PUBLIC ROADS

Also in this issue: 

– Tapping Resources for Coastal Highway Projects

– Missouri, Virginia Mark Roadway History

– Safe Transportation Pivotal to Health of Nation

Celebrating 40 Years

— of Federal Lands Highway Program —

https://highways.dot.gov Summer 2023
COVERS and ABOVE—A view of the Trout Lake cut at 

the northeast entrance of the Yellowstone National 

Park flood repairs construction project in Wyoming. 

Work was completed on this project under the FHWA 

Emergency Relief for Federally Owned Roads Program. 

Source: FHWA.

Forty Years of the Federal 

Lands Highway Program

PAGE 22

© Ted Delaney, Lynchburg Museum System.

PAGE 12 

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

(Washington, DC: 2023) https://doi.org/10.21949/1521387

FEATURES

8 The Silt Fence: Keeping Sediment Where It Belongs

Enhancing the design of silt fence sediment barriers 

used during highway construction.

by J. Blake Whitman, Michael A. Perez, and Brian L. Smith

12 From Then to Now: History Along the Roadway

How historical markers in Missouri and Virginia are 

still used to enlighten the public about significant 

historic resources and events in their States.

by Karen L. Daniels, Michael Meinkoth, and Jennifer R. Loux

20 Resources for Understanding Challenges and 

Opportunities for Coastal Highway Projects

The Federal Highway Administration develops and deploys 

technical information and training to aid transportation 

professionals with understanding coastal processes, infrastructure 

vulnerabilities, and concepts important to resilient and 

sustainable planning and design of coastal highways.

by Daniel S. Sharar-Salgado and Eric R. Brown

24 Forty Years of the Federal Lands Highway Program

Connecting the world to America’s most beautiful places.

by Doug Hecox and Scott Johnson

28 Making Healthy Connections in Transportation

Transportation infrastructure plays a key role in health outcomes.

by Jhoset Burgos-Rodríguez, Victoria Martinez, Elliot 

Sperling, Anthony Nicome, and Wendy Heaps

DEPARTMENTS

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

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

Innovation Corner ..........................................6

Along the Road ..............................................38

Training Update .............................................42

Summer 2023 | Vol. 87, No. 2
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

TaMara McCrae, Distribution Manager

Editorial Board: 

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

I. Rico, G. Shepherd, D. Turner, 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: 202–493–3382. Email: tamara.mccrae@dot.gov. 

Periodicals postage paid at McLean, VA, and additional 

mailing offices (if applicable).

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to 

Public Roads, HRTM-20, FHWA, 

6300 Georgetown Pike, McLean, VA 22101-2296.

Public Roads is sold by the Superintendent of Documents, 

U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402. 

Requests for subscriptions should be sent directly to New 

Orders, Superintendent of Documents, P.O. Box 979050, 

St. Louis, MO 63197-9000. Subscriptions are available 

for 1-year periods. Paid subscribers should send change 

of address notices to the U.S. Government Printing Office, 

Claims Office, Washington, DC 20402.

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 

of FHWA.

All photographs are provided by FHWA unless 

otherwise credited.

Contents of this publication may be reprinted, provided 

credit is given to Public Roads and the authors.

For more information, representatives of the news 

media should contact FHWA’s Office of Public Affairs at 

202–366–0660.

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 

endorsement of any one product or entity. 
2 | PUBLIC ROADS | SUMMER 2023

A New Milestone for FHWA’s Turner-Fairbank Highway 

Research Center—Reconstruction of the Pavement Testing Facility

Much has changed in the transportation industry over the years, with technology 

leading the way. From intelligent transportation systems to nondestructive evaluation, 

and ultra-high performance concrete, innovation has been the driving force behind 

advancing measures that provide the Nation 

with highways, bridges, and tunnels that are 

safe, resilient, and sustainable.

While the tactics and methods used have 

changed, what has not changed is the core 

mission of the Federal Highway Administration to serve as a pillar of safety, strength, 

and efficiency for the traveling public.

Earlier this year, I was honored to be 

appointed director of FHWA’s Office of 

Infrastructure Research and Development 

(R&D). The Office of Infrastructure R&D 

conducts and oversees R&D programs 

and projects that address critical highway 

infrastructure needs and priorities of vital 

national importance. Studies in our office 

focus on the design, materials, construction, 

operation, preservation, and management 

of highway pavements, bridges, culverts, 

tunnels, and other structures.

Looking ahead to the future, what 

is clear is the importance of conducting 

innovative research, communicating with 

others effectively, and maintaining integrity to foster an environment of exchange, 

collaboration, and ingenuity. Why research 

is conducted is equally as important as the 

research itself, and how the research can be 

seamlessly implemented so that it benefits 

all stakeholders and partners. New trends 

in transportation need to be a priority 

and recognizing how those trends fit into 

FHWA’s programs and overall goals as an 

office. While it is easy to fall into a trap 

of limiting ourselves to what was done 

in the past, progress and success come by 

forging ahead boldly with new methods 

and initiatives.

On any given day, the studies and 

experiments researchers conduct in TurnerFairbank Highway Research Center’s 

(TFHRC) state-of-the-art laboratories 

and facilities make a significant impact on 

the Nation’s transportation system. The 

reconstruction of FHWA’s Pavement Testing 

Facility (PTF) at TFHRC is one milestone 

that is set to advance innovation by leaps 

and bounds and is a testament to looking 

forward into the future and not back to 

the past.

Since 1986, FHWA has operated a 

PTF. The original facility was developed 

to generate pavement performance data 

related to design, rehabilitation, and the 

effect of increased loads and the long-term 

research efforts of the Strategic Highway 

Research Program.

After decades of operation, the existing 

facility and loading and monitoring 

equipment reached their end-of-life. 

FHWA needed to construct a new facility 

and procure new equipment to advance 

the state-of-practice for holistic pavement 

design and analysis. A new design for a next 

generation PTF began a few years ago with 

a goal of maintaining FHWA’s status as a 

leader in highway research and continues to 

provide impartial assessments and evaluations to our stakeholders.

The new PTF facility provides flexibility 

by isolating four pit areas from each other, 

which allows independent reconstruction of 

separate experiments. Within the next year, 

the PTF will begin experiments targeting 

resiliency and sustainability.

Two Accelerated Transportation Loading 

Systems have been procured and are primed 

to begin testing. These systems can apply 

7,500 load passes every 24 hours, heat pavement up to 140 degrees Fahrenheit, allow 

up to 24-inch (0.61-meter) wheel wander to 

mimic real-world applications such as truck 

platooning, and use an automated lasermounted profiler for profile measurements. 

The facility is equipped with more than 300 

imbedded sensors and has its own weather 

station. The opportunities for the PTF 

cannot be understated and much more great 

work will come from the new facility that 

will improve the lives of people here in the 

States and around the world.

The official ribbon-cutting ceremony 

for the new PTF facility is slated for 

September 2023. FHWA looks forward to 

the beginning of the experiments and the 

development of innovative products that 

stakeholders can implement. A web-based 

data portal is currently being designed 

to make experiment results available to 

stakeholders and external researchers so 

they may multiply the benefits of this major 

investment in innovation. 

Jean Nehme, Ph.D., P.E.

