health 

disparities or expose some groups 

to disproportionate burdens.

Source: FHWA.

Definitions in the USDOT Equity Action Plan 

Underserved, disadvantaged, and overburdened communities are defined in the USDOT Equity 

Action Plan: https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2022-04/Equity_Action_Plan.pdf.

• Overburdened communities 

are minority, low-income, Tribal, 

or Indigenous populations or 

geographic locations in the 

United States that potentially 

experience disproportionate 

environmental and/or 

safety harms and risks. This 

disproportionality can be a 

result of greater vulnerability 

to environmental hazards, 

heightened safety risks, lack 

of opportunity for public 

participation, or other factors.

• Disadvantaged communities 

are communities that experience 

disproportionately high and 

adverse health, environmental, 

climate-related, economic, 

and other cumulative impacts.

• Underserved communities are 

populations sharing a particular 

characteristic, as well as 

geographic communities, that 

have been systematically denied 

a full opportunity to participate 

in aspects of economic, social, 

and civic life, as exemplified 

in EO 13985.

Source: FHWA.

American Indian and Alaska Native people have by far the 

highest traffic fatality rates per mile and per population.

They were 5 times more likely to die walking than white people and close 

to 3 times as likely to die in passenger vehicles, on a per-mile basis.

(National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Evaluating Disparities in Traffic Fatalities by Race, 

Ethnicity, and Income, 2022, https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/813188.)

Workers who travel by bus have commute 

times 1.7 times longer than workers who 

travel alone by car.

47 minutes for bus commuters compared 

to 26 minutes for car commuters.

(USDOT, Equity Action Plan, 2022, https://www.transportation

.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2022-04/Equity_Action_Plan.pdf.)
HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 9

Actions to Address Environmental Justice 

in Minority Populations and Low-Income 

Populations—in 1994, which directed 

Federal agencies to develop strategies to 

address disproportionately high and adverse 

human health or environmental effects 

of their programs, policies, and activities 

on minority populations and low-income 

populations to promote equitable access and 

participation in Federal programs. FHWA 

implements EO 12898 by including Environmental Justice principles in the transportation planning and project activities of its 

recipients, such as metropolitan planning 

organizations (MPOs) and State departments of transportation (DOTs). 

Despite these efforts, disparities persist 

for members of underserved communities. 

To address these disparities, President Biden 

signed EO 13985 on January 20, 2021, 

to direct Federal agencies to revise their 

policies to address racial inequities in the 

implementation of their programs and 

take a whole-of-government approach to 

advancing equity for all. (Note: This EO 

was updated on February 16, 2023, as 

EO 14091—Further Advancing Racial 

Equity and Support for Underserved 

Communities Through the Federal 

Government—to extend and strengthen 

equity-advancing requirements for agencies.) 

EO 14008, Tackling the Climate Crisis 

at Home and Abroad (January 27, 2021), 

established the Justice40 program, which 

aims to deliver 40 percent of the overall 

benefits of relevant Federal investments in 

climate and sustainable transportation to 

disadvantaged communities. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which includes a 

generational investment in transportation 

infrastructure, also integrated equity into 

multiple new programs, including the 

Reconnecting Communities Pilot (RCP) 

program and the Vulnerable Road User 

Safety Assessment. To implement these 

efforts, USDOT is working to advance 

equity for all, including developing a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility 

Strategic Plan; Disability Policy Priorities; an Equity Action Plan; and Gender 

Justice Priorities. 

In response to EO 14020 establishing 

the White House Gender Policy Council, 

USDOT facilitated a series of internal and 

external discussions to inform USDOT 

Gender Justice Priorities, and in the summer 

of 2022, submitted a Gender Action Plan 

to the Gender Policy Council. The Gender 

Justice Action Team and Gender Justice 

Advisory Group are working to advance 

USDOT’s Gender Justice initiatives, 

which include increasing incentives for 

transportation project partners to develop 

strategies that improve gender diversity in 

the trades and other identified segments of 

the transportation sector; addressing gender 

disparities in transportation safety; combatting human trafficking through public 

private partnerships; improving USDOT 

utilization of small disadvantaged businesses 

that are both women and minority-owned; 

and increasing gender diversity within the 

USDOT workforce. 

USDOT also developed Disability Policy 

Priorities which consists of four actions to 

advance accessibility which are earmarked 

for enhanced consideration due to their 

complexity and intersection with other 

Administration priorities. The four actions 

are: enable safe and accessible air travel; 

enable multimodal accessibility of public 

rights-of-way; enable access to good-paying 

jobs and business opportunities for people 

with disabilities; and enable accessibility of 

electric vehicle charging and automated vehicles. The Disability Policy Priorities highlight 

work that USDOT is undertaking to achieve 

disability-related goals, including addressing 

gaps in data on persons with disabilities and 

advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and 

accessibility in the USDOT workforce. This 

is noteworthy as it is a fundamental shift in 

how the Department views accessibility and 

ensures equal opportunity for all to use the 

transportation system. 

In response to EO 13985, USDOT 

developed an Equity Action Plan which 

highlights key actions that the Department will undertake to expand access and 

opportunity to all communities while 

focusing on underserved, overburdened, and 

disadvantaged communities. The actions 

elaborated in the plan fall under four focus 

areas—Wealth Creation, Power of Community, Interventions, and Expanding Access. 

Each focus area advances a goal, highlighted 

actions, and key performance measures 

to track meaningful implementation of 

the plan. 

Under the Wealth Creation focus area, 

USDOT will provide technical assistance to 

small disadvantaged businesses to increase 

their understanding of how to navigate the 

USDOT contracting process, gain awareness of upcoming contract opportunities, 

and enhance their core competencies and 

skills. This will enable small disadvantaged 

businesses to more effectively compete for 

USDOT contracting opportunities and 

build wealth.

The Power of Community focus area 

aims to empower individuals and communities, particularly those that are underserved 

and disadvantaged, to have a greater voice 

in the transportation decisions affecting 

them. USDOT is working to reinvigorate 

its programmatic enforcement of Title VI 

in order to proactively address potential 

disparate impacts on protected classes and 

empower communities in transportation 

decisionmaking. Under this focus area, 

USDOT also aims to increase the number of 

State DOTs and MPOs officially adopting 

a quantitative equity screening component 

and meaningful and representative public 

involvement processes into their Statewide 

Transportation Improvement Program and 

Transportation Improvement Program development processes. These equity-informed 

quantitative and public involvement 

processes will incorporate community vision 

and need into project selection and design 

processes. To support these efforts, USDOT 

has developed multiple GIS-based quantitative equity screening tools, including the 

Transportation Disadvantaged Census Tracts 

(https://usdot.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards

/d6f90dfcc8b44525b04c7ce748a3674a) 

and HEPGIS (https://hepgis.fhwa.dot.

gov/fhwagis/). USDOT has also published 

a guide titled Promising Practices for Meaningful Public Involvement in Transportation 

Decision-Making (https://www.transportation

.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2022-10/Promising

_Practices_for_Meaningful_Public_Involvement

_in_Transportation_Decision_making.pdf) that 

provides examples for varied techniques of 

outreach and engagement throughout the 

lifecycle of a program or project.

Under the Interventions focus area, 

USDOT will work to ensure that 

To implement these programs and further institutionalize equity across the Department, USDOT has 

established an Equity Council chaired by the Secretary 

and managed by the Departmental Office of Civil 

Rights and the Office of the Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy. Council members will guide the 

Department to further incorporate equity objectives 

into Department policies and operations.

Black or African American people were 

roughly twice as likely to die per mile

as white people.

(Fatality rates of 1.70 versus 1.04 per 100M person miles traveled).

(National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Evaluating Disparities in 

Traffic Fatalities by Race, Ethnicity, and Income, 2022, https:

//crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/813188.)

Lowest income households spend on 

average 37% of their after-tax income on 

transportation, compared to 19% by middle 

income households.

(USDOT, Equity Action Plan, 2022, https://www.transportation

.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2022-04/Equity_Action_Plan.pdf.)
10 | PUBLIC ROADS | SPRING 2023

historically overburdened and underserved communities in urban 

and rural areas benefit from access to a generational investment 

in the Nation’s infrastructure through direct, hands-on technical 

support for transportation projects with local impact. USDOT 

will launch a national technical assistance center and shepherd 

the $25 million Thriving Communities Program to ensure that 

disadvantaged communities adversely or disproportionately affected 

by environmental, climate, and human health policy outcomes 

have the technical tools and organizational capacity to compete for 

Federal aid and deliver quality infrastructure projects that enable 

their communities and neighborhoods to thrive and not succumb to 

gentrification after transportation and community investments.

Finally, the Expanding Access focus area aims to increase social 

and economic opportunities for disadvantaged and underserved 

communities through the provision of affordable multi-modal 

transportation options and the development of a transportation cost 

burden measure. Multiple USDOT initiatives and discretionary 

grant programs focus on improving safe mobility, including the 

FHWA’s Complete Streets initiative and the $5 billion Safe Streets 

and Roads for All Program. USDOT is also shepherding the RCP 

program, which is dedicated to reconnecting communities that were 

previously cut off from economic opportunities by transportation 

infrastructure. RCP program funding supports planning grants and 

capital construction grants, as well 

as technical assistance, to restore 

community connectivity through 

the removal, retrofit, mitigation, 

or replacement of eligible transportation infrastructure facilities. 

In fulfillment of Justice40, USDOT is also working towards the 

goal that many of the USDOT’s grants, programs, and initiatives 

allocate at least 40 percent of the benefits from Federal investments 

to disadvantaged communities. For a list of USDOT’s official 

Justice40 covered programs list, visit https://www.transportation

.gov/equity-Justice40. To quantify this, USDOT will work to 

develop a national transportation cost burden measure.

To implement these programs and further institutionalize equity 

across the Department, USDOT has established an Equity Council 

chaired by the Secretary of Transportation and co-managed by 

the Director of the Departmental Office of Civil Rights and the 

Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy. The Administrator 

from each Operating Administration, will guide the USDOT to 

further incorporate equity objectives into Department policies 

and operations.

ANTHONY BOUTROS is the Equity in Transportation Safety Program lead in 

FHWA’s Office of Safety where he develops resources and delivers technical 

assistance to redress disparities in traffic fatalities. He holds bachelor’s 

degrees in sociology, public health studies, and international studies from 

Johns Hopkins University and is a Truman-Albright Fellow.

SHARON FIELD, Esq., is the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) Program team 

leader in FHWA’s Office of Civil Rights where she oversees the National ADA 

Program. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from the 

University at Buffalo School of Law and a B.S. degree 

in Management from Binghamton University. 

KEVIN RESLER is an FHWA National Title VI 

Program coordinator who develops policy 

and guidance regarding Title VI and related 

nondiscrimination laws. He earned a B.A. degree 

from Indiana University (IU) and a Juris Doctor 

degree from the IU Robert H. McKinney 

School of Law. 

For more information, see https://www

.transportation.gov/priorities/equity.

The USDOT will work to ensure that historically 

overburdened and underserved communities 

in urban and rural areas benefit from access 

to a generational investment in the Nation’s 

infrastructure through direct, hands-on 

technical support for transportation projects 

with local impact.

© Leigh Trail / AdobeStock.com.

34 percent of respondents to a 2015 Transgender 

Survey were denied equal treatment on public 

transportation where staff knew or thought they 

were transgender.

(National Center for Transgender Equality, U.S. Transgender Survey, 2015, 

https://transequality.org/sites/default/files/docs/usts/USTS-Full-Report-Dec17.pdf.)

Individuals who are young, have low-incomes, 

or have less formal education are less likely 

to attend public meetings.

The interests of these groups may be underrepresented

in the transportation decision-making process.

(USDOT, Equity Action Plan, 2022, https://www.transportation.gov

/sites/dot.gov/files/2022-04/Equity_Action_Plan.pdf. )
Leveraging Resources to Achieve Common Research Goals

The Transportation Pooled Fund (TPF) Program enables 

public and private entities to combine resources to 

conduct high priority research on a wide variety of shared, 

highway related problems. Over more than 45 years, the 

TPF Program has supported more than 750 successful 

multi-agency projects.

Participate in Diverse Research 

and Topic Areas

Investing in TPF studies helps partners stretch their 

research dollars to support a diverse array of topic areas.

Make an Impact Through a TPF Study!

Learn more about initiating a pooled fund study 

and browse the list of open solicitations on 

the TPF website at www.pooledfund.org.

For more information, contact Tricia Sergeson, 

TPF Program Manager, at Patricia.Sergeson@dot.gov.

Source: FHWA.

© 2019 Colorado DOT.

© 2020 The Transtec Group, Inc.

FHWA’s Transportation Pooled Fund Program

© 2011-2022 National Cooperative Highway Research Program.
12 | PUBLIC ROADS | SPRING 2023

INTEGRATING EQUITY into

Transportation Funding 

and Project Prioritization

The Colorado Department of Transportation Central 70 

Project in Denver aims to reconnect people—especially 

those from underserved communities—to opportunities by 

capping a highway that had bisected the community.