Director, Office of Infrastructure 

Research and Development

Federal Highway Administration

Source: FHWA.

In conjunction with conducting multiple 

research programs using facilities and 

resources external to the FHWA, the 

Office of Infrastructure R&D operates the 

following 10 laboratories within TFHRC:

• Aggregate and Petrographic Laboratory.

• Asphalt Binder and Mixtures Laboratory.

• Chemistry Laboratory.

• Coatings and Corrosion Laboratory.

• Concrete Laboratory.

• Geotechnical Laboratory.

• J. Sterling Jones Hydraulics 

Research Laboratory.

• Nondestructive Evaluation Laboratory.

• Structures Laboratory.

• Pavement Testing Facility.

GUEST EDITORIAL
© ryzhi / Africa Studio 

/ AdobeStock.com.

Students, get ready to 

submit your 2024 papers!

Since 2016, the Federal Highway Administration’s 

(FHWA) Highway Safety Information System (HSIS) 

program in partnership with the Institute of Transportation 

Engineers (ITE) has hosted a student research paper competition, 

the HSIS Excellence in Highway Safety Data Award.

HSIS is a highway safety database that contains crash, roadway inventory, 

and traffic volume data for a select group of States and cities, and it provides data 

to researchers including students.

The competition is open to undergraduate and graduate students in degree-granting 

programs that support highway safety.

Paper Submission Period Approaching

The data request period is open! Papers will be accepted from January 1–March 1, 2024. 

Winners will be announced at the end of summer 2024. 

For more information and submission guidelines, contact Dr. Carol Tan at 

carol.tan@dot.gov or visit https://www.hsisinfo.org/award.cfm.

HSIS Excellence in 

Highway Safety 

Data Award

Opens Soon!
4 | PUBLIC ROADS | SUMMER 2023

Demos at Your Doorstep: The FHWA Mobile Asphalt Technology Center

A national pavement program that continues to evolve, even after 30 years in practice.

by LESLIE MYERS, RAM VEERARAGHAVAN, OTTO CARDENAS ARRIETA, DEREK 

NENER-PLANTE, and TIFFANY L. TOLBERT.

The Federal Highway Administration’s Mobile Asphalt Technology Center (MATC), a traveling asphalt laboratory 

and field testing program, debuted its new trailer at the 2023 

Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting in 

Washington, DC. MATC supports State agencies and the asphalt 

pavement community in exploring innovative laboratory testing 

procedures and construction testing methods by conducting 

demonstrations onsite. While the program is more than 30 years 

old, MATC now offers transportation professionals increased 

opportunities to further their innovation experience with hands-on 

and expanded educational activities right at the site of the project.

History of MATC

Through the years, MATC has evolved in both name and aim. 

Formerly known as the Mobile Asphalt Laboratory and Mobile 

Asphalt Testing Trailer—among other handles—the traveling 

workroom has championed support for State agencies via various 

FHWA initiatives. For example, in the late 1980s, its focus was on 

the field management of asphalt mixtures and the implementation 

of the original Strategic Highway Research Program; and in the 

early 2000s, it educated States and contractors on new mixture 

performance tests that supported pavement design advancements. 

Historically, MATC’s primary audience comprised of researchers 

and State departments of transportation (DOTs).

In recent years, MATC has extended its activities to paving 

contractors, local agencies, and other practitioners who support 

State DOTs. This wider reach is supported through coordinated 

efforts with the FHWA Resource Center and the FHWA Asphalt 

Binder Mixture Laboratory Implementation and Delivery 

programs. These FHWA offices collaborate on delivering, via 

MATC, onsite field evaluations and hands-on training on lab and 

field equipment; asphalt materials (binder, aggregate) and field 

materials testing; support in implementing innovative practices 

and sustainable materials; demonstrations and equipment loans; 

independent specification reviews; and virtual training 

via webinars.

Additionally, MATC has also grown to provide more support to 

other FHWA programs in the areas of pavement sustainability and 

safety. For example, the Life-cycle assessment (LCA) Pave tool has 

been added to their onsite activities to introduce a wider audience 

to pavement sustainability initiatives underway at FHWA. MATC 

also hosts FHWA division office and Federal Lands Highway 

engineers in a 2-week onsite rotational program as a means of 

getting engineers up to speed on the latest innovations and basic 

elements of asphalt testing and paving.

“Compared to 20 years ago, the impacts of our site visit don’t 

just end after we leave the site anymore; we now have a continued 

synergy with the State and their industry partners long after we 

depart the project,” says Brendan Morris, MATC project manager. 

“The impact is that now MATC has a broader reach with 

stakeholders and is including more of the contractor and local 

agency communities through site visits, conference exhibits, and 

the equipment loan program.”

Process and Benefits of a Site Visit

A site visit from MATC starts with a virtual kickoff meeting nearly 

two months before the scheduled onsite visit and includes a 

discussion around such topics as logistics and test plans with 

members of the State DOT, paving contractor team, State asphalt 

pavement association, and FHWA Division office.

Once onsite, an open house is conducted in a classroom setting 

during the morning and tours of the MATC trailer and equipment 

demonstrations are provided in the afternoon. The event is open to 

paving industry members, members of the State DOT, local 

agencies, Local Technical Assistance Program staff, consultants, 

universities, and any Federal partners in the area. 

During the project, material samples are taken from the 

field and tested in the mobile laboratory and field 

technologies are demonstrated across multiple days at 

the construction site. At the end of the visit, a close-out 

meeting is held at the trailer to discuss the test results. 

Finally, within six months of the visit, a 2-day “Quality 

in the Asphalt Paving Process” workshop is held at the 

State DOT’s facility to provide a platform for the 

exchange of information between all project participants 

and to aid in resolving current State-specific issues and 

concerns with asphalt materials and construction.

“The MATC site visit really gave us good insight 

into how the [stone matrix asphalt] treatment we were 

piloting performed in comparison to our regular 

Superpave wearing course mixtures,” says Aaron 

Schwartz, a bituminous concrete engineer at the 

Since 1988, MATC has provided technical assistance to agencies 

and other members of the asphalt community.

Source: FHWA.

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

Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans). “Not 

only that, there was a lot of excitement on both the 

agency side and the paving industry side in regard to 

the up-and-coming technologies that were 

demonstrated as part of the visit. VTrans have found 

their expertise to be extremely valuable, regardless of 

whether it’s a site visit to assist in evaluating a new 

pavement treatment like in June 2021, or an 

in-depth analysis of our performance test data.”

MATC typically stays onsite for one month and 

can accommodate four to six site visits per year. Since 

the program’s inception in 1988, it has traveled to, or 

conducted field demonstrations in, all 50 U.S. States 

as well as Washington, DC, Puerto Rico, and the 

U.S. Virgin Islands. MATC is typically scheduled 

one year out and is now accepting site visit location 

requests for 2025.

Field demonstrations usually lead to the borrowing of 

equipment from MATC. To increase the likelihood of adoption of 

new technologies, MATC loans several pieces of equipment to 

agencies, contractors, and researchers for various lengths of time. 

By taking advantage of the equipment loan program, an agency or 

contractor has the opportunity to learn the equipment and to 

visualize how it could be best used to improve pavement quality 

before making an investment. Since initiation of the equipment 

loan program in 2020, MATC has lent equipment to 24 

organizations (a mix of State DOTs, contractors, and universities), 

delivered twelve 2-day customized training workshops, and 

conducted 15 field demonstrations. In 2023, so far, eight 

additional organizations have been granted equipment loans and 

four additional workshops are already planned, with more on the 

way. Dr. Jorge Duran, the pavement management program 

supervisor at the Maricopa County DOT in Phoenix, AZ, has 

attended several MATC project site visits, including an open house 

workshop and laboratory demonstration in June 2022, and 

requested equipment for the county to try out. “I believe FHWA’s 

workshops and training programs potentially contribute to 

bridging the gap between innovation and implementation,” says 

Duran. “These unique opportunities keep you up with the latest 

technologies, methodologies, standards, and regulations; boost 

your professional network; and allow you to gain insight from 

lessons learned and best practices experienced by other agencies. 

The Equipment Loan Program is the cherry on the cake, making 

this an interesting starting point for the execution of new 

equipment, especially for local government agencies.”

Paving Forward Progress

Now, in the 2020s, making the connection between asphalt 

pavements and sustainability is a primary focus for MATC. And in 

continuing its mission of providing education and leadership, 

creating opportunities for communication, and advancing new and 

emerging asphalt materials and construction technologies, the new 

MATC trailer unveiled at TRB offers additional space to conduct 

onsite demonstrations, solar panels for energy generation, and a 

rear hydraulic lift that makes the trailer accessible to all visitors.

“It’s great to see FHWA continuing to invest in the Mobile 

Technology Centers,” says Rick Bradbury, director of Materials 

Testing at the Maine Department of Transportation in a social 

media response to the new trailer. “These are an excellent resource 

that provide State agencies and other stakeholders with the 

opportunity to evaluate the latest technologies in highway 

construction materials design and testing.”

LESLIE MYERS, senior asphalt pavement engineer in FHWA’s Office of 

Infrastructure (at Headquarters), manages the MATC Program and holds a 

Ph.D. from the University of Florida. She also holds registered professional 

engineer (PE) licenses in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

RAM VEERARAGHAVAN, project engineer for MATC, holds a Ph.D. from 

Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and is experienced in Superpave 

performance testing on hot mix asphalt nationwide.

OTTO CARDENAS ARRIETA, field construction technician with MATC, is 

experienced in the construction of asphalt pavements and density 

measurement. He leads the field demonstrations for asphalt construction 

and testing technologies for MATC and conducts asphalt mixture testing.

DEREK NENER-PLANTE, pavement and materials engineer in the FHWA 

Resource Center, provides nationwide technical assistance in asphalt 

paving and holds an M.S. from the University of Connecticut. He is also a 

registered PE in Maine.

TIFFANY L. TOLBERT is a contracted writer and editor for 

Public Roads magazine.

 https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/pavement

/asphalt/MATC/ or contact Leslie Myers (202-981-2875, 

FHWA-MATC@dot.gov).

Tests for pavement safety are conducted in the MATC laboratory on specimens as well 

as out in the field after the completion of compaction.

Sources: FHWA.

MATC has traveled to all 50 U.S. States; since 2021, 

nearly 50 equipment loans, 2-day workshops, and 

field demonstrations have been administered.

Source: FHWA.

 

 
6 | PUBLIC ROADS | SUMMER 2023

Virtual Reality 

Simulation Training 

at the 102nd 

Transportation 

Research Board 

Annual Meeting

by ERIC R. BROWN, MIGNON 

WHITTED, and SABRINA SYLVESTER

Virtual reality (VR) is simulationtechnology that allows the 

user to become involved in and 

interact with a three-dimensional, 

computer-generated environment 

in real time. Many organizations 

are using this technology to provide 

a more engaging, interactive, and 

innovative experience for learners in 

a training environment.

The Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) National 

Highway Institute (NHI) provides transportation training that 

cultivates innovation to enhance the learning experience. NHI 

demonstrated such innovation in January 2023 at the 102nd 

Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting in 

Washington, DC, by offering participants VR simulation 

experiences at its TRB exhibit hall booth:

• Virtual Reality bridge inspection (VR VBI): Participants

learned how to inspect a bridge using various tools.

• Rivers and floodplains: Participants discovered river

interactions and processes.

A video highlighting both VR simulations was displayed 

for TRB participants as they waited in line to take part in 

this experience.

VR VBI

NHI has developed a VR version of 

the award-winning VBI course 

known as the VR VBI.

The original computer-based 

training Safety Inspection of In-Service 

Bridges (FHWA-NHI-130055) and 

Safety Inspection of In-Service Bridges 

for Professional Engineers

(FHWA-NHI-130056), both courses 

updated in 2016 respectively, are 

based on FHWA’s 2015 Bridge 

Inspector’s Reference Manual for 

training on the safety inspection of 

in-service highway bridges for 

professional engineers. As technology 

evolves, software continues to provide 

learners with an increasingly realistic 

inspection experience. If a physical 

bridge is unavailable for inspection training due to inclement 

weather, traffic, or unsafe conditions, the VBI option is a 

viable alternative.

The VR VBI, a proof-of-concept technology currently in 

development, provides training participants with an interactive, 

immersive experience for learning techniques and procedures.

Rivers and Floodplains at Elwha River

By using advanced technology, FHWA effectively promotes 

knowledge and understanding of river functions and processes 

critical to highway planning and design. FHWA worked with 

consultants to develop a VR site visit of the Elwha River in 

Washington State. A diorama of the site leads participants through 

a series of locations along the river, including the former location of 

Glines Canyon Dam, the U.S. 101 bridge crossing, and the river’s 

confluence with the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

The VR simulation provides opportunities for 

participants to learn about river methods and interactions 

with dams, bridges, and other infrastructure. Embedded 

media, including stationary and drone videos, movie clips, 

and 360-degree photos, complemented the site visit content 

to enhance learning outcomes for participants. Also, an 

aqua grid allows users to move throughout the space to 

various points around, under, and on the U.S. 101 bridge to 

view erosion details, sediment accumulation, large wood 

material deposits, and other natural processes.

As a proof of concept, FHWA’s hydraulics team 

and NHI are currently exploring and planning how 

to cultivate these and other innovative technologies 

to enhance participant engagement and learning 

throughout all its program areas for future development.

For more information on NHI training, please see the 

Training Update in this issue of Public Roads.

ERIC R. BROWN is a civic hydraulics engineer for FHWA.

MIGNON WHITTED is a training program manager for NHI.

SABRINA SYLVESTER is a senior marketing analyst contractor for NHI.

FHWA Office of Transportation Workforce Development and Technology Deployment 

Associate Administrator Amy Lucero participates in the VBI virtual experience.

Source: NHI.

NHI staff assisting an FHWA employee while participating in 

the rivers and floodplains virtual experience.

Source: NHI.

INNOVATION CORNER 
October 4-5, 2023

Chicago, Illinois

Registration will open in late spring 2023. Sign up to stay informed: 

https://forms.office.com/g/fNn601pNU4

Note: The event is free to 

attend, but space is limited. 

Travel costs are not included.

For more information, contact Mack Frost, FHWA, at 

Mack.Frost@dot.gov; or Yujin Kim, U.S. Department of 

Transportation Volpe Center, at Yujin.Kim@dot.gov.