© 2017 Colorado Department of Transportation.

Equitable transportation funding improves safety, health, and opportunity for all people.
HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 13

by ANTHONY BOUTROS, KEVIN RESLER, and SHARON FIELD

Historically, some transportation investment decisions divided some communities. Further, some decisions had the effect of 

neglecting the communities most in need of affordable transportation options, worsening social inequities. Of particular note is 

the construction of the Interstate System following the passage 

of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. During this process, 

Federal funders and State road owners planned and built some 

interstates, highways, and roads that disproportionately displaced 

and divided communities, particularly 

Black and Hispanic ones. Compounding 

this unjust situation, some public 

agencies focused more on developing 

infrastructure for private automobiles 

rather than developing robust public 

transportation and pedestrian and bicyclist networks, which particularly disadvantaged people living in low-income 

communities who could not afford 

an automobile.

Rural and tribal communities have 

also faced decades of disinvestment in 

infrastructure. Currently, 13.1 percent 

of rural roads and about 9.7 percent of 

off-system bridges (a highway bridge 

located on a public road that is not on 

a Federal-aid highway) — 91.6 percent 

of which are in rural areas — are in 

poor condition. 

As a result of this disinvestment and the underrepresentation 

of underserved community members in transportation project 

funding and prioritization processes, disadvantaged communities have experienced stark disparities in fatalities and serious 

injuries from traffic crashes, health outcomes related to air and 

noise pollution, and access to economic opportunities and 

community wellbeing. 

To confront and address decades of underinvestment in 

disadvantaged communities, the U.S. Department of Transportation is committed to ensuring that transportation investments 

increase opportunity; advance racial equity and environmental 

justice; serve rural, urban, and suburban communities equitably; 

and promote affordable access for all. To achieve this strategic 

objective, USDOT is reinvigorating its 

programmatic enforcement of Title VI of 

the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI), 

the National Environmental Policy Act 

of 1969, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Section 504 of the 

Rehabilitation Act (Section 504). It is 

also integrating equity considerations 

across USDOT funding programs as part 

of the Justice40 Initiative and administering the Reconnecting Communities 

Pilot (RCP) Program and Rural Surface 

Transportation Grants established by 

the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). 

USDOT is also working to provide 

tools and resources to support eliminating or minimizing adverse impacts 

of investments, including displacement and relocation of people and 

businesses from underserved communities. Additionally, USDOT encourages States and 

metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) to integrate 

equity into their project prioritization process to meaningfully direct investments to, and build capacity for, 

disadvantaged communities. 

In 1964, the Crosstown Boulevard, a connector 

freeway skirting Pittsburgh, PA’s, “Golden Triangle,” 

was constructed using Federal-aid urban funding.

Source: FHWA.

Disinvestment has contributed to a lack of maintained and improved roads 

in this Tribal community near the Oljato–Monument Valley in Arizona.

© alenamozhjer / AdobeStock.com.
14 | PUBLIC ROADS | SPRING 2023

This article reviews USDOT efforts to integrate equity into 

Federal formula and discretionary grant funding, and it highlights 

innovative resources and practices from State and local governments 

for integrating equity into project prioritization processes. 

Reinvigorating Civil Rights Enforcement

Under the BIL, the Federal Highway Administration is distributing 

billions of dollars in Federal funding to 

advance transportation initiatives across 

the country. To ensure the proactive 

integration of equity into decisionmaking 

processes throughout the planning, 

design, implementation, and operation 

of the transportation system, USDOT is 

reinvigorating the enforcement of Civil 

Rights programs to ensure proactive 

compliance with nondiscrimination statutes. USDOT is also integrating equity into the review of discretionary grant funding to ensure agencies applying for funding—and 

the projects they aim to implement—meaningfully address equity.

First, USDOT is reinvigorating its programmatic enforcement 

of Title VI, including reemphasizing agency review of the potential discriminatory impact of grantees’ proposed activities, before 

awarding Federal funds—as opposed to waiting until a project is 

delivered to enforce civil rights protections—to prevent disparate 

impacts on protected classes and empower communities in transportation decisionmaking. Title VI prohibits entities that receive 

Federal assistance from discriminating on the basis of race, color, or 

national origin in their programs and activities. In 2021, USDOT 

revamped its Title VI program with a new Title VI order. The 

order aims to strengthen reporting requirements, agency oversight, 

and proactive compliance with Title VI. Rather than relying on 

complaints from the public, the order addresses compliance with 

nondiscrimination requirements from the very start of projects 

and programs. FHWA is advancing these efforts by developing 

new guidance and providing technical assistance for recipients to 

conduct Title VI data collection and analysis.

Additionally, FHWA is continuing to advance compliance 

with ADA and Section 504. ADA prohibits discrimination on the 

basis of disability by public entities in their programs and services, 

including transportation programs. Section 504 includes similar 

requirements for recipients of Federal funds. The FHWA ADA/

Section 504 program ensures that pedestrians with disabilities have 

an equal opportunity to use the public rights-of-way in the transportation system. The FHWA ADA team 

is committed to ensuring that BIL funding 

is used to advance equity and accessibility 

for people with disabilities. The team has 

provided input on the development of 

Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFO) 

for discretionary grant programs, grant 

reviews, and project selections, as well as 

oversight and risk management for FHWA 

Division Offices, all emphasizing the 

importance of ADA transition plans in providing safe and accessible 

facilities that can be used by all pedestrians, including those with 

disabilities. FHWA is also working to assist State and local agencies 

to identify and clarify funding opportunities that they can use to 

meet specific equity and accessibility needs.

Justice40

To further ensure that the BIL’s generational investments in transportation infrastructure equitably benefit disadvantaged communities, USDOT is implementing the Justice40 Initiative, which sets a 

goal of delivering 40 percent of the benefits of certain Federal investments to disadvantaged communities. The Justice40 Initiative was 

created by Executive Order 14008 to bring resources to communities most impacted by climate change, pollution, and environmental hazard. On August 18, 2022, the White House announced 

USDOT’s official Justice40 covered programs, including multiple 

surface transportation programs. Justice40 is an opportunity to 

address gaps in transportation infrastructure and public services. 

Through Justice40, USDOT will work to increase affordable 

transportation options that connect Americans to good-paying 

jobs, fight climate change, and improve access to 

resources and quality of life in communities in every 

State and territory in the country. The initiative allows 

USDOT to identify and prioritize projects that benefit 

rural, suburban, Tribal, and urban communities 

facing barriers to affordable, equitable, reliable, and 

safe transportation.

Under the BIL, 69 percent of transportation 

funding will be allocated by formulas set by statute. 

As part of Justice40, USDOT will also encourage State 

departments of transportation and MPOs receiving 

this formula funding to prioritize projects by using 

quantitative equity screenings, centering meaningful 

public involvement throughout the planning process 

and project lifecycle, and adhering to proactive 

civil rights and environmental justice requirements. 

USDOT has demonstrated its commitment to 

providing technical assistance to support disadvantaged 

communities by developing the Promising Practices 

for Meaningful Public Involvement in Transportation 

Decision-Making guide (https://www.transportation.gov 

/sites/dot.gov/files/2022-10/Promising%20Practices%20

for%20Meaningful%20Public%20Involvement%20in%20

Transportation%20Decision-making.pdf). This guide 

Community planners engage members of the public to gather necessary 

information on needs and concerns during project development.

© 2023 City of Los Angeles.

8.5 percent of Americans live in households that 

do not have access to a vehicle.

32.5 percent live in a household with one car.

Black households are least likely to have access to 

vehicles: 18 percent of Black individuals live in 

households with zero cars.

(Based on census data collected in 2020.)
HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 15

provides funding recipients with strategies to 

meaningfully involve the public in various 

stages of transportation decisionmaking. 

USDOT is using baseline methods to 

determine if covered programs are meeting 

the 40-percent goals. USDOT will also 

assess the negative impacts of transportation projects and systems on disadvantaged communities and will consider 

if local community leaders have been 

consulted in a meaningful way during the 

project’s development.

Discretionary Grants 

Focused on Equity

The BIL established grant programs to 

support the goal of advancing equity for 

disadvantaged communities, particularly 

those that have been bisected by transportation infrastructure and those living in 

rural areas. 

The new RCP discretionary grant 

program, authorized up to $1 billion over 

the next 5 years, is the first ever Federal 

program dedicated to reconnecting communities that were affected by transportation infrastructure that erected barriers 

to community connectivity, including 

barriers to mobility, access, and economic 

opportunity. Funding supports planning 

grants and capital construction grants, 

as well as technical assistance, to restore 

community connectivity through the 

removal, retrofit, mitigation, or replacement 

of eligible transportation infrastructure 

facilities. On February 28, 2023, USDOT 

announced a historic $185 million in grant 

awards for 45 projects for RCP. See more 

at https://www.transportation.gov/grants 

/reconnecting-communities.

The Rural Surface Transportation 

Grant Program, funded with $2 billion 

over the next several years, will support 

projects to improve and expand surface 

transportation infrastructure in rural areas 

to increase connectivity, improve the safety 

and reliability of the movement of people 

and freight, and generate regional economic 

growth and improve quality of life.

The Tribal Transportation Program 

Safety Fund, which the BIL increased from 

a 2-percent to a 4-percent set-aside of the 

Tribal Transportation Program funds, is 

awarded to federally recognized Indian 

Tribes to address transportation safety issues 

that will reduce fatal and serious injury 

transportation-related incidents, like motor 

vehicle crashes. In 2021, FHWA awarded 

58 projects with $8.9 million. Additional 

funding available for fiscal years 2022–2026 

will further advance efforts to reduce 

roadway deaths.

Capacity Building and 

Technical Assistance for 

Underresourced Communities

USDOT is committed to helping communities access resources by consolidating 

NOFOs to simplify applying for funds, 

simplifying the language in NOFOs to make 

requirements easier to understand, developing tools like the Historically Disadvantaged Census Tract to assist applicants in 

developing their applications, and offering 

webinars that walk potential applicants 

through the general requirements of funding 

opportunities and provide technical assistance on specific aspects of application 

requirements. To easily access technical 

assistance resources across USDOT, click on 

the online portal: https://www.transportation

.gov/dot-navigator. For user-friendly tools 

and information on technical assistance 

addressing rural transportation, explore 

the USDOT ROUTES initiative at 

https://www.transportation.gov/rural.

In addition, to ensure that disadvantaged communities have the technical tools 

and organizational capacity to compete for 

the generational investment provided in 

the BIL and deliver quality infrastructure 

products that allow their communities 

and neighborhoods to thrive, USDOT is 

administering the new $25 million Thriving 

Justice40 Covered Programs

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

• Carbon Reduction Program (CRP)

• Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grants

• Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality 

Improvement Program (CMAQ)

• Congestion Relief Program

• Disadvantaged Business Enterprise 

Supportive Services (DBE/SS) Program

• National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure 

(NEVI) Competitive Program

• National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure 

(NEVI) Formula Program

• Nationally Significant Federal Lands 

and Tribal Projects (NSFLTP)

• On the Job Training Supportive Services

• Promoting Resilient Operations for 

Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving 

Transportation (PROTECT) Formula Program

• Protect Grants

• Reduction of Truck Emissions at Port Facilities

• Transportation Alternatives (TA) (Surface 

Transportation Block Grant set-aside)

• Tribal High Priority Projects Program

• Tribal Transportation Program Bridge Program 

(Bridge Investment Program Set Aside)

• Tribal Transportation Program Bridge Program 

(Bridge, Replacement, Rehabilitation, Preservation, 

Protection and Construction Set Aside

• Tribal Transportation Program

Federal Transit Administration (FTA)

• All Stations Accessibility Program

• Buses and Bus Facilities Competitive Program

• Buses and Bus Facilities Formula Program

• Low or No Emission Vehicle Program

• Capital Investment Grants Program (CIG)

• Electric or Low Emitting Ferry Pilot Program

• Passenger Ferry Grant Program

• Innovative Coordinated Access and 

Mobility Pilot Program

• Public Transportation on Indian Reservations 

Program; Tribal Transit Competitive Program

• Pilot Program for Transit-Oriented Development Planning

Office of the Secretary of Transportation (OST)

• National Infrastructure Project Assistance 

Program—Mega Grant Program

• Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight & 

Highway Projects—INFRA Grants Program

• Rebuilding America’s Infrastructure with Sustainability 

and Equity—RAISE Discretionary Grants

• Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program

• Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant Program

• Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing 

Transportation (SMART) Grants Program

• Thriving Communities Program

Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)

• Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and 

Safety Improvements Program

• Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail

• Railroad Crossing Elimination Grant Program

Maritime Administration (MARAD)

• America's Marine Highway Program

• Port Infrastructure Development Program

Civil rights activist Rosa Parks sat and moved a Nation. Transportation has always been inseparable from 

America’s struggle for racial and economic justice. Today, transportation decisionmakers have the opportunity to 

ensure equity and accessibility for every member of the traveling public, looking to fulfill the dreams of Dr. Martin 

Luther King, Jr. when he said: “until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

© Nate Hovee / AdobeStock.com.
16 | PUBLIC ROADS | SPRING 2023

Communities Program (TCP), established 

by the Consolidated Appropriations Act 

of 2022. Beginning in 2023, awarded teams 

of community partners will receive 2 years 

of direct, individualized, and comprehensive 

technical assistance, planning, and capacity 

building support that will help them to plan 

and develop a pipeline of comprehensive 

transportation, housing, and community 

revitalization activities. TCP will also 

support and build local capacity to improve 

project acceleration, access to and management of Federal funding, and deployment 

of local hiring, workforce development, and 

inclusive community engagement practices.

State and MPO Project 

Prioritization Criteria

State, regional, and local transportation 

agencies determine how to distribute 

funding to meet multiple goals, including 

safety and access for all road users, management and maintenance of existing infrastructure, stewardship for the human 

and natural environment, and equitable 

outcomes for people living in underserved 

communities. To ensure that investments 

are equitable, effective, and efficient, agencies are increasingly integrating data-driven, 

performance-based methods into their decisionmaking frameworks in planning, project 

prioritization, and project development 

processes. Integrating equity into transportation agencies’ project prioritization criteria 

and decisionmaking processes is an integral 

step to redress disparities and meet the goals 

of Justice40.

Long-standing structures and processes 

may continue to favor certain investments 

over others that would better serve disadvantaged communities and meaningfully 

advance safe, health-promoting access and 

opportunities for all people. For example, 

agencies may use complex scoring frameworks that artificially inflate the scores 

of highway expansion projects by repeatedly counting mobility metrics in nested 

subcriteria—such as time savings under 

accessibility, travel time reliability under 

economy, and truck volumes under freight 

considerations—in addition to a mobility 

category. Additionally, agencies may use 

level of service and traffic delay as the 

primary metrics for directing transportation investment. These scoring processes, 

among others, could disproportionately 

favor expanding highway capacity, often at 

the detriment of safe and equitable projects for all road users. Moreover, political 

pressure for “ribbon-cuttings” may drive 

prioritization for highway expansion and 

large projects, as opposed to asset management or smaller multimodal network 

improvement projects. 

Another barrier is that Federal funding 

may be perceived as being committed to 

specific modes and types of projects. It 

should be noted that FHWA encourages 

State and local road owners to use Federal 

funds for a wide range of projects that 

prioritize safe and equitable mobility and 

access for all road users. Funding sources 

that support pedestrian and bicyclist 

opportunities can be viewed at https://www 

.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/bicycle_pedestrian 

/funding/funding_opportunities.cfm. Additionally, Federal law allows Federal-Aid Highway 

Program funding to be made available for 

public transportation projects. 

Additional factors that may impede the 

ability of disadvantaged communities to 

benefit from Federal funding include funds 

matching requirements and discretionary 

grant application requirements. Underserved and disadvantaged communities may 

not have the funding or staff capacity to 

match Federal or State funding or compose 

competitive applications.

Like many States across the nation, 

Ohio DOT recognizes that severe crashes 

happen more frequently in low-income 

communities, and individuals in these 

communities experience significant barriers 

to accessing the healthcare and financial 

resources needed to recover from them. 

Discretionary Funding to Support Equity

Pittsburgh, PA, was awarded $11.3 million 

in Rebuilding American Infrastructure with 

Sustainability and Equity Federal assistance 

to fund construction activities associated with 

improvements to the public right-of-way in 

the Hill District. Improvements will include 

the reconstruction of intersections, street 

corridors, and city steps, and the installation 

of traffic calming measures, sidewalks, and 

green infrastructure. The project will revitalize 

the Hill District, a community that has suffered 

deterioration as well as disconnection from 

the business district of Pittsburgh through 

historical disinvestment. By making pedestrian 

infrastructure improvements compliant with 

ADA requirements, the project will safely 

connect low-income residents to transit hubs 

and employment opportunities. New electric 

vehicle charging options and low-impact 

development stormwater infrastructure will 

contribute to environmental sustainability 

(https://highways.dot.gov/newsroom 

/nationwide-building-better-america-tour-fhwa 

-acting-administrator-announces-funding-0). 

“We see the New Pathways to Equity grant as 

a huge opportunity to overcome the chasm 

between the Hill District and Pittsburgh, enable 

residents to fully access their neighborhood, 

and use mobility to grow the connections 

both within and beyond the Hill District 

community,” says Kim Lucas, director of the 

department of mobility and infrastructure. 

“Whereas outside interests have decimated 

the Hill District in the past, the RAISE grant 

program instead adds to the neighborhood in 

many ways that have not been seen for years. 

We’re excited that this grant will help the Hill 

District continue its transformation into a safe, 

vibrant, accessible, and growing community.”

Children living in rural areas should be 

able to safely access school buses.

© bilanol / AdobeStock.com.

Federal law (23 U.S.C. § 104(f); 49 U.S.C. 

§ 5334(i)(1)) allows Federal-Aid Highway 

Program funding made available for public 

transportation projects to be “flexed” (or 

transferred) to be administered by the 

Federal Transit Administration for public 

transportation projects. More information 

concerning potentially eligible programs 

that support public transportation can be 

found at https://www.transit.dot.gov 

/funding/grants/grant-programs/flexible 

-funding-transit-and-highway-improvements.
HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 17

To address these disparities, Ohio DOT 

began to integrate equity metrics into the 

project prioritization and funding processes 

within the Highway Safety Improvement 

Program in 2021. Jeremy Thompson, Ohio 

DOT safety engineer, elaborates: “Most of 

our funding is allocated through competitive project application processes, where 

applications are scored based on a variety 

of factors. After recognizing the disparities 

lower income communities face, we added 

equity metrics to our application scoring 

criteria, so that we are considering factors 

like local poverty rates when allocating 

project funding.” Thompson continues, 

“Additionally, municipalities in our State 

may be burdened by the typically required 

10-percent local funding match on projects. Knowing this, we’ve incorporated a 

process to reduce or remove that local match 

requirement if a municipality is in fiscal 

distress and/or is implementing a project 

in a low-income community. Since severe 

crashes are overrepresented in locations 

where poverty rates exceed 10 percent, we 

are leveraging other funding sources such as 

State funds and toll revenue credits to use in 

place of a local funding match in communities that exceed that threshold.”

Of particular importance for equity 

is the prioritization processes for asset 

management and maintenance, particularly 

for sidewalks and lighting. For example, 

complaint-based prioritization processes 

may inadvertently exclude underserved 

communities that may not have the 

resources or influence to receive timely 

service. Implementing systematic processes 

for asset management may improve lifetime 

performance and the safety benefits of infrastructure. “Instead of maintaining lighting 

based on user feedback, Detroit invested 

in a systematic approach to replacing street 

lighting throughout the city. Following the 

systematic replacement of nonfunctioning 

streetlights, the city’s pedestrian death rate 

fell nearly 40 percent in just 2 years, in the 

context of a rising death rate for all nonmotorists in the State,” says De’Andre Brooks, 

director of government and community relations at the Detroit (MI) Public 

Lighting Authority.

Project prioritization is an evolving 

process, and State, regional, and local 

transportation agencies play a key part 

in transforming the data and decisionmaking frameworks to achieve the Federal 

Justice40 goal of distributing 40 percent of 

the benefits of transportation investments 

to disadvantaged communities. Multiple 

studies have examined the innovative 

practices being piloted by States and 

localities across the country. Of particular 

note, a February 2021 report sponsored 

by the Center for Transportation, Equity, 

Decisions, and Dollars (CTEDD), a 

USDOT (Tier-1) University Transportation Center, reviews Virginia DOT’s 

SMART program and provides the 

following recommendations:

• Establish flexible funding programs 

through which different project types 

can compete on equal footing.

• Choose comprehensive, outcomeoriented evaluation criteria.

• Maximize the benefits per dollar spent.

The report also suggests simplifying 

scoring frameworks to limit the number of 

scoring categories and evaluation criteria, 

while shifting focus toward fewer, more 

comprehensive, outcome-oriented criteria.

Additionally, CTEDD developed a 

Transportation Equity Toolkit that supports 

local agencies in selecting and prioritizing 

projects through an equity-informed 

approach (https://www.cutr.usf.edu/2021/09 

/transportation-equity-toolkit/).

As previously noted, all programs and 

projects must comply with Title VI and 

ADA requirements. Proactive integration 

of Title VI and ADA as part of decisionmaking screenings to ensure the meaningful consideration of race, color, national 

origin, and disability factors into programs 

and projects is an important step toward 

advancing equity. 

Conclusion

USDOT is centering equity as a priority 

in the distribution of discretionary grant 

programs to meet the goals of Justice40, and 

it is administering new statutory programs 

to redress historic harms of transportation infrastructure and build capacity for 

underserved communities. As part of these 

efforts, USDOT is reinvigorating civil rights 

programs, including the landmark Title VI 

of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the 

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 

and encouraging State and regional governments to prioritize equity in the distribution 

of formula funding. Additionally, USDOT 

is conducting research and updating guidelines to address relocation and displacement 

impacts of transportation projects as well as 

revising processes and developing measures 

of performance to routinely plan, design, 

build, operate, and maintain safe, multimodal street networks for people of all ages 

and abilities.

ANTHONY BOUTROS is the equity in transportation 

safety program lead in FHWA’s Office of Safety. He 

focuses on developing resources and delivering 

technical assistance to redress disparities in 

traffic fatalities. He holds bachelor’s degrees in 

sociology, public health studies, and international 

studies from Johns Hopkins University and is a 

Truman-Albright Fellow.

KEVIN RESLER is an FHWA national Title VI program 

coordinator who develops policy and guidance 

regarding Title VI and related nondiscrimination 

laws. He earned a bachelor of arts degree from 

Indiana University and a juris doctor degree from 

the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School 

of Law. 

SHARON FIELD, Esq., is the ADA program team 

leader in FHWA’s Office of Civil Rights where she 

oversees the national ADA program. She earned a 

juris doctor degree from the University at Buffalo 

School of Law and a bachelor of science degree in 

management from Binghamton University. 

For more information, see https://www 

.transportation.gov/priorities/equity.

Adequate lighting can improve safety and comfort

 for all road users, including pedestrians. 

© 2022 WSP.
18 | PUBLIC ROADS | SPRING 2023

Equity data screenings and meaningful public involvement can 

promote safe, healthful, and livable communities for everyone.

by MACK FROST and ANTHONY BOUTROS

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s 

Equity Action Plan highlights key actions 

the Department will undertake to expand 

access and opportunity to all communities 

while focusing on underserved, overburdened, and disadvantaged communities. 

The Plan’s Power of Community focus area 

aims to empower individuals and communities—particularly those that are underserved 

and disadvantaged—to have a greater voice 

in the transportation decisions affecting 

them. To achieve this goal, USDOT intends 

to increase the number of State departments 

of transportation (DOTs) and metropolitan 

planning organizations (MPOs) officially 

adopting a quantitative equity screening 

component and a meaningful representative 

public involvement process to their Statewide Transportation Improvement Program 

(STIP) and Transportation Improvement 

Program (TIP) projects. These quantitative 

equity screening and public involvement 

processes will incorporate community vision 

and needs in planning, project selection, 

and design.

The Federal Highway Administration’s 

(FHWA’s) Office of Planning, Environment, and Realty, in cooperation with the 

Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA’s) 

Office of Planning and Environment, and 

USDOT’s Office of the Assistant Secretary 

for Transportation Policy, conducted a 

survey in 2022 to support the implementation of the Power of Community. The 

survey helped USDOT establish a baseline understanding of how transportation 

agencies address equity in the planning 

process, and how they provide opportunities for meaningful public input into 

decisionmaking. Although the results of the 

survey are still being analyzed, preliminary 

analysis shows a few MPO respondents have 

policies in place to address equity in the 

transportation planning process.

Below is an overview of the transportation planning process and how equity can 

be integrated into those plans to empower 

individuals in traditionally-underserved and 

disadvantaged communities.

Transportation Planning Process and 

State DOT/MPO Planning Products 

Transportation planning is a cooperative, 

collaborative, and comprehensive process 

designed to foster involvement by all users 

of the system, including individuals, businesses, community groups, environmental 

organizations, safety officials, and freight 

operators through a proactive public participation process. Within metropolitan areas 

not designated as transportation management areas (TMAs), the planning process 

is conducted by the State and/or the public 

transportation operator(s), in cooperation 

with the MPOs. In areas designated as 

TMAs (urbanized areas with a population 

of 200,000 or more), the transportation 

planning process is conducted by the MPO 

in consultation with the State and public 

transit operator(s). In rural areas, transportation planning processes are carried 

out by the State, in cooperation with local 

officials in nonmetropolitan areas and 

transit providers. The process often involves 

creating vision statements, long-term 

INTEGRATING EQUITY 

into Transportation Planning While urban highways are critical to meet 

transportation needs and future planning, 

urban highways often have overtaken small 

or underserved communities and have been 

bisected by implementation of infrastructure.