NATIONAL PEER EXCHANGE 

on Freight Resiliency for 

Climate-Related Disruptions

The Federal Highway Administration 

(FHWA) invites public sector transportation 

agencies actively engaged in freight 

resiliency planning to attend the in-person 

National Peer Exchange event to:

• Discuss different approaches 

to freight resiliency.

• Share successful strategies for 

incorporating climate resiliency 

concepts into freight transportation 

plans and decisionmaking.

• Learn about Federal resources available 

to support States’ freight resiliency efforts.

For more information on the 

current state of practice in 

freight resiliency planning, 

please review the final report: 

“State of the Practice Scan: 

Freight Resilience Planning 

in the Face of ClimateRelated Disruption”.

© m.mphoto / AdobeStock.com

October 4-5, 2023 | Chicago, IL
8 | PUBLIC ROADS | SUMMER 2023

by J. BLAKE WHITMAN, MICHAEL A. PEREZ, and BRIAN L. SMITH

Managing stormwater to protect the Nation’s waters is a common challenge 

of highway construction sites. Most water 

quality problems in lakes and rivers are the 

result, in part, of stormwater runoff. Typically, grading and earth-disturbing activities 

during construction require removal of 

vegetation that dissipates raindrop energy 

and filters and controls stormwater pollution. Construction grading and earth 

disturbance leave areas of land susceptible 

to rainfall-induced soil erosion caused when 

raindrops fall directly on the soil surface and 

dislodge soil particles. These dislodged soil 

particles are suspended in stormwater runoff 

and may carry fertilizer, pesticide residue, 

and other chemicals that are detrimental 

to aquatic life. While erosion is a naturally 

occurring process, construction exacerbates 

erosion rates. Erosion rates on construction 

sites can be as high as 500 tons (454 metric 

tons) per acre per year, rates which are 100 

times greater than agricultural land uses, 

and 2,000 times greater than erosion of 

land protected by leaves and vegetation in 

naturally wooded areas.

Sediment—materials that are transported in water runoff from one area to 

another as the result of erosion (e.g., tiny 

particles of clay, rock, and minerals)—can 

have negative consequences on downstream 

receiving water bodies, including impacts 

on water clarity, disruptions to aquatic 

ecosystems, and repercussions on human, 

animal, and plant health. Installing a silt 

fence, also known as a sediment fence, on 

construction sites is a standard practice used 

for controlling runoff and mitigating the 

effects construction site runoff has on the 

surrounding environment, including lakes, 

streams, and habitats.

In addition to ecological issues, excessive amounts of sediment may change the 

characteristics of a streambed and impair 

streamflow through culverts. Flooding, 

increased culvert maintenance, increased 

drinking water treatment costs, and loss of 

recreational value are other impacts that can 

occur from excessive sedimentation.

First and Last Defense

One of the principal objectives of the Clean 

Water Act is to “maintain the chemical, 

physical and biological integrity of the 

Nation’s waters.” Per 23 CFR 650.203, it 

is also the policy of the Federal Highway 

Administration that all highways funded 

THE SILT FENCE: 

KEEPING SEDIMENT WHERE IT BELONGS Enhancing the design of silt fence sediment barriers used during highway construction.
HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 9

in whole or in part under Title 23 of 

the United States Code shall be located, 

designed, constructed, and operated 

according to standards that will minimize erosion and sediment damage to the 

highway and adjacent properties and abate 

pollution of surface and ground water 

resources. To meet these goals, contractors rely on erosion and sediment control 

practices and products. One of the first 

sediment control practices employed on a 

construction site, prior to major ground 

disturbances, includes sediment barriers 

(e.g., silt fences, fiber rolls, synthetic rolls, 

and compost socks). Sediment barriers often 

function as the last line of defense prior to 

stormwater runoff discharging from a site. 

As runoff flows across construction sites, 

sediment particles may become dislodged 

and suspended by the kinetic energy of 

runoff flow velocity. Sediment accumulates 

and will stay suspended until the velocity 

and kinetic energy reduce, providing 

favorable conditions for sedimentation to 

occur. Sediment barriers provide favorable 

settling conditions by creating areas of 

impoundment (pooling water behind the 

barrier), thereby reducing runoff velocity, 

and retaining sediment onsite.

Silt fences are one of the most common 

and recognizable practices used in construction stormwater management, but silt fences 

have issues of their own. Design guidelines 

typically stipulate the installation of silt 

fence sediment barriers on level ground 

along the construction site’s contour lines to 

intercept sheet flow to spread flow across the 

entire length of fence, thereby maximizing 

the impoundment area. It is often difficult 

to precisely follow a site’s contour lines 

during installation, and site constraints may 

not allow for proper placement. When these 

difficulties arise, the resulting installation 

of silt fences leads to points of concentrated stormwater impoundments at lower 

elevations—where deeper impoundments 

with a smaller surface area will decrease 

functionality of a silt fence and possibly lead 

to installation failure. Failure can be in the 

form of structural collapse or undermining 

leading to decreased performance, which 

may render the silt fence completely ineffective due to minimal impoundment capabilities. Excessive wetness, ponding water, or 

silt fence failure can result in a costly delay 

for the construction schedule.

Large-Scale Testing 

Enhances Defense

Recently, the Alabama Department of 

Transportation (ALDOT) sponsored a study 

with the Auburn University–Stormwater 

Research Facility (AU-SRF) to evaluate the 

installation effectiveness of their standard 

silt fence detail. AU-SRF is one of the 

university stormwater research facilities 

across the Nation that partner with State 

departments of transportation and regional, 

local, and Tribal transportation agencies 

and assist with research, product evaluation, 

nonproprietary innovations, and first-hand 

training to facilitate innovative and practical solutions for stormwater management. 

Large-scale testing of silt fence installations 

by AU-SRF used hydrologic conditions 

mimicking runoff from a 0.5-acre drainage 

basin spread across 100 feet (30 meters) of 

wire-backed reinforced silt fence, resulting 

in a testing flow rate of 0.22 cubic feet 

(0.006 cubic meters) per second across a 

20-foot (6-meter) wide installation. This flow rate is indicative 

of the expected runoff from a 

2-year, 24-hour storm event 

for construction conditions 

in central Alabama. Sediment 

loading of 1,128 pounds (512 

kilograms) was introduced to 

the runoff across the 30-minute 

test duration to simulate 

sediment-laden conditions. 

This loading is also based upon 

typical construction conditions 

in Alabama and calculated using 

the modified Universal Soil 

Loss Equation. During testing, 

structural integrity, sediment 

retention, and water quality 

parameters were assessed to 

determine performance.

Both the schematic drawing and implementation 

of the design taken from the 2021 Alabama 

Department of Transportation Standard and 

Special Drawings for Highway Construction. 

© 2021 ALDOT. Modified by FHWA.

A poorly installed and maintained silt fence at highway 

construction sites can have negative consequences, 

including disruptions to aquatic ecosystems and 

repercussions on human, animal, and plant health. 