© chungking / pashabo / j-mel / AdobeStock.com.
HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 19

planning, project planning, and conducting 

system-level analyses. 

Equity is an integral part of the planning process. There are multiple requirements to conduct public involvement, 

including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act 

of 1964 (Title VI); Executive Order 12898, 

Federal Actions to Address Environmental 

Justice (EJ) in Minority Populations and 

Low-Income Populations; and the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Meaningful public involvement is a process that 

proactively seeks full participation from the 

community, considers public comments, 

and incorporates feedback into a project, 

program, or plan.

The USDOT Equity Action Plan 

encourages proactive equity screenings as 

part of the STIP and TIP development 

processes to incorporate community vision 

and need in project selection and design. 

Considering equity early and through 

methods such as public participation, 

data collection, and analysis improves 

the likelihood that the planning process 

will adequately be able to respond to the 

needs of the community it serves. Early 

consideration of equity may also improve 

project delivery by preventing costly and 

time-consuming delays that could arise from 

previously unrecognized conflicts as projects 

move from planning to implementation.

“Using an equity lens to identify residents and communities who have been 

historically excluded, and assess the barriers 

that prevent them from participating, will 

ensure that engagement is more representative and inclusive,” says Jane Grover, a principal at the Chicago Metropolitan Agency 

for Planning in Illinois.

FHWA and FTA jointly provide stewardship and oversight on the statewide, 

nonmetropolitan, and metropolitan transportation planning process.

Transportation planning is a cooperative, 

performance-driven process by which longand short-range transportation improvement priorities are determined. State DOTs 

and MPOs have the responsibility for 

programming and prioritizing projects while 

considering the Federal funding eligibility 

for each program and project. 

State DOTs must prepare several 

planning documents related to Federal 

planning requirements. Long-Range 

Statewide Transportation Plans (LRSTPs) 

and Metropolitan Transportation Plans 

(MTPs) are two types of foundational 

planning documents that help guide the 

development of transportation planning 

programs and projects. LRSTPs and MTPs 

are policy and/or project documents that 

outline strategies and actions for addressing 

transportation issues and needs within States 

and metropolitan areas. These documents 

provide the framework for preparing 

project-specific transportation programs, 

such as STIP and TIP.

STIP and TIP are Federally-required 

documents that show upcoming projects 

that will be funded with Federal dollars 

over the next four years. These programs 

highlight how State DOTs and MPOs fund 

projects, and how the programs are fiscally 

constrained based on reasonably expected 

revenues. STIPs and TIPs are publicly available documents, which give the public an 

opportunity to review and help determine 

funded projects within their State or region.

Quantitative Equity Screening

Transportation planning efforts should 

use a data-driven process to ensure that 

policy priorities and investment decisions 

are realistic and achievable. Equity is an 

integral part of the data-driven process 

that improves the planning process’s ability 

to adequately respond to the needs of the 

community it serves.

Title VI provides that recipients 

of Federal financial assistance cannot 

discriminate on the basis of race, color, 

or national origin in their programs and 

activities. FHWA regulations specify that 

States must collect demographic data on 

race and ethnicity to show the effects of 

transportation programs and activities 

and conduct Title VI reviews using the 

data. The demographic data are typically 

derived from the American Community 

Survey, the Decennial Census of Population and Housing, or other public sources 

or surveys. After the data are collected, 

States must pair demographic data 

with information on potential impacts 

from programs and activities, such as 

relocations, noise, and maintenance. 

Urban thoroughfares reflect the multiuse nature of the transportation right of way, 

and reveal opportunities for safety and accessibility improvements.

© Frode / AdobeStock.com.

A Federal-aid Essentials video on projects and statewide planning requirements (https:

//www.fhwa.dot.gov/federal-aidessentials/catmod.cfm?id=66) highlights the roles and 

responsibilities of State DOTs and local public agencies in the transportation planning 

process. Resources to learn more about transportation equity in the planning process can 

be found on the FHWA/FTA Transportation Planning Capacity Building Program’s Planning 

Topics’ website (https://www.planning.dot.gov/planning/topic_transportationequity.aspx).

Planners look to accommodate pedestrians, vehicular traffic, as well as street parking 

for visitors patronizing the stores along rural streets across the Nation.

© Kirk Fisher / AdobeStock.com.
20 | PUBLIC ROADS | SPRING 2023

States must then determine whether: 

• Impacts are disproportionate or 

disparate between populations based 

on race, color, or national origin. 

• There is a justification for the 

disproportionality or disparity.

• There is a less discriminatory way to 

achieve similar program results. 

FHWA’s Office of Civil Rights provides 

multiple resources to support stakeholders 

in conducting Title VI data collection and 

disparate impact analysis. These resources 

can be found at https://www.fhwa.dot.gov 

/civilrights/programs/title_vi/. FHWA has 

developed multiple geographic information 

systems (GIS)-based quantitative equity 

screening tools, including the Transportation Disadvantaged Census Tracts and Planning, Environment, Realty GIS (HEPGIS), 

an interactive, web-based geographic map 

server that enables users to navigate, view, 

and print geospatial maps using only their 

web browser. 

HEPGIS allows users to access multiple 

data layers to assist in transportation 

decisionmaking. The Screening Tool for 

Equity Analysis of Projects is an extension of 

HEPGIS that allows users to screen project 

locations to support Title VI, EJ, and other 

socioeconomic data analyses.

MPO Equity Screening Tool Examples

The Broward MPO in Fort Lauderdale, FL, 

has developed a process to evaluate its plans 

and programs under Federal EJ and Title VI 

regulations. The identification of Transportation Planning Equity Areas is intended 

to be one of many approaches used in the 

transportation planning process to facilitate 

informed conversations.

The Transportation Planning Equity Area 

composite or equity score calculated for 

each block group within Broward County is 

based on selected demographic indicators. 

The map (https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories 

/7b81b04ead3b4d5c9aae8735e3b48434) 

is one of several resources used by the 

Broward MPO to help form a consistent 

evaluation process among its various plans 

and programs.

The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada (RTC) in 

Las Vegas actively engages minority 

communities in transportation planning. 

Individuals in high equity need communities may be unable to drive or lack access 

to a car, resulting in an increased need for 

improved pedestrian, bicycle, and 

public transportation infrastructure. Also, some zip codes have 

a higher percentage of seniors, 

minorities, or low-income 

residents, and transportation 

providers can target a neighborhood to provide specific services. 

For example, certain Las Vegas 

transit routes for seniors have 

pick-up points in areas where 

there are senior homes. 

One of the main tasks for 

RTC is to monitor the prioritization of transportation projects 

in the Access 2040 Regional Transportation Plan and the changes to RTC transit 

routes. RTC continues to analyze any major 

decision made to the overall transportation 

system, particularly if it negatively affects 

areas with a high concentration of any EJ 

group. The composite equity factors map is 

intended to serve as a resource for identifying potentially disadvantaged populations 

The USDOT’s Transportation Disadvantaged Census Tracts map highlights what is available on its website. 

State and local agencies are able to use this map to identify historically disadvantaged communities.

Source: USDOT.

FHWA’s HEPGIS tool allows users to add multiple economic and socioeconomic 

data layers to inform the transportation decisionmaking process.

Source: FHWA.

Transportation research is vital for improving the knowledge of practitioners, and the public, on how to 

implement a more efficient planning process. The primary funds State DOTs use for research are State 

Planning and Research funds (SP&R) and MPOs use Metropolitan Planning (PL) Funds for transportation 

planning and research. States document the projects and programs funded with SP&R in their SP&R 

Work Program and MPOs document the use of PL funds in their Unified Planning Work Program.

MPOs demonstrate equity principles within their research programs by investing in activities or developing 

policies to promote equity. The Boston (MA) Region MPO, for example, has included funding and tasks 

to ensure that all people receive comparable benefits from, and are not disproportionately burdened 

by, MPO investments, regardless of race, color, national origin, age, income, disability, or sex. The MPO 

coordinates public engagement efforts through implementation of the Public Participation Plan to ensure 

that all members of the public, including populations that have been traditionally underserved by the 

transportation system, are provided with the opportunity to participate in the planning process.
HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 21

within Southern Nevada and assessing 

equity in the planning process.

Georgia’s Atlanta Regional Commission 

(ARC) Equity Analysis is another example 

where an MPO is using equity in performance-based planning and programming 

to demonstrate compliance with Federal 

guidance, including Title VI, Executive 

Order 13166 on Limited English Proficiency (LEP), Americans with Disabilities 

Act of 1990, Executive Order 12898 on 

EJ, and FHWA and FTA’s Title VI and EJ 

documents. DASH—an interactive, online 

tool—is used by ARC to better communicate and visualize regional trends related 

to transportation and equity. DASH is 

intended to help both policymakers and 

Atlanta area residents explore the region’s 

performance. (https://atlregional.github.io

/DASH/Equity.html)

“As the Minnesota Department of 

Transportation (MnDOT) developed our 

first National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure [NEVI] Plan, we used the Justice40 

mapping overlay provided through the 

Drive Electric website as well as our own 

Tribal Nations boundaries layer to ensure 

we were including these communities as we 

created our longer term vision for charging 

in Minnesota. Using these tools helped 

to visualize where we could combine the 

location criteria the NEVI program requires 

for Alternative Fuel Corridors with disadvantaged communities and where there 

are gaps,” says Beth Kallestad, principal 

sustainability planner in MnDOT’s Office 

of Sustainability and Public Health. 

Meaningful Public Involvement 

USDOT seeks full representation from the 

community, considers public comments and 

feedback, and incorporates that feedback 

into a project, program, or plan whenever 

possible. The impact of community contributions encourages early and continuous 

public involvement, identifies potential or 

latent impacts to the communities, and 

brings diverse viewpoints and values into the 

transportation decisionmaking process. 

Requirements for Public Involvement

 The Title VI program requires USDOT’s 

operating administrations to develop 

comprehensive community participation 

requirements that applicants and recipients 

must satisfy as a condition of receiving an 

award for Federal financial assistance. A 

community participation plan facilitates full 

compliance with Title VI through meaningful public participation and engagement to ensure funding recipients and 

organizations are adequately informed about 

how programs or activities will potentially 

impact affected communities. Diverse views 

must have an opportunity to be heard and 

considered throughout all stages of the 

consultation, planning, and decisionmaking 

process. A community participation plan, 

which may be an update to an existing 

public participation plan or other policies, 

should provide information about the 

organization’s overall public involvement 

activities. 

USDOT operating administrations will 

issue guidelines establishing expectations for 

the community participation plans for their 

grant recipients. USDOT and the Federal 

Government must also ensure that individuals who have LEP, including a limited 

ability to read, speak, write, or understand 

English, have meaningful access to information that affects their lives. Under USDOT’s 

Departmental Office of Civil Rights, and as 

described in Policy Guidance Concerning 

Recipients’ Responsibilities to LEP Persons, 

this obligation extends to organizations 

and State and local agencies that receive 

monetary assistance from USDOT and the 

Federal Government. Funding recipients 

serving LEP populations should develop an 

LEP implementation plan to address the 

identified needs of the LEP populations 

they serve. The U.S. Department of Justice 

provides resources and further guidance at 

https://www.lep.gov/.

Transportation practitioners have the 

power and obligation to incorporate the 

voices of their communities in transportation decisionmaking and to build trust 

with members of underserved communities. 

Public involvement is not an afterthought 

in the decisionmaking process, but rather 

a core tenet for agencies, organizations, 

partners, and individuals who work on 

USDOT-funded projects to evaluate, plan, 

prioritize, design, construct, and maintain 

transportation improvements and investments. Engaging the public early, and often, 

can also help avoid costly re-work and 

delays later in the project lifecycle, including 

potential litigation or complaints from 

community members. 

Historically, decisionmaking in transportation (e.g., determining community 

needs and project priorities, planning, and 

implementation) may not have always 

considered all the communities those 

decisions impact. Following the “we’ve 

always done it this way” thinking can result 

in the treatment of public involvement 

as a one-time event or a box to check in 

the project lifecycle rather than an intentional, dynamic process that continues 

throughout all stages of project development. When agencies use limited communication and outreach methods, such as 

only advertising a single meeting in an 

area’s largest newspaper, they frequently do 

not reach the broader audience who may 

not read the newspaper or who get news 

from other sources. USDOT developed 

the guide, Promising Practices for Meaningful Public Involvement in Transportation 

Source: USDOT.
22 | PUBLIC ROADS | SPRING 2023

Decision-Making, which can assist funding 

recipients meet the need of meaningful 

public involvement.

Meaningful public involvement: 

• Increases trust between the 

organization and the community. 

• Increases the likelihood that projects, 

programs, or plans will be accepted. 

• Creates more effective solutions. 

• Improves a community’s knowledge of 

the project, program, or plan. 

• Empowers people from different 

backgrounds to become involved in 

transportation decisionmaking. 

• Delivers a better project, program, or 

service with diverse ideas that promote 

equity and inclusion. 

• Ensures against compliance concerns 

with authorities such as Title VI 

and NEPA that require public input 

and nondiscrimination.

Public involvement strategies should 

involve a combination of in-person, digital, 

virtual, and print tools, in languages 

spoken by community members. Public 

involvement should also include intentional 

and varied outreach methods to ensure 

that people with disabilities and diverse 

needs and experiences are aware of and 

can participate in opportunities to have 

a meaningful impact on decisionmaking. 

When specific to a project or program, 

public involvement strategies should also 

be tied to the expected impacts of the 

project or program. Of particular impact are 

engagement opportunities that meet people 

in underserved communities and provide 

them with culturally sensitive methods of 

expressing themselves.

In-person public meetings are a common 

strategy, but for some people these meetings can be inconvenient or impossible to 

attend. Physical meeting locations can be 

inaccessible for persons with disabilities 

or for community members that might 

not feel comfortable attending events 

at government facilities, or whose work 

schedules do not fall within typical daytime 

business hours. Additionally, people in 

underserved communities may lack child 

care, access to convenient transportation, 

or may need communication in alternate 

formats or languages. To ensure the needs 

and concerns of underserved populations 

are represented, it is important for transportation professionals to reduce barriers to 

participation and to expand opportunities 

for engagement. 

Transportation agencies can increase 

meaningful public involvement in planning 

and project development by integrating 

virtual tools into their overall public involvement approach. Virtual Public Involvement 

(VPI) tools (https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning

/public_involvement/vpi/) can enhance and 

broaden the reach of public engagement 

efforts by making participation more accessible, convenient, affordable, and enjoyable 

for greater numbers of people. VPI tools can 

provide the public with increased transparency and access to transportation planning 

activities and project development and 

decisionmaking processes, including:

• Crowdsourcing. 

• Digital tools to enhance 

in-person events.

• Do-it-yourself videos.

• Mapping. 

• Mobile applications.

• Project visualizations.

• Virtual town halls.

While using VPI techniques do not 

change existing public involvement requirements established by statute, regulation, or 

executive order, VPI does open up opportunities for underserved communities to 

actively participate in the process and have 

their voices heard. VPI is not intended to 

completely replace in-person engagement, 

but it is a valuable tactic to reach those who 

have historically been without options to 

make an impact in their communities.

Conclusion 

Planning is an integral part of the transportation equation that ensures an equitable approach is applied to project and 

program development. Public engagement 

strategies that are implemented must be 

forward-thinking, forward-moving, and 

place high value on not only listening to 

all road users and members of the public, 

but also finding actionable solutions to 

their substantial concerns and challenges. 

Meaningful engagement and listening with 

intention will ensure that future infrastructure improvements can—and will—lead to 

equitable, and more accessible communities 

across the Nation.

MACK FROST is a transportation specialist in 

FHWA’s Office of Planning, focusing on advancing 

the Planning and Environment Linkages approach 

and Equity in Transportation Planning. He holds 

a bachelor’s degree in communication from the 

University of Maryland, and a master’s degree in 

environmental health sciences from the University 

of Maryland. 

ANTHONY BOUTROS is a transportation specialist in FHWA’s Office of Safety, focusing on 

advancing Complete Streets and equity in 

safety programs. He holds bachelor’s degrees in 

sociology, public health studies, and international 

studies from Johns Hopkins University, and is a 

Truman-Albright Fellow.

For more information, please visit 

https://www.planning.dot.gov/planning

/topic_transportationequity.aspx or contact 

Mack Frost at Mack.Frost@dot.gov.

Engaging the public within the transportation decisionmaking and planning process is vital to a 

project’s success. As part of an equitable decisionmaking process, it is important to include the 

perspective and comments from a diverse group of community members and stakeholders. 

© Fitz / AdobeStock.com.

Source: USDOT.
Intermodal freight being transported 

from ports by rail and on highways.

Source: FHWA.

HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 23

INCORPORATING 

an EQUITY-BASED 

APPROACH into 

TRANSPORTATION 

OPERATIONS

An overview of current activities, resources, 

and planned approaches for operating an 

equitable transportation network.

by EWA FLOM

Equity in transportation seeks fairness in mobility and accessibility to meet 

the needs of all community members. A 

central goal of transportation equity is to 

provide equitable access to affordable and 

reliable transportation options based on a 

population’s needs (particularly for underserved communities).

An equity-based approach to transportation operations examines the specific 

circumstances impacting a community’s 

mobility and connectivity needs to determine the measures needed for providing 

a reliable network to individuals. Past 

transportation actions have often inadequately considered, and adversely impacted, 

disadvantaged and vulnerable communities. 

Management and operation practices offer 

opportunities to help address inequities that 

exist in the current transportation system 

to improve transportation mobility and 

accessibility. By integrating equity into the 

day-to-day decision-making processes for 

transportation operations, transportation 

professionals improve the mobility and 

accessibility of the transportations systems 

for all users.

Equity in Freight Operations

For freight operations, equity concerns are 

especially common. Freight facilities, such 

as airports or seaports, have often been 

built in or near areas of persistent poverty. 

Communities have also developed near 

industry because of employment opportunities or segregation practices that isolated 

minority populations in areas that would 

suffer lower levels of investment. Growth 

in freight infrastructure can adversely affect 

these communities by adding congestion, 

noise, and pollution. Supporting networked 

communities that are intermodal—those 

located near ports, airports, freight, and rail 

facilities—is one of the major focus areas 

of the Thriving Communities Program to 

address mobility, access, environmental 

justice, and economic issues, including ways 

to leverage their proximity to these facilities 

for wealth-building and economic development opportunities.

An equity-based approach has also 

become a part of the Nation’s freight system 

through the National Highway Freight 

Program (NHFP). Established to improve 

the efficient movement of freight on the 

National Highway Freight Network, NHFP 

funding is distributed to States based on 
24 | PUBLIC ROADS | SPRING 2023

formulas specified in Federal law for freight 

projects that, among other criteria:

• Strengthen the economic 

competitiveness of the United States. 

• Reduce congestion and improve the 

reliability of freight transportation. 

• Increase productivity of industries and 

businesses that create high-value jobs. 

• Improve the safety, security, efficiency, 

and resiliency of freight transportation.

• Reduce the environmental impacts of 

freight movement.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law 

amended the NHFP to increase the 

intermodal freight funding allowance and 

broaden eligibility for intermodal projects 

for freight rail or marine facilities, including 

ports. Elements of such projects should 

proactively address racial equity, workforce 

development, and economic development 

as well as remove barriers to opportunity, 

including redressing prior inequities in both 

rural and urban communities. 

An equity-based approach is also 

being applied to examine the impact of 

freight-related transportation projects. 

Federal Highway Administration created 

a document (updated in 2018) about 

best practices for conducting community 

impact assessments for transportation 

projects, Community Impact Assessment:

A Quick Reference for Transportation. In a 

freight-related project located in a predominantly minority and low-income Camden, 

NJ, neighborhood, these best practices were 

applied to improve regional highway access 

in support of neighborhood revitalization 

and provide alternate routes for heavytruck traffic.

Equity Through USDOT 

Discretionary Grants

While the purpose and goals of these grants 

differ, the U.S. Department of Transportation includes language in the notices of 

funding opportunity (NOFO) and application criteria that encourage applicants 

to incorporate equity into projects for all 

these grants. For instance, the NOFO 

for the Multimodal Project Discretionary 

Grant program set forth evaluation 

criteria seeking projects that proactively 

address equity and barriers to opportunity, including automobile dependence, 

or redress prior inequities. The evaluation 

criterion “Equity, Multimodal Options, 

and Quality of Life” directed applicants to 

describe how their project will proactively 

address equity and barriers to opportunity, 

improve quality of life in rural or urbanized 

areas, and benefit historically disadvantaged 

communities/populations or areas 

of persistent poverty. Examples include

• Increasing affordable 

transportation choices.

• Improving access to essential 

services. 

• Increasing walkability and 

accessibility for pedestrians. 

• Proactively addressing disparities 

and barriers to opportunity. 

The ways a project could demonstrate 

a proactive focus on equity and barriers to 

opportunity include:

• Equity impact analysis. 

• Sponsoring adoption of an equity 

and inclusion program/plan or 

otherwise instituting equity-focused 

policies in the overall project 

delivery and implementation. 

• Comprehensive planning and 

policies to promote the hiring of 

individuals from underrepresented 

communities. 

• Physical-barrier-mitigating land 

bridges, caps, lids, linear parks, and 

multimodal mobility investments 

that either redress past barriers or 

proactively create new connections 

and opportunities. 

• New or improved freight access 

to underserved communities 

to increase access to goods and 

job opportunities.

Applicants were also directed to 

describe how the project has or will 

meaningfully engage affected communities through effective, accessible public 

participation in the planning, development, and implementation of transportation investments. If USDOT determined 

that applicants selected for a grant award 

had not sufficiently considered equity 

Trucks transporting shipping containers.

Source: FHWA.

USDOT Discretionary Grant Programs

Another area where equity is getting increased 

focus is in the USDOT discretionary grant programs. 

The FHWA Office of Operations administers 

eight discretionary grant programs, four of 

which are led by the Office of the Secretary:

• The Advanced Transportation Technology and 

Innovation program (ATTAIN) (formerly known 

as Advanced Transportation Technologies and 

Innovative Mobility Deployment) provides up 

to $60 million in grants annually to encourage 

the use of cutting-edge technologies that 

will improve safety and reduce travel times 

for drivers and transit riders. “As we level the 

playing field and improve the travel experience 

for everyone, we need to promote the use of 

state-of-the-art technologies, and the ATTAIN 

program does just that,” said former FHWA 

Acting Administrator Stephanie Pollack. 

• The Congestion Relief Program advances 

innovative, integrated, and multimodal 

solutions in the most congested 

metropolitan areas of the United States.

• Reduction of Truck Emissions at Port 

Facilities grants fund projects that reduce 

emissions at ports, including through the 

advancement of port electrification. 

• The Strategic Innovation for Revenue 

Collection provides funding to State and local 

governments as well as metropolitan planning 

organizations (MPOs) to experiment with 

user-based fees for the Highway Trust Fund.

• The Rebuilding American Infrastructure with 

Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grants help 

communities around the country carry out 

projects with significant local or regional impact. 

• The Infrastructure for Rebuilding America 

(INFRA) program—known statutorily as the 

Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight 

and Highway Projects—awards competitive 

grants for multimodal freight and highway 

projects of national or regional significance to 

improve the safety, efficiency, and reliability 

of the movement of freight and people 

in and across rural and urban areas.

• The Rural Surface Transportation Grant 

program will invest approximately $2 billion 

through 2026 for projects that improve 

highways, bridges, and tunnels, address 

highway safety, increase access to agricultural, 

commercial, energy, or freight facilities that 

support the economy, and bring flexible 

transit services to rural and Tribal areas.

• The Mega Program (known statutorily 

as the National Infrastructure Project 

Assistance program) will support complex 

projects that generate national or regional 

economic, mobility, or safety benefits.
HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 25

and barriers to opportunity in their project 

planning, they would be required to do so 

before receiving funds for construction. 

Transportation Systems 

Management and Operations

Another program area connected to transportation equity is Transportation Systems 

Management and Operations (TSMO). 

TSMO involves applying an integrated set 

of strategies, technologies, mobility services, 

and programs to improve the security, 

safety, congestion delay, and reliability of 

the transportation system. Transportation 

agencies have increasingly been looking 

to apply TSMO strategies to optimize the 

performance of their existing transportation system, lower costs, and develop 

more sustainable solutions to meet safety, 

mobility, and reliability challenges.

By definition, TSMO focuses on 

optimizing multimodal and intermodal 

operations—enhancing the movement of 

people and goods rather than just focusing 

on moving vehicles. As TSMO programs 

mature and data, technology, and tools 

become increasingly available, a more 

comprehensive systemwide management 

will broaden the scope from traffic management toward optimizing a multimodal 

system. The continual improvement of 

TSMO programs creates the opportunity 

and need to integrate transportation equity 

into the transportation management and 

operations planning process.

FHWA, along with State and 

local TSMO advocates, recognize 

the role of active transportation 

and demand management, shared 

mobility, mobility on demand, 

and other innovative approaches 

to enhance the movement and 

access of travelers and their 

communities. For example, 

FHWA’s The Role of Transportation Systems Management and 

Operations in Supporting Livability and Sustainability: A Primer

defined connections between 

TSMO and goals for livability 

and sustainability. The role and 

approach supported in the primer 

may also be expanded to support 

transportation equity to balance 

needs across the transportation 

system and all its users and to 

understand the tradeoffs that 

may occur. 

According to Joe Gregory, an FHWA 

transportation specialist: “Transportation 

agencies can face numerous equity-related 

challenges, such as technological barriers 

and disproportionate impacts and burdens 

in underserved communities. While TSMO 

would not completely solve all these problems, its various strategies provide many 

cost-effective options to contribute to solutions. Equity-related considerations when 

selecting and deploying TSMO strategies, 

such as impacts of detour routes to underserved communities and balance among 

modes of travel, can also provide ways 

to incorporate equity into how agencies 

deliver operations.”