© 2019 Auburn University.
10 | PUBLIC ROADS | SUMMER 2023

Modified Universal Soil 

Loss Equation

Y = 95(Qqp )0.56 K × LS × C × P

Where,

Y = sediment yield for an 

individual storm (tons)

Q = volume of runoff (acre-feet)

qp = peak flow rate (cfs)

K = soil erodibility factor

LS = length-slop factor

C = erosion control factor

P = sediment control factor

ALDOT used a silt fence consisting of 

3.5 ounces (99 grams) per square yard of 

nonwoven geotextile fabric, installed on 

metal T-posts with wire backed reinforcement. ALDOT’s design guidance for a 

standard installation of silt fences specifies 

maximum T-post spacing of 10 feet (3 

meters) and an installed height of 32 inches 

(81 centimeters). A silt fence may be positioned in a 6-inch by 6-inch (0.15-meter 

by 0.15-meter) trench or sliced in with a 

silt fence slicing machine. Although the 

American Association of State Highway and 

Transportation Officials require minimum 

steel T-post densities of 1.3 pounds (0.59 

kilograms) per foot, silt fences installed in 

Alabama are often supported by 0.85 to 

0.95 pounds (0.39 to 0.43 kilograms) per 

foot T-posts.

When assessed at 5 and 10 feet (1.5 and 

3 meters) post spacing, the 0.95 pounds 

(0.43 kilograms) per foot posts were severely 

deflected, resulting in structural failure 

after the third performance test to the same 

installation. For installations evaluated 

using 10 feet (3 meters) post spacing of 

0.95 pounds (0.43 kilograms) per foot 

posts, the middle post deflected, on average, 

2.3 feet (0.70 meters) after the third performance test on that installation. Through a 

variety of installation modification iterations, an enhanced installation was developed that consisted of 1.25 pounds (0.57 

kilograms) per foot steel T-posts spaced 

5-feet (1.5-meter) on-center and offset 6 

inches (0.15 meters) downstream of the 

trench. This installation resulted in the least 

amount of post deflection, with the center 

middle T-post deflecting only 0.15 feet 

(0.05 meters) after the third performance 

test. Offsetting the location of the trench 

allowed the T-post to gain an additional 6 

inches (15 centimeters) of ground support 

as it was no longer installed within the 

trench. Furthermore, the offset installation 

reduces the height of the fence and provides 

additional anchoring of the geotextile due 

to the force of impounded water bearing 

on the fabric. Offsetting the trench also 

enhances compaction, as it allows for a 

tamper or compaction plate to traverse over 

the back-filled trench without tearing or 

snagging the silt fence. A complete testing 

methodology is available in the 2021 publication of Journal of Irrigation and Drainage 

Engineering (https://ascelibrary.org/doi/10.1061

/%28ASCE%29IR.1943-4774.0001521).

Silt fence sediment barriers that perform 

as intended result in large impoundments, especially when sediment clogs or 

blinds the geotextile, greatly reducing the 

amount of water allowed to flow through. 

Researchers at the AU-SRF also developed 

a dewatering weir that acts to control the 

discharge of impounded stormwater at a 

controlled rate. The weir is comprised of 

common plywood and includes a v-notch 

and a series of orifices. The weir relieves 

excessive impoundment, while the orifices 

(a) enhanced installation detail in profile (b) posts installed offset from trench 

Offsetting the location of the trench allows the T-post to gain additional ground support in anchoring 

of the geotextile due to the force of impounded water bearing on the fabric. 

(a) © 2021 ALDOT / (b and c) © 2018 Auburn University.

(a) ALDOT dewatering board installation detail 

Correct installation of the modified silt fence design results in the collection of sediment; it allows for a tamper or 

compaction plate to traverse over the back-filled trench without tearing or snagging the silt fence. 

(a) © 2021 ALDOT / (b and c) © 2018 Auburn University.
HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 11

dewater impoundment over the course of 

several hours.

Even though water passes through this 

dewatering mechanism and not through 

a “filtration medium,” sediment capture 

upstream of the sediment barrier was minimally affected as both installations, with 

and without the dewatering board, captured 

over 90 percent of the sediment introduced 

by volume. This high performance is due to 

the impoundment depth and length being 

minimally affected by the dewatering board. 

These installation concepts can help practitioners maximize silt fence performance by 

minimizing structural failure and downtime associated with large impoundments 

affecting work areas.

The design was accepted by the Alabama 

Soil and Water Conservation Committee 

(ALSWCC). Perry L. Oakes, a professional engineer (PE) and Erosion and 

Sediment Control Program coordinator 

for ALSWCC, acknowledges the scientific 

validity of the design, “ALSWCC maintains 

Alabama’s Erosion and Sediment Control 

Handbook. The ALDOT research at the 

Auburn University Stormwater Research 

Facility ensures that the practices in our 

handbook are innovative and scientifically 

based, not only for ALDOT sites, but for 

construction sites throughout the State.”

“The Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) greatly 

appreciates the continued collaborative 

efforts between ALDOT and Auburn 

University regarding enhancements of best 

management practices for erosion and 

sediment control,” says Shelane P. Bergquist, 

chief of the Construction Permits Section 

Stormwater Management Branch at the 

Water Division of ADEM. “These efforts 

will continue to pay dividends in the protection of our waterbodies.”

Promising Modifications 

for Silt Fences

Richard Klinger, an environmental 

construction engineer at ALDOT, embraced 

the innovative design and worked to develop 

a Standard Specification (665608, https://

aub.ie/siltfence) released in 2021. Of the 

designs, Klinger states, “ALDOT strives to 

continuously improve erosion and sediment 

control practices to keep pace with the everevolving environmental regulations.” He 

further comments on the modified silt fence 

design saying that “reduced height requires 

less material which is more environmentally 

friendly while delivering increased performance. At times, field conditions may differ 

from the design or an issue with the grading 

operation may cause unintended impoundment of the silt fence. The increased post 

spacing and the dewatering weir are a maintenance measure for these areas of unintended impoundment. The additional posts 

and dewatering weir can be installed in the 

existing silt fence without jeopardizing the 

structural integrity of the fence or having to 

completely remove sections and re-install. 

The dewatering weir is simple to construct, 

easy to install, and gives the contractor the 

ability to get back to work in these areas 

much quicker than with previous practices.”

Wade Henry, assistant bureau chief 

of final design at ALDOT, declares that 

the modified design “is just one of many 

examples where ALDOT’s investment in 

Auburn’s research continues to pay off. 

ALDOT is committed to continue to learn 

and practically apply that knowledge to 

evolve our erosion prevention best management practices, so that we can address 

erosion in the most effective and efficient 

ways possible.” 

J. BLAKE WHITMAN, Ph.D., PE, Certified Professional 

in Erosion and Sediment Control (CPESC), is 

an assistant professor at Middle Tennessee 

State University in the School of Concrete and 

Construction Management. Whitman completed 

his Ph.D. at Auburn University where he evaluated 

the performance of ALDOT sediment barrier 

practices used on construction sites.

MICHAEL PEREZ, Ph.D., PE, CPESC, is an 

assistant professor in the department of Civil 

and Environmental Engineering at Auburn 

University. He teaches courses in construction 

and stormwater management and oversees the 

research program at AU-SRF.

BRIAN SMITH, CPESC, is an ecologist for the 

FHWA Resource Center - Office of Innovation 

Implementation. He holds a B.S. degree in biological 

science from Illinois State University and an M.S. in 

geology from Northern Illinois University.