For example, in the past a TSMO 

strategy of timing signals may have 

primarily focused on vehicular traffic 

flow, which might result in transportation 

inequities for bicyclists and pedestrians, 

such as a lack of safe mobility and access. 

However, through a comprehensive analysis 

of goals, context, and objectives, the needs 

of all users would be considered for the 

strategy. Another example is the project 

decisions made to support program goals. 

When decisions are made on where to focus 

signal retiming efforts, if the primary input 

is customer complaints, an agency may not 

have a representative understanding of the 

needs across all communities. Combining 

customer complaints with a more systematic 

review of all signals over time may better 

identify the full set of needs and result in 

a more equitable distribution of services. 

The Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality 

Project Examples

The following are a few examples of INFRA and RAISE 

projects with equity benefits that were awarded in 2022.

Downtown Mile Safety and 

Connectivity Improvement Project

The city of Flagstaff, AZ, received an INFRA grant 

in the amount of $32,460,000 for the Downtown 

Mile Safety and Connectivity Improvement 

Project. The project will deliver pedestrian safety 

improvements and freight and passenger rail 

infrastructure enhancements along a 1-mile 

segment of the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe 

Southern Transcontinental Corridor. In addition 

to track realignment along this section of the 

corridor, project improvements include the 

construction of two pedestrian underpasses 

and the installation of pedestrian gates at two 

at-grade rail crossings. This project provides 

strong equity benefits by constructing pedestrian 

underpasses and pedestrian crossing gates to 

reduce the physical barrier of the railway between 

areas of persistent poverty and the essential 

services located in downtown Flagstaff. 

I–375 Community Reconnection Project

The Michigan DOT received an INFRA grant 

in the amount of $104,657,051 for the I–375 

Community Reconnection Project in Detroit. The 

project will provide significant equity benefits 

by reconnecting neighborhoods divided by the 

current highway design. The project will realign 

the freeway and convert the existing footprint 

of I–375 to a slower speed at-grade boulevard 

through the project limits. Located in a historically 

disadvantaged community, this project will provide 

equitable mobility benefits by reconnecting 

neighborhoods in areas of persistent poverty.

US 71 Reconnecting Neighborhoods

The city of Kansas City, MO, received a RAISE 

grant in the amount of $5 million for a planning 

project to reconnect the neighborhoods split by 

US 71. This planning project includes a Planning 

and Environmental Linkages study, National 

Environmental Policy Act analysis, and conceptual 

design for US 71, from 85th Street north to 

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Kansas 

City. This project will create safe, accessible, 

nonmotorized travel routes for a multimodal 

transit system that eliminates mobility barriers 

and reconnects an underserved community 

bisected by a six-lane highway, demonstrating 

quality of life and connectivity benefits.

Valentine Pontoon Bridge Replacement

The parish of Lafourche, LA, received a RAISE 

Grant in the amount of $2,626,679 to replace the 

existing closed, dilapidated Valentine Pontoon 

Bridge over Bayou Lafourche on State Highways 1 

and 308 between Lockport and Larose with a more 

modern pontoon bridge. The project supports 

environmental sustainability and economic 

competitiveness. The new bridge structure 

will reduce environmental harm and maximize 

the hydraulic flow of the Bayou Lafourche. By 

reopening the bridge, the project will decrease 

travel time between small rural communities, 

cut the travel distance between Lockport 

and Larose in half, and improve emergency 

response time. The bridge will also increase 

opportunities for redevelopment of a former 

industrial site and access to employment centers 

for a historically disadvantaged community.

Cover of The Role of Transportation Systems 

Management and Operations in Supporting 

Livability and Sustainability: A Primer.

Source: USDOT.
26 | PUBLIC ROADS | SPRING 2023

Improvement (CMAQ) Program provides 

funding for transportation projects designed 

to reduce traffic congestion and improve air 

quality, particularly in areas of the country 

that do not meet national air quality standards. By not considering a broader view, 

when CMAQ funding is used for a project 

to improve vehicular traffic flow, signal 

timing related to that project may result in 

longer wait times for bicycle and pedestrian 

crossings. Improved vehicular traffic flow 

could also result in higher traveling speeds 

or intersection designs that are better for 

motorized vehicles but less safe for bicyclists 

and pedestrians. Another opportunity to 

integrate equity into operations is through 

the deployment of TSMO strategies, such 

as snow removal, freeway service patrols, 

or micromobility options. Equity considerations can be incorporated in the criteria 

used for determining the geographic distribution of the operation services.

An approach that seeks to meet the 

needs of all users of a given transportation 

facility or service leads to transportation 

equity. Though there are often competing 

priorities within a project for agencies to 

address, defining transportation equity and 

the goals or factors considered for achieving 

it is important.

Developing equity goals helps a transportation agency better define the issues to be 

addressed and supports the identification of 

TSMO-related solutions to communicate to 

the public the role that TSMO can play in 

creating an equitable transportation system. 

Professional transportation organizations 

like the American Association of State 

Highway and Transportation Officials have 

also pushed for equity in its practices. The 

AASHTO Committee on Transportation 

Systems Operations (CTSO) established a 

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force. 

Originally developed in 2018, CTSO’s 

policy and procedures were recently updated 

to state the value of diverse participation 

and its commitment to “ensure diversity, 

equity, and inclusion in conducting the 

committee’s business,” and procedures to 

enhance equity in its committee work. 

The task force has organized webinars and 

sessions at committee meetings to engage 

members in discussion and sharing of their 

State’s efforts to incorporate equity in transportation projects and business practices. 

 Operations staff can look for other 

opportunities to engage the public in 

identifying transportation needs that might 

be addressed through TSMO. For example, 

Metro, the Federally designated MPO for 

the Portland, OR, region, developed a 

TSMO strategy document that puts equity 

at the forefront of their transportation 

system planning. Metro began the transportation system planning process by creating 

an equity decision tree. (https://www

.oregonmetro.gov/sites/default/files/2021

/05/18/Equity%20Decision%20Tree.pdf) 

The equity decision tree was built upon 

evaluations supporting the 2018 regional 

transportation plan and more focused equity 

studies for arterial projects. Those efforts, 

in turn, were founded on a 2016 Metro 

plan to advance racial equity, diversity, and 

inclusion. The roots of this equity decision 

tree—which is used to address the barriers 

experienced by people of color and other 

disadvantaged groups—are three questions: 

• Context: “What are the transportation 

disparities or inequities that exist 

in the context of TSMO that affect 

quality of life?”

• Choices: “How can TSMO affect 

transportation choices broadly as well 

as meet individual needs in historically 

marginalized communities and expand 

their access to economic, health, and 

recreational opportunities?”

• Voices: “Who is voicing a problem 

and related impacts? What steps follow 

regional efforts to build capacity to 

meaningfully participate, including for 

people without formal organization 

or influence?”

Regular public engagement for a transportation project can build public trust and 

give a voice to those who are impacted. This 

feedback can inform design and deployment of TSMO strategies that address issues 

raised by these community members. This 

engagement also provides transparency 

in how solutions are identified and what 

factors are considered in selecting and 

implementing solutions. Additional public 

involvement beyond a project’s planning 

phase can also help agencies understand 

whether the proposed solutions will result in 

the intended outcomes.

Meaningful engagement can inform design and deployment of TSMO strategies that address issues raised by community members.

Source: FHWA.
HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 27

FHWA is continuing to explore opportunities for State and local transportation 

agencies to advance TSMO while simultaneously considering and supporting transportation equity. This effort will lead to sharing 

noteworthy practices and ideas.

EWA FLOM, P.E., M.B.A, is the senior advisor for 

FHWA’s Office of Operations where she initiates 

and conducts projects to support the program 

mission and goals. She earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Florida State University and an M.B.A. 

from George Mason University. She is a registered 

professional engineer in the Commonwealth 

of Virginia.

For more information, visit:

Community Impact Assessment: A Quick 

Reference for Transportation: https://rosap.ntl

.bts.gov/view/dot/50870

RAISE Discretionary Grants website: 

https://www.transportation.gov/RAISEgrants

The INFRA Grants Program website: 

https://www.transportation.gov/grants

/infra-grants-program

Thriving Communities Program website: 

https://www.transportation.gov/grants

/thriving-communities

Cramer Hill Access Improvements/ 

Truck Management Study—Camden, NJ: 

https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/livability/cia

/resources/cramer_hill/

The Role of Transportation Systems 

Management & Operations in Supporting 

Livability and Sustainability: A Primer: 

https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications

/fhwahop12004/fhwahop12004.pdf

Score: Equity, Multimodal Options, 

and Quality of Life Criterion Example

0 The project negatively impacts this project 

outcome area. NA

1

The project’s claimed benefits in this outcome 

area are plausible but minimal OR the 

project’s claimed benefits in this area are 

not plausible.

Example 1: The project sponsor has 

developed and published a general equity 

policy statement for their agency but 

has not demonstrated any other equity 

considerations for the actual project.

Example 2: The project sponsor has 

created additional multimodal access in 

conjunction with the project, but only as a 

minimum project requirement, and not as 

a result of intentional planning efforts.

2

The project produces non-trivial, positive 

benefits in this outcome area that are well 

supported by the evidence in the application.

Example: The project sponsor is 

supporting workforce development 

programs, including labor-management 

programs, local hire provisions, and 

incorporating workforce strategy into 

project development in a manner that 

produces non-trivial benefits.

3

The project produces significant, 

transformative benefits in this outcome 

area, that are well supported by the 

evidence in the application.

Example: The project sponsor includes 

new and/or greatly improved multimodal 

and transit access across previously 

bifurcated disadvantaged neighborhoods, 

and demonstrates how specifically 

the disadvantaged neighborhoods 

will be positively impacted, and how 

those improvements were as a result of 

intentional planning and public input.

Multimodal system operations enhance the movement of people and goods at 

this Salt Lake City (UT) TRAX Red Line Trolly Square Station.

© Andrew / AdobeStock.com.

Source: USDOT. (https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2022-05/FY22%20Multimodal%20

Project%20Discretionary%20Grant%20-%20NOFO_Amendment%201%20.pdf)
28 | PUBLIC ROADS | SPRING 2023

by SHAUN CUTTING

I

magine a 6,267-foot-long (1,910-meter-long) bridge at the end 

of its useful life, crumbling. Yet, it still serves as an economic 

backbone for the State of Colorado, carrying major, daily traffic—

over 220,000 vehicles a day—in the middle of a low-income and 

minority community in northeast Denver. This bridge, known as 

the Interstate 70 (I–70) viaduct, is located in a zip code known as 

the most polluted area in the Nation. How can these transportation 

issues—infrastructure deterioration, gridlock, and environmental 

hazards—be solved? More specifically, how can they be solved while 

providing the historically underserved communities with the same 

benefits afforded to everyone else utilizing the highway facility?

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) decided 

to collaborate with the affected neighborhoods to find a solution. 

CDOT, in an unprecedented manner, worked closely with the local 

community to understand, from their perspective, how to address 

the major concerns. After 14 years in the National Environmental 

Policy Act (NEPA) process (between 2003 and 2017), with countless hours spent evaluating different alternatives, CDOT developed 

a mitigation plan with the surrounding community that would 

ensure that they would have equitable access to the benefits offered 

by the highway improvements. Ultimately, CDOT committed to 

replacing the I–70 viaduct with a tunnel and a 4-acre community 

park built over the interstate.

Project Background and Community Impacts

CDOT’s plan eventually evolved into the Central 70 Project, 

which involved:

• Rebuilding a 10-mile stretch of I–70 between Brighton 

Boulevard and Chambers Road.

• Adding a new toll express lane in each direction.

Meeting Transportation 

Goals with 

Equity

The Colorado Department of 

Transportation successfully addresses 

key transportation needs and 

provides equitable benefits within 

low-income and minority communities 

through its Central 70 Project.

Aerial view of new 4-acre park built over Interstate 70 in Colorado.

© 2022 CDOT.
HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 29

• Removing the aging, 57-year-old 

I–70 viaduct.

• Placing a portion of the interstate in a 

1,000-foot (305-meter) tunnel.

• Creating a 4-acre public park over a 

portion of the tunnel.

To implement these improvements and 

upgrades, CDOT worked with many stakeholders to understand and address concerns. 

Most notably, the agency worked with the 

residents of Globeville and Elyria-Swansea 

(GES), two low-income, minority neighborhoods negatively impacted by the I–70 

viaduct’s construction in the 1960s. Given 

the history, these communities opposed 

widening the interstate; some GES residents 

wanted I–70 completely removed from 

the area.

“They came through neighborhoods, 

tore neighborhoods up, [and] divided 

neighborhoods. [They] ended and destroyed 

businesses and the livelihoods of many 

people without apology or without engagement,” says current Mayor of Denver 

Michael Hancock, referencing highway 

construction’s history of perpetuating racial 

injustice. Hancock believes it is important 

that neighborhoods impacted by transportation projects have a loud voice. 

CDOT embraced the loudness in 

carrying out an unprecedented outreach 

effort to the surrounding communities. 

The outreach process was designed to 

be personal and extensive; it began at a 

one-on-one level and expanded to bring 

together the many interests in the corridor. 

A variety of opportunities were made available for the community to get involved and 

stay informed about the project, including:

• Hiring residents from nearby 

neighborhoods to help share 

project information.

• Using flyers to notify residents and 

local businesses of meetings to discuss 

the project. 

• Conducting door-to-door outreach as 

a first contact in many neighborhoods. 

• Holding block meetings within 

neighborhoods. 

• Attending neighborhood association 

meetings and business meetings. 

• Conducting neighborhood and larger 

corridor-wide meetings.

• Providing translation, childcare, and 

meals at meetings. 

• Establishing working groups to address 

specific issues.

• Involving the media in a proactive 

manner. 

• Meeting frequently with local and 

State elected officials.

Other outreach activities included 

creating, publishing, and distributing 

newsletters, mailings, and advertisements; 

publishing a website; and organizing 

monthly meetings with community leaders, 

telephone town halls, and public sit-down 

meetings (with small tables for exchanging 

information with participants). 

Despite a unique outreach effort by 

CDOT to reach as many members of the 

surrounding communities as possible—and 

after the project’s initial Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) was 

published in 2008—the message from the 

community was clear: It wasn’t acceptable to 

simply widen the existing interstate in their 

back and front yards. If CDOT was going 

to be successful in addressing Colorado’s 

transportation needs, they had to take a step 

back to rethink the entire situation. 

With the communities unsatisfied with 

the levels of mitigation offered, CDOT 

and the Federal Highway Administration 

remained determined to better understand 

the impact of the Central 70 Project on the 

communities. The two government agencies 

agreed they needed to establish a process 

that brought the community leaders to the 

table alongside other project stakeholders to 

exchange ideas more effectively. The result 

was the creation of the I–70 East Preferred 

Alternative Collaborative Team (PACT). 
30 | PUBLIC ROADS | SPRING 2023

The PACT involved a group of stakeholders 

representing Federal and State agencies, 

local governments, and community and 

business interests. At the conclusion of this 

planning process (after meeting monthly 

for over a year), CDOT agreed to consider 

replacing the I–70 viaduct, lowering it 

underground, and building a public park 

over the interstate. CDOT also decided 

to establish a job program and continue 

to incorporate community feedback into 

the project construction. Although there 

were still some that wanted I–70 relocated, 

this concept, called the partially lowered 

alternative, garnered enough support from 

residents for CDOT to move forward in 

the NEPA process—an FHWA-led review 

process to ensure transportation agencies 

consider potential impacts to the social 

and natural environment when planning 

highway projects. 

A supplemental DEIS was re-issued by 

CDOT in 2014, adding the alternative to 

replace the elevated interstate structure with 

a lowered interstate roadway. CDOT then 

began to work on finalizing their preferred 

alternative and exploring more options 

for effective mitigation. In 2017, each of 

the mitigation concepts were finalized as 

commitments in the Record of Decision 

(ROD)—the final step in the environmental NEPA process. In August 2018, 

at the groundbreaking ceremony, thenFHWA Deputy Administrator Brandye L. 

Hendrickson noted that “the Central 70 

Project will give more options to the people 

of Colorado along one of the State’s most 

economically important routes.”

Mitigation: New Community Park

Building a public park on top of a roadway 

was a novel project for CDOT; having 

never done it before in Colorado, CDOT 

wanted to first gather lessons learned from 

other States. FHWA provided such help via 

their Technology Transfer (T2) Program 

that aids in implementing innovation at 

the Federal, State and local levels. CDOT 

was awarded a T2 grant and worked with 

the FHWA Colorado Division to facilitate 

a trip to Washington State and Texas. The 

two States previously constructed covers 

over their interstates and parks on top of 

them to benefit the adjacent communities. 

With these trips, CDOT and local officials, 

including community members, were able 

to talk with other State and local officials 

about their experiences with collaborating 

with community members. They were 

also able to talk with engineers to understand lessons learned and best practices 

in addressing elements common to this 

type of project (e.g., drainage, utilities, 

and security).

Ultimately, with the expertise and knowledge gained from feedback and exchanges, 

CDOT designed and built the park to unite 

the Elyria-Swansea neighborhoods, split by 

the I–70 viaduct’s construction on opposite 

sides of the roadway. A ribbon-cutting 

ceremony was held in November 2022 

marking the completion of the I–70 viaduct 

renovations. The newly created public 

space will feature a small amphitheater, a 

splash park, a sports field, play areas, more 

than 100 new trees, and room for farmers’ 

markets and community events. The park 

will be instrumental in enhancing community cohesion and connectivity. A sentiment 

shared by Denver Councilwoman Debbie 

Ortega: “Working collaboratively with the 

State and local partners, we were able to 

achieve unprecedented commitments to 

the community, including the park that is 

opening here today.” 

Colorado Governor Jared Polis spoke at 

the ribbon-cutting ceremony and was proud 

of what came to fruition: “It’s really one 

thing to have seen this drawn on paper years 

ago, it’s another to be standing here with 

a field on one side, an amphitheater, and 

a state-of-the-art playground on the other 

side, really seeing the power of community 

and the power of connectivity.”

Early phases of the Interstate 70 viaduct construction project.

© 2021 CDOT.

With Interstate 70 running quietly underneath, a view of the 

new playground, splash park, amphitheater, and soccer field.

Source: FHWA.
HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 31

Mitigation: Hiring Individuals 

from Local Communities

Another clear message from meeting with 

the surrounding communities appeared: if 

CDOT was investing over a billion dollars 

on the estimated 5-year construction 

project—further disrupting the community’s quality of life—residents wanted access 

to the high-paying construction jobs that 

were sure to accompany the renovations. 

Hence, CDOT requested a local hiring and 

workforce development program for the 

project from FHWA. Though local hiring 

preferences are not typically allowed per 

Federal requirements, FHWA was willing to 

pilot the program to provide employment 

opportunities to the surrounding communities bearing the brunt of construction.

Utilizing funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Ladders of Opportunity initiative, CDOT, in 2016, partnered 

with the Community College of Denver’s 

(CCD) Center for Workforce Initiatives to 

establish an overarching workforce program 

called WORKNOW. This program specialized in placing, retaining, and advancing 

workers on the Central 70 Project (as well 

as on future regional infrastructure projects). Through various outreach events and 

partnerships, CDOT, WORKNOW, and 

CCD were able to catch the attention of a 

local private foundation, Gary Community 

Investments. The foundation invested nearly 

$2 million into the workforce development 

program that mitigated barriers to employment, such as the affordability of personal 

protective equipment, transportation, 

and childcare. Unlike the I–70’s original 

construction, community members could 

financially benefit and establish careers 

through the Central 70 Project.

To date, the Central 70 employment 

training program has proved to be a 

huge success. Over 600 individuals have 

completed the training program, and 

CDOT exceeded their on-the-job training 

goal of 200,000 hours.

Mitigation: Tolling Discount Program

A common concern from all parties, 

including CDOT, was how to build toll 

lanes through a low-income area without 

excluding the area’s residents in having 

equitable access to the new lanes. To address 

this issue, a commitment to add a discount 

program was added into the NEPA ROD. 

When the project was nearly two years 

from being completed, the High Performance Transportation Enterprise (HPTE), 

a government-owned business within 

CDOT, embarked on a year-long process 

to fulfill the commitment and provide 

discounted access to the toll lanes for the 

GES neighborhoods. HPTE, now known 

as the Colorado Transportation Investment 

Office (CTIO), has the legal responsibility 

to seek out opportunities for innovative and 

efficient means of financing and delivering 

important surface transportation infrastructure projects in the State.

The discount program included significant engagement with peer agencies 

nationwide, including FHWA, the GES 

community, and other local stakeholders. 

With equity and the environment being 

key focus areas for the Federal government, 

FHWA Colorado Division frequently 

communicated with their Office of Environment to keep them informed throughout 

the program’s development.

Like the park’s construction above the 

I–70 tunnel, this initiative was the first 

tolling discount program in Colorado. 

CDOT first reached out to five agencies 

around the country that had implemented, 

or were implementing, a similar toll 

program and collected best practices and 

lessons learned. This exchange of knowledge provided CTIO with an intellectual 

foundation for developing its tolling 

discount program.

A short time later, CTIO established a 

steering committee and stakeholder advisory 

group to guide the process. Numerous 

meetings were held with the steering 

committee, stakeholder advisory group, 

GES residents, and Denver City council 

members. A public survey was also circulated to residents to solicit feedback and 

gain an understanding of the community’s 

needs and travel patterns. The survey was 

particularly successful, garnering almost 300 

responses. The survey responses along with 

the information from interviews conducted 

with the five agencies (State departments of 

transportation, counties, and a metropolitan 

planning organization) and information on 

the committee meetings can be found in 

CTIO’s “Central 70 Globeville & ElyriaSwansea Tolling Equity Program Memorandum” (https://www.codot.gov/programs

/ctio/agenda-item-documents/2022-agenda

-item-documents/march-2022/5-central-70

-ges-tolling-equity-program.pdf). 

Finalizing the details of the discount 

program (such as deciding the discount 

program eligibility requirements, ideal type 

of discount program, program funding 

structure, and program length) took significant effort. After nearly a year-long effort of 

collaboration, CTIO developed a program 

with the following two main highlights 

for participants:

• Free in-vehicle transponders (devices 

that automatically charge for road 

use) with a $100 credit to express toll 

accounts the first year. 

• For future years, the option of free 

transit passes or additional credit 

applied to express toll accounts (a 

split based on input provided by 

GES residents).

Transit passes from the Regional Transportation District—metro Denver’s transit 

agency—would be provided to the community. CTIO also coordinated with local 

organizations to become distribution centers 

to create accessible locations for eligible residents to pick up passes. Eligibility requirements include being a resident of GES with 

an income below the 200 percent Federal 

poverty level household income threshold 

Sitting atop of Interstate 70, a view of the artificial turf soccer field 

where members of the community can gather, play, and exercise.

Source: FHWA.

One of the many playground features constructed 

and unveiled in November 2022 as part of the new 

community park on top of Interstate 70.

Source: FHWA.
32 | PUBLIC ROADS | SPRING 2023

(an exception is granted for any displaced household members due 

to the Central 70 Project). Approximately 5,623 GES residents were 

eligible for the program, corresponding to just over half (53 percent) 

of all households in these communities. Funding for this program 

will come from CTIO’s commitment to dedicate 15 percent of the 

net toll revenues from the Central 70 toll managed lanes.

Mitigation Goals Met

Although it took a significant amount of time and resources, 

CDOT was successful at meeting their critical infrastructure goals 

by listening and establishing partnerships. When a construction 

project affects the lives of those in surrounding communities, 

it is necessary to spend the time to understand the surrounding 

communities’ perspectives on those impacts and engage them in 

the development of mitigation plans. Similarly, learning from and 

listening to State and Federal agencies, city and county governments, and local organizations should also be intuitive. CDOT 

did all these things to such a high degree, and the outcome is a 

world-class I–70 facility not only for use by more than 220,000 

vehicles a day, but also for use by the communities that have the 

interstate in their backyard. For these communities, the new I–70 

facility reduces noise and dust pollution and restores connectivity 

and community cohesion. “We can’t turn back time and change the 

fact that a highway was built through the middle of this neighborhood, an emblem of how infrastructure was built in the 1950s 

and 1960s,” says Stephanie Pollack, former acting administrator 

of FHWA. “But we can be very clear moving forward. The purpose 

of transportation must always be to connect and not separate. And 

faced between the choice of wallowing in the mistakes of the past 

and making new choices in the present for the future, we must 

choose to build our infrastructure with the intention and impact of 

connecting our communities.”

SHAUN CUTTING, a licensed professional engineer, is a program delivery team 

leader with the FHWA Colorado Division Office and holds a bachelor’s degree in 

engineering from Union College.

For more information, see https://www.codot.gov/projects/i70east.

A family anticipates the completion of a new fun place to play as workers wrap up 

a day of construction on the new 4-acre community park atop Interstate 70.

Source: FHWA.

equivalent to more than 3 football fields

artfully designed pavilion 

structure with tree-lined 

events lawn

five water features, 

designed with sustainability 

and energy conservation

1,500 square feet with seat 

walls for easy supervision

for use of the elementary 

school during school hours

Fun facts about the new Interstate 70 park.

© 2021 CDOT.
HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 33

Public Information and Information Exchange

AASHTO RAC Meeting Slated for July

Twice every year, subject matter experts from the Federal Highway Administration attend the American Association of 

State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Research 

Advisory Committee (RAC) Annual National Meeting. While 

one session is conducted on the Sunday before the Transportation 

Research Board Annual Meeting in January, the second meeting 

is a more extensive four-day event in July—where transportation 

professionals gather in one of the four AASHTO regions. Each of 

the four regional RACs typically meet once a month as well.