For more information, visit http://stormwater 

.auburn.edu or contact Michael Perez at 

334-844-6267 or mike.perez@auburn.edu.

(c) final installation

(b) downstream vantage point (c) final sediment deposition pattern
12 | PUBLIC ROADS | SUMMER 2023

Staff from the City of Lynchburg’s Department of Public Works erected the Elizabeth Langhorne Lewis marker in 2022.

© Ted Delaney, Lynchburg Museum System.

A State Historical Society of Missouri marker along Route 36 in Brookfield, MO, in 1931.

© MoDOT.

 
HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 13

History Along the Roadway

How historical markers in Missouri and Virginia are still used to enlighten 

the public about significant historic resources and events in their States.

by KAREN L. DANIELS, MICHAEL MEINKOTH, and JENNIFER R. LOUX

Historical markers have a distinct mission. Across the Nation, mile after mile, on 

roadway after roadway, historical markers 

link important stories to the landscapes 

where they took place. Whether situated 

high above the ground or lying directly on 

the terrain, markers work to make history 

feel more immediate, and, in some cases, 

bring into light incidents largely forgotten 

or intentionally ignored. Virginia’s historical marker program has the distinction of 

being one of the oldest in the Nation, while 

Missouri’s program carries the distinction 

of making its State the first in the Midwest 

to completely mark a modern cross-state 

highway with historical markers.

The primary purpose of the Missouri 

Department of Transportation (MoDOT) 

Historic Preservation Section—the section 

of MoDOT that researches the State’s 

history for highway projects relating to 

prehistoric archaeology, archaeology, architectural history, bridges, and roadways—is 

to ensure compliance with Federal historic 

preservation laws, specifically Section 106 

of the National Historic Preservation Act 

(Section 106). MoDOT archaeologists, 

architectural historians, and other staff 

have performed extensive research into the 

history of Missouri’s highways, so much 

so the Historical Preservation Section has 

become the State’s go-to resource for questions about the highway system, old maps 

and roadside parks, highway beautification 

efforts, and historical highway markers.

Via its research, the MoDOT Historic 

Preservation section also understands 

the importance of making the highway 

system’s history accessible to 

the public and supports other 

practitioners in the field of 

transportation with mitigation efforts. One of the ways 

this research becomes accessible is through displaying 

and promoting interpretive 

markers, often in partnership with other public and 

private organizations.

Virginia’s nearly 2,600 

roadside historical markers, 

recognizable by their iconic silver and 

black design, have turned the State into 

an open-air museum for nearly a century. 

Managed by the Virginia Department of 

Historic Resources (DHR), a State agency, 

the marker program educates Virginians 

and visitors about significant places, people, 

and events representing hundreds of years 

of history—from before the era of European 

colonization until roughly five decades ago. 

Markers acknowledge both the inspiring 

and disturbing events of Virginia’s past, 

encompassing such topics as the founding 

of the Nation, scientific achievements, and 

civil rights victories, as well as the displacement of many Native Americans, the sale 

of enslaved people, and the lynching of 

African-Americans. They are not erected 

to honor the subjects or to serve as monuments or memorials. Instead, their primary 

purpose is to provide information of high 

educational value, illuminating the past in 

the interest of understanding the present.

Historical Marker Programs: 

The Beginnings

Virginia’s marker program began in 1927 

when the State’s new Commission of 

Conservation and Development installed 

the first markers along U.S. Route 1. This 

commission—which coordinated the State’s 

programs for parks, forestry, geology, water 

power, history, and archaeology—was 

charged with stimulating economic development using strategies tailored to the age 

of the automobile. The marker program 

was intended to entice motorists to explore 

Virginia via 

the State’s new 

highway system, 

and spend money 

on food, gasoline, and lodging 

along the way. 

According to 

an early advertisement for the 

marker program, 

the traveler’s car 

was to be like 

“an easy chair” 

and the “roads 

before him” 

would be “open 

pages in the most 

thrilling history of 

the Nation.”

By 1942, 

when the Commission of Conservation 

and Development’s marker program 

was suspended during World War II, 

about 1,400 markers lined the highways. 

When the Virginia Historic Landmarks 

Commission—the forerunner of today’s 

Virginia DHR—was created in 1966 to 

manage the State’s historic preservation 

Four markers along U.S. Highway 58 

in Mecklenburg County, VA, erected 

between 1930 and 2001.

© Jennifer Loux, Virginia DHR.

An early advertisement for 

Virginia’s marker program.

© Virginia DHR.

From Then to Now: 
The Lewiston DAR marker along the Boone’s Lick Road 

commemorates the community of Lewiston, which became 

the first county seat of Montgomery County, MO.

© Karen L. Daniels, MoDOT.

14 | PUBLIC ROADS | SUMMER 2023

efforts, it assumed responsibility for the 

marker program.

MoDOT Historical Preservation 

Section’s current processes also build upon a 

long tradition of marking history along the 

roadway. In 1913, the Missouri Daughters 

of the American Revolution (DAR)—who 

were instrumental in the adoption of the 

Missouri State flag and the development of 

genealogical libraries throughout the State—

partnered with the newly created Missouri 

State Highway Department (SHD) to 

mark highways that were important during 

Missouri’s Spanish and French colonial and 

territorial eras. Early in the partnership, the 

two organizations advocated for and raised 

funds to mark four highways: Boone’s Lick 

Road, Santa Fe Trail, El Camino Real, and 

Daniel Boone Trail. Markers associated with 

two of these programs still exist today.

For example, in 1917, DAR marked 

El Camino Real (also known as Kings 

Highway or Kingshighway) by placing a 

marker in each county between St. Louis 

and Caruthersville. The highway (roughly 

corresponding to modern U.S. Route 61) 

is the oldest in Missouri that originally 

connected the French settlements along 

the Mississippi River. When Americans 

started arriving shortly before the Louisiana 

Purchase it also connected the settlements 

of Americans. El Camino Real was the first 

highway designated by the Missouri territorial legislature, which was incorporated into 

the early highway system.

Likewise, many of the original Boone’s 

Lick Road granite markers, some in the 

shape of millstones and others stone slabs, 

were placed at the edge of State highway 

rights-of-way and continue to be along 

State highways. Many in the area have 

been surveyed for MoDOT projects, 

especially those that are along present-day 

Interstate 70 outer roads and along St. 

Charles County Route N. However, some 

of Missouri’s early highways were relocated, 

as were their markers. Today, many of the 

original markers are located near prominent 

buildings or natural features.

The Middle-of-the-Roads

In the spring of 1932, the State Historical Society (SHS) of Missouri, working 

with SHD, erected historical markers 

along U.S. Highway 36 in northern 

Missouri—between the cities of Hannibal 

and St. Joseph—as a way of popularizing 

State history. Markers were dedicated to 

important figures who had lived along the 

corridor including writers Mark Twain and 

Eugene Fields, Senator David R. Atchison, 

and U.S. Army Officer John J. Pershing. 

Communities including the cities of 

Laclede, Hannibal, Cameron, Linn, Brookfield, and St. Joseph received markers, as did 

Buchanan County. The first railroad across 

Missouri, the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad, was also marked. With these placements, Missouri became the first State in 

the Midwest to completely mark a modern 

cross-state highway with historical markers. 