The RAC community serves as an advocate for transportation 

by promoting the value of research and applying research findings 

to improve State transportation systems, and supports the activities 

of the Special Committee on Research & Innovation. FHWA’s 

participation in regional and national RAC meetings provides 

division office research coordinators with firsthand knowledge. 

FHWA has traditionally used a multipronged approach to the 

deployment of transportation innovations, including collaboration.

In years past, Dr. Kelly Regal, the Associate Administrator for 

Research, Development, and Technology (RD&T) and the 

Director of TFHRC, has been an active participant in this event. 

In 2021, Dr. Regal participated in panel discussions, while other 

FHWA staff presented updates on the State Planning and Research 

(SPR)-Subpart B Program—the regulatory actions and eligibility 

activities—as well as an overview and update on the Transportation 

Pooled Fund Program.

In 2022, Dr. Regal delivered a presentation entitled, “FHWA 

Update for AASHTO RAC: View From the Top,” where she gave 

attendees an overview of the impacts of the Infrastructure 

Investment and Jobs Act, the current status and look ahead at 

RD&T activities, and updates on SPR.

The 2023 AASHTO RAC meeting is scheduled for 

July 24-27, 2023.

2022 NLTAPA’s National Program Achievement Awards

Formed in 1991, the National Local Technical Assistance Program Association (NLTAPA) represents the Local Technical 

Assistance Program (LTAP) and Tribal Technical Assistance 

Program (TTAP) member centers across the Nation and Puerto 

Rico. LTAP assists State and local highway agencies in maintaining 

and rehabilitating roads and bridges; TTAP provides transportation 

training and technical assistance to Tribal communities.

Along the Road is the place to look for information about current and upcoming activities, developments, trends, and items of general interest to the 

highway community. This information comes from U.S. Department of Transportation sources unless otherwise indicated. Your suggestions and input 

are welcome. Let’s meet along the road.

Sessions like the AASHTO RAC Annual Meeting bring together transportation 

professionals to share innovation and knowledge, and expand partnerships.

© MoiraM / AdobeStock.com.

ALONG THE ROAD
34 | PUBLIC ROADS | SPRING 2023

The National Program Achievement Award is presented by 

NLTAPA to individuals in recognition of their dedication, 

leadership, and effectiveness in promoting the goals and purposes 

of the association. The 2022 award recipients, announced at the 

LTAP/TTAP Annual Conference, included Dr. Earl “Rusty” Lee 

(director of the Delaware Center for Transportation and the 

director of the Delaware T2/LTAP Center) and Kim Carr (program 

coordinator of Operations, Outreach, and Communication at the 

West Virginia LTAP Center). Lee and Carr, in their 35 years of 

combined LTAP service, have demonstrated leadership and a 

commitment to work collaboratively with partners and peers 

nationwide. NLTAPA notes that both individuals demonstrate true 

dedication to going above and beyond in support of the association 

as well as the transportation industry and related workforce.

For more information and a listing of State LTAP Centers and 

representatives, visit: https://nltapa.org/member-centers/.

More Pedestrians Killed in Evening Hours

An important piece of safety data led the Federal Highway Administration to publish the Pedestrian Lighting Primer in 

April 2022—most pedestrian fatalities resulting from vehicles 

occur during nighttime hours. This primer was published as 

a resource for transportation practitioners, especially those 

professionals installing and improving pedestrian lighting at 

locations with existing and future pedestrian activity.

According to the 2022 primer, lighting plays a key role in 

increasing the safety performance of the road network for all users.

Crossing the street can oftentimes be a tricky task for 

pedestrians. Pedestrians must predict vehicle speeds; when drivers 

will slow down or stop; and how to time crossings safely. Under 

low light or nighttime conditions, these types of predictions are 

made more challenging by vehicle headlights, which can make it 

more difficult to correctly judge vehicle speeds and the relative 

location of a vehicle to a crosswalk. The primer also affirms that, 

“Effective pedestrian lighting installations are a means of 

addressing the vulnerability of pedestrians during dark conditions 

and improving the safety and security of all road users spanning 

different ages and abilities, including wheelchair and other 

mobility device users.” To review the primer in its entirety, visit, 

https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/roadway_dept/night_visib/docs/Pedestrian 

_Lighting_Primer_Final.pdf.

Technical News

Houston ConnectSmart App

Houston ConnectSmart is a new smartphone mobility app, a one-stop shop for mobility options, designed for Houston, 

TX, and launched in September 2022. The app is part of an effort 

to help residents beat Houston traffic and improve the region’s air 

quality by providing a more connected, less congested commuting 

experience. With the app, users can:

• Discover sustainable mobility 

options (carpooling, biking 

routes, and transit).

• View real-time traffic information 

including travel times, delays, 

and traffic incidents.

• Plan and schedule trips by 

seeing and using different 

transportation modes and services.

• Get turn-by-turn navigation 

for their selected trip for 

all travel modes.

• Find on-street and parking lot 

availability and be navigated to it.

• Access no-cost emergency 

roadside services.

• Plan, buy, store, and use bus and light rail tickets.

• Receive alerts when entering school zones, 

helping protect vulnerable road users.

• Access roadside cameras to view conditions along their route.

• Receive notifications before a trip about 

disruptions along upcoming routes.

• Find and plan trips using available bikeshare rentals.

• Earn rewards for free transit tickets and gift cards. 

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Houston 

District received an Advanced Transportation and Congestion 

Management Technologies Deployment grant from the U.S. 

Department of Transportation. With it, and alongside regional 

partners, they launched the app with the safety, reliability, and 

efficiency of Houston’s regional transportation system in mind as 

well as maintaining the area’s quality of life and economic vitality.

For more information visit the ConnectSmart website: 

https://www.houstonconnectsmart.com/

Lighting plays a key role in increasing the safety performance of the road network 

for all users.

Source: FHWA.

ConnectSmart is a smartphone mobility app designed for Houston to help residents 

beat traffic congestion, improve air quality, and provide different mobility options.

© TxDOT.
HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 35

Policy, Regulations, and Grants

FDOT Awarded $37 Million to Enhance Transportation Safety

I

n August 2022, the Florida Department of Transportation—

in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Transportation— 

announced two grants to help reduce barriers to affordable 

transportation for all Americans. This reduction of barriers will 

improve access to jobs, schools, and healthcare for members of the 

traveling public without favor or bias.

With over $37 million in recent funding, the first grant—with 

$25 million—will be used to enhance safety along the Florida East 

Coast Corridor, which stretches across Miami-Dade, Broward, 

Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, and Brevard counties. The 

construction of supplemental safety measures at 328 roadwayrailroad grade crossings and installation of 33 miles of pedestrian 

protection features is included in this grant.

The second grant, utilizing the remaining $12 million for 

technology, will go to improve the movement and safety of 

residents and visitors to the city of St. Augustine. The city of St. 

Augustine—as the Nation’s first city and home of the Florida 

School for the Deaf and Blind—attracts millions of visitors each 

year; hence, accessibility to better parking and travel information is 

needed as well as smart traffic signals, sensors to detect street 

flooding, audible crosswalk signals; and mobility hubs with 

information kiosks for parking, bicycles, and electric 

vehicle charging.

For more information, visit https://www.fdot.gov/info/co

/news/2022/08122022.

Wilmington MPO Amends Inequities with 

Transportation Justice Initiative

The Wilmington Area Planning Council (WILMAPCO), a metropolitan planning organization (MPO) in the State of 

Delaware, has established a transportation equity initiative that was 

20 years in the making. In carrying out the transportation planning 

process for New Castle County, DE, and Cecil County, MD, 

WILMAPCO created the Transportation Justice (TJ) Plan from 

nearly six other initiatives the MPO generated through the decades. 

With each initiative building upon the next, WILMAPCO 

gathered all equity-related MPO and Federal requirements (i.e., 

Title VI, Environmental Justice, Americans with Disabilities Act, 

and Limited English Proficiency) into a single, comprehensive plan.

The TJ initiative, designed in conjunction with partner 

agencies, does not employ a one-size-fits-all approach to all 

neighborhoods and projects. It utilizes several different indices to 

identify communities facing barriers (e.g., environmental justice 

neighborhoods, areas of high social determinants of health concern, 

and urban technology deserts), and investigates an area’s 

transportation affordability, multimodal connectivity, and crash 

frequency. The identification of such communities informs how 

projects are prioritized as well as community engagement 

considerations and technical equity analyses. For example, to yield 

an accurate depiction of an area’s multimodal connectivity, an 

assessment is conducted from each housing unit to key destinations 

(e.g., work, education, healthcare, and grocery stores) by car, 

walking, biking, and bus. This information enables analysis of 

connectivity equity for project alternatives to be better weighed 

against one another and for stronger performance measurement.

For additional information, and to view the latest TJ initiative, 

visit http://www.wilmapco.org/tj/.

First-Ever National Blueprint for 

Transportation Decarbonization

I

n January 2023, the U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation 

Decarbonization: A Joint Strategy to Transform Transportation

(the Blueprint) was published—a first-of-its-kind, interagency 

framework of strategies and action plans to remove all greenhouse 

emissions from the transportation sector by the year 2050.

Created via a partnership between the Departments of Energy, 

Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and 

Environmental Protection Agency, the Blueprint calls upon actions 

from Federal, State, local, regional, and Tribal governments, 

non-profit and philanthropic organizations, and private industry to 

address the growing climate crisis via a series of timed, coordinated 

behaviors. For example, years prior to 2030 will address research 

and investments to support the deployment of clean solutions; 

2030-2040 will scale up the deployment; and 2040-2050 will 

support the full transition to a sustainable and equitable future.

A well-planned transition will help counter the negative effects 

emissions have on the health and well-being of millions, especially 

those in disadvantaged communities across the Nation. The 

transportation sector accounts for a third of all domestic 

greenhouse gas emissions, and transportation costs are the second 

largest annual household expense for the poorest Americans. In 

implementing the Blueprint, a decarbonized transportation system 

will result in more affordable and accessible transit options, more 

clean-energy transportation technologies, and more well-paying 

jobs in all segments of the transportation sector.

January’s release of the Blueprint coincided with the 

Transportation Research Board’s Annual Meeting held in 

Washington, D.C., where components of the Blueprint were 

discussed by many in leadership including U.S. Transportation 

Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s extensive conversation on the 

opportunities and benefits of utilizing electric vehicles.

For more information, visit https://www.energy.gov/eere/us

-national-blueprint-transportation-decarbonization-joint-strategy-transform

-transportation and https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov

/files/2023-01/Factsheet_TransportationDecarbBlueprint2023.pdf.

 The U.S. National Blueprint

for Transportation 

Decarbonization is the 

roadmap for how the 

American transportation 

system can provide better 

options, expand affordable 

and accessible options 

to improve efficiency, and 

transition to zero-emission 

vehicles and fuels.

Source: USDOT.
36 | PUBLIC ROADS | SPRING 2023

Why Use Data Driven Safety 

Analysis (DDSA)?

by THOMAS ELLIOTT and SABRINA SYLVESTER

Data Driven Safety Analysis (DDSA) provides evidence-based models that demonstrate how to quantify the safety impacts of 

transportation systems. Transportation professionals can effectively 

identify, apply, and explain DDSA to make the best decision in a 

transportation project’s planning and process development.

The Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA’s) National 

Highway Institute (NHI) developed new virtual training that 

provides information on how to use reliable analysis methods to 

make informed decisions and successfully discuss the results with 

transportation peers and the community-at-large.

Achieving successful DDSA with NHI

The Introduction to Data Driven Safety Analysis (DDSA) 

(FHWA-NHI-380125), is a Web-based Training (WBT) that 

identifies and applies data-driven analysis for safety protocols in 

transportation systems. Participants will learn aspects of DDSA, 

including its terminology and benefits, how it impacts the 

transportation system’s safety performance, and the application of 

analysis results on performance-based decisions. 

Additionally, participants will learn of possible restrictions of 

current safety analysis methods (e.g., crash frequency and rate) and 

more reliable methods (e.g., predicted and expected crashes). Also, 

learners will be able to determine the appropriate scale and scope 

of safety analysis efforts and associated data requirements.

Knowledge from this WBT will provide transportation 

professionals the tools to effectively communicate findings with 

other transportation professionals and the public, supporting the 

disbursement of public funds for programs and projects to achieve 

well-defined performance goals. DDSA will provide decisionmakers with the tools necessary to ensure safety protocols are in 

place for transportation systems. Visit NHI’s website and register 

for this dynamic, engaging WBT.

How to Attend or Host a Course

NHI invites all transportation professionals interested in a course 

to visit https://www.nhi.fhwa.dot.gov/ to learn more about registering 

or hosting a course. The course catalog lists over 350 courses in 

18 program areas.

NHI is an approved Accredited Provider by the International 

Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET). As 

an IACET Accredited Provider, NHI offers continuing education 

units for its programs that qualify under the American National 

Standards Institute/IACET Standard.

THOMAS ELLIOTT is a master trainer and training program manager for NHI.

SABRINA SYLVESTER is a senior marketing analyst contractor for NHI.

© metamorwork / Shutterstock.com.

Source: NHI.

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