George A. Mahan, who was president of 

SHS at the time, purchased plantings to 

beautify the marker locations.

In the fall of 1932, at the Missouri State 

Fairgrounds in Sedalia, SHS dedicated a 

marker to the State Highway System at the 

SHD Highway Gardens exhibit location 

on the fairgrounds. This marker told the 

history of highway funding in the State 

from territorial appropriations to the 

Centennial Road Law which created the 

State Highway System.

In the 1950s, SHS and SHD entered 

into a formal agreement to place historical 

markers across the State over a 10-year 

period. Per the agreement, SHS would 

research and write the content for the 

markers and SHD would prepare appropriate locations for their placement. Appropriate locations included areas adjacent to 

State highways where right-of-way was wide 

enough to provide safe access to the marker, 

and where the marker was positioned in 

a landscaped area such as roadside parks 

with amenities or simple pull-offs with a 

driveway. Each county and the city of St. 

Louis would receive at least one marker 

(typically large, two-sided tablets). In the 

end, 121 markers were placed across the 

State. Since their placement, many of the 

county markers have been relocated to the 

county’s courthouse lawns.

According to Beth Pike, SHS’ current 

assistant director for Communications and 

Education Outreach, the society has made 

its “mission to collect, preserve, and make 

material related to Missouri history available to the public.” Pike “still gets excited” 

when she discovers a new-to-her marker in 

traveling across the State. “Often, I learn 

something new about Missouri.”

A State Historical Society of 

Missouri marker along Route 36 in 

Brookfield, MO. The roadway where 

the marker sits has remained largely 

unchanged since the 1930s. 

© Grace Smith, MoDOT.
HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 15

In the 1970s, the Commonwealth of 

Virginia stopped providing regular funding 

for new markers. Over the last four decades, 

most new markers have been created via 

an application process that allows individuals or organizations—such as historical 

societies, churches, alumni associations, 

museums, and tourism bureaus—to propose 

topics and to submit draft text for the 

markers. In this way, hundreds of people 

have worked with DHR to tell the stories 

that are important to them and the State. 

Nelson Harris, a minister and former mayor 

of Roanoke, VA, has successfully applied for 

a number of markers. “I am often amazed 

at how little the general public knows about 

their locality’s history but is keenly interested in finding out. I know first-hand how 

markers are appreciated by locals and used 

by others to promote history-related tourism 

and research,” Harris says. “They allow 

readers to reflect upon [the past] in ways 

that might be inspirational or cautionary, 

but always educational.”

Historical Marker Programs: The Now

To be eligible for a marker in Virginia, an 

event, person, or place must be of regional, 

statewide, or national significance; subjects 

of strictly local importance do not qualify. 

The subject must have attained its significance at least 50 years prior to the current 

year, and a marker may not focus on a 

living person. DHR staff members conduct 

research on each topic, consulting primary 

sources when possible, and edit each text 

for accuracy, clarity, brevity, thoroughness, 

and educational value. The staff members 

work closely with applicants to arrive at 

a final draft of about 100 words, which 

is then presented to the Marker Editorial 

Committee, a group of historians, archaeologists, and copy editors. As Harris notes, 

the markers “tell a fact-checked narrative, 

and that elevates them above other forms of 

historic recognition in the public sphere.” 

If the committee accepts the text, the staff 

members present it for official approval at a 

quarterly meeting of the Virginia Board of 

Historic Resources, a seven-member body 

appointed by the governor. Applicants pay 

approximately $3,000 for the manufacture of the marker, if their proposal 

is approved.

While DHR is responsible for 

the information that appears on 

State markers, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) 

handles marker site approvals, installation, 

and maintenance. VDOT, whose history 

traces back to the establishment of the State 

Highway Commission in 1906, builds 

and maintains transportation infrastructure on the VDOT rights-of-way. The 

close partnership between these two State 

agencies is vital to the success of the marker 

program. “Working with DHR, VDOT 

has been able to maintain existing, replace 

damaged, and erect new historical markers 

on VDOT’s right-of-way at key locations 

denoting significant historical events,” 

says Rick Burgess, manager of VDOT’s 

Integrated Directional Signing Program 

(IDSP). “The traveling public is utilizing 

our available restaurants, lodging facilities, 

service stations, camping sites, and other 

related attractions... I believe this has 

helped to stimulate economic growth.” The 

IDSP, which oversees revenue-generating 

logo signs (i.e., for gas, food, lodging, and 

attractions on limited-access highways) and 

other similar programs, provides funding for 

historical marker installation and maintenance. In cities and towns that maintain 

their own roadways, the local public works 

departments approve sites and install and 

maintain markers.

Historical markers, and closely related 

interpretive panels and markers, are often 

used by State departments of transportation 

to provide a public benefit when historic 

resources—properties that are eligible 

for listing on the National Register of 

Historic Places (NRHP)—will be adversely 

affected by construction projects. Under 

Section 106, if these adverse effects cannot 

be avoided or minimized, they must be 

resolved through mitigation, which can 

include historical markers, interpretive 

markers, and interpretive panels and kiosks. 

These help explain to the public what has 

been lost as well as interpret what remains. 

Since Missouri does not have an active 

official State historical marker program, the 

MoDOT Historic Preservation Section uses 

interpretive panels and markers and other 

efforts to comply with Section 106.

For example, when the Missouri River 

bridge at Boonville, Cooper County, 

MO, was replaced in 1995, the cobblestone landing along the riverfront was 

unearthed—a significant archaeological find 

The Equal Suffrage League of Virginia 

marker stands on the campus of Virginia 

Commonwealth University in Richmond.

© Matt Gottlieb, Virginia DHR.
16 | PUBLIC ROADS | SUMMER 2023

eligible for listing in the NRHP. Working 

with the city of Boonville, a park—dubbed 

Cobblestone Park—was established along 

the riverfront showcasing the historic 

cobblestones. Because the Boonville Bridge 

was also NRHP-eligible and was adversely 

affected by the project, elements from the 

bridge, including pieces of the railing and 

the bridge plaques, were incorporated into 

the park. MoDOT provided interpretive 

panels about the Boonville Bridge and the 

significance of the riverfront cobblestones 

for the park. Making the mitigation relevant 

to the public is desirable, and one way to 

do that is through interpreting the resources 

that are affected using interpretive panels.

In another instance, the New Franklin 

Viaduct on Missouri Highway 5—the 

longest State highway and the only highway 

to transverse the entire State—spanned 

a division yard for the Missouri Kansas 

Texas (MKT) Railroad. The MKT ceased 

operation in 1986 and Missouri acquired 

the right-of-way, which developed into the 

Katy Trail State Park. MoDOT proposed 

to remove the viaduct in 2008, since the 

structure was no longer needed. Since the 

viaduct was NRHP-eligible, as part of the 

Section 106 mitigation for the removal 

of the massive concrete structure, it was 

proposed that a trailhead for the Katy Trail 

be developed adjacent to Missouri Highway 

5, and that an interpretive panel on the 

history of the viaduct be included in the 

trailhead. MoDOT worked with Missouri 

State Parks to develop and install the 

interpretive panel. Railings from the viaduct 

were installed along Missouri Highway 5 

adjacent to the trail.

Interest in the Virginia historical marker 

program has also recently surged, resulting 

in the approval of as many as 50 to 60 new 

markers per year. At the same time, supply 

chain problems and high demand at the 

foundry that manufactures the markers 

have reduced the pace at which new signs 

can be delivered, and a substantial backlog 

has formed. In December 2021, the Board 

of Historic Resources adopted new, more 

selective approval procedures for marker 

proposals in recognition that the program’s 

rate of growth was unsustainable. Instead 

of accepting 10-15 applications from the 

public per quarter, DHR staff members 

now use a scoring rubric to select the top 

five applications received by each quarterly 

deadline. Proposals that receive the highest 

scores are those that have great potential to 

educate the public; address a topic that the 

program has not extensively covered; focus 

on the history of a community that has been 

marginalized or underrepresented; demonstrate statewide or national significance; and 

contribute to a more equitable geographic 

distribution of markers.

After a marker is in place, its sponsoring 

organization typically holds a dedication 

and unveiling ceremony. These events celebrate the completion of the project, bring 

communities together to learn more about 

the subject featured on the marker, and 

stimulate media reports that educate 

the wider public. “Time and 

time again, I have witnessed Virginia’s 

highway marker program galvanize communities around a shared sense of purpose and 

history. Attending a marker unveiling is a 

moving experience, during which attendees 

witness first-hand the power of history. 

I have lost count of the number of times 

that these events have moved me to tears,” 

remarks Julie Langan, director of DHR.

Markable Challenges

While having a nearly century-old marker 

program is a point of pride in Virginia, 

the program’s longevity has also created 

challenges. The sensibilities and scope of 

the program have changed radically since 

its early decades, when markers focused 

largely on colonial houses and churches, the 

expansion of European settlement westward, 

and political and military history—with an 

emphasis on Civil War battles and troop 

movements. Information about the history 

of Native Americans (other than armed 

conflicts with settlers), African-Americans, 

and women was virtually excluded until 

the 1980s, when the program’s definition 

of what qualified as “historic” or 

The interpretive panel for the New Franklin Viaduct in Missouri tells about the 

history and engineering of the bridge, the importance of the community to the 

MKT railroad, and the removal of the bridge. 

© Karen L. Daniels, MoDOT.

A crowd gathered in 2014 at the dedication of the marker for the Dinwiddie 

Industrial School, a historically African-American school. 

© Brad McDonald, Virginia DHR.
HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 17

The 23rd USCT at the Alrich Farm highway marker before its unveiling in 2014. 

© Jennifer Loux, Virginia DHR.

“significant” began to broaden.

Since the 1990s, DHR has made 

vigorous efforts to diversify the content 

of the program so that it presents a more 

complete and accurate account of Virginia’s past. A series of Federal grants received 

between 1996 and 2009 allowed DHR 

staff and community partners to develop 

a variety of new markers about Native 

Americans, African-Americans, and women, 

highlighting such topics as a Monacan 

Indian village, the 23rd U.S. Colored 

Troops (USCT), the Equal Suffrage League 

of Virginia, and jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald. 

In addition, the Virginia General Assembly 

allocated funding in 2021 to support the 

production of 35 diversity-related markers. 

Despite these efforts, the program’s earlier 

history of exclusion means that, in terms 

of absolute numbers, the marker system 

still doesn’t adequately reflect the reality of 

Virginia’s multicultural past, an ongoing 

problem given that markers are often 

perceived as an official representation of 

what the State considers to be important.

A second challenge stemming from 

the program’s age has been the lingering 

presence of markers that are deteriorated, 

outdated, misleading, or erroneous. Markers 

are intended to stand on the roadsides 

for decades, and there is no way to revise 

them—other than full replacement—when 

new information comes to light or when 

terminology evolves, rendering certain 

words antiquated or offensive. DHR’s 

marker retirement policy 

allows for the removal and 

replacement of markers 

that are in poor physical condition, contain 

factual errors, or have 

limited educational 

value because their texts 

are exceedingly brief, lack historical context, 

or are otherwise inadequate, as determined 

by a detailed evaluation based on thorough 

research. Markers from the 1920s through 

the 1950s often contained very short texts 

and omitted information now considered 

essential. For example, markers about 

plantations did not mention the labor of 

enslaved people. Updated replacements 

contain longer, more comprehensive texts 

based on modern historical scholarship.

Although the demand for replacements 

is great and the associated expenses are 

substantial, DHR and VDOT have worked 

steadily to reduce the number of markers 

that do not meet the modern standards of 

the program. Federal grant funding in the 

1990s and early 2000s allowed for the first 

large-scale replacement of older markers, 

bringing an aesthetic improvement to 

the roadsides as rusty and cracked iron 

signs gave way to new aluminum markers. 

Recently, State funding allowed DHR and 

VDOT to partner in the replacement of 

about 100 markers in 2017-2018, and, as 

of 2020, a reliable stream of funds from 

VDOT’s IDSP covers the cost of replacing 

about 10-15 missing or deteriorated 

markers per year. An infusion of State 

funds in 2021 is also supporting the 

replacement of damaged or outdated 

markers in cities and towns that are 

outside VDOT’s jurisdiction. Because 

older markers may retain special 

significance to the community and 

are often regarded as important artifacts, 

those that are retired from the roadside may 

be donated for indoor display to museums 

or other organizations that have an educational mission.

A Virginia Department of Historic Resources 

marker erected in 2017 near the 

Cape Henry Lighthouse. 

© Matt Gottlieb, Virginia DHR.
18 | PUBLIC ROADS | SUMMER 2023

Hitting the Mark: Historical 

Marker Contests

As the design-build Request for Proposals 

in Missouri was being developed, Brandi 

Baldwin, deputy project director for the 

Champ Clark Bridge Project, contacted 

the MoDOT Historic Preservation Section 

about including a required interpretive 

marker or panel as part of a science, 

technology, engineering, and mathematics 

(STEM) challenge. Baldwin explains: “[I] 

always had a great passion for STEM, and 

when I saw the requirement for an interpretive panel, I saw an opportunity to engage 

the local schools. I wanted to give high 

schools students the opportunity to have a 

life-long impact on their community and 

with their families, and be able to say, ‘look 

what I did when I was a kid.’ ”

Five schools in Missouri and one in 

Illinois participated in the challenge, which 

was set up like the design-build procurement process. Aaron Gander, machine tool 

instructor with the Hannibal Career and 

Technical Center whose students had the 

winning design, said “my best memory of 

the design challenge was the teamwork I 

witnessed amongst our students. They spent 

many hours designing and evaluating their 

design to meet the contest criteria. I feel the 

students benefited beyond the challenge as 

it prepared them for requirements of college 

and work. Working with others, compromising, and then rallying around each other 

to reach a goal. The students were so proud 

of their accomplishment, and it was a lot of 

fun!” The marker is a result of compromise: 

one school had the winning design, while 

another school had the winning text.

The interpretive marker in its final form 

was dedicated on a cold, drizzly January 

day in 2020. Despite the weather, nearly 75 

people attended the dedication, including 

three of the students who had worked on 

the winning design.

In Virginia, the State’s Department of 

Education partnered with DHR to sponsor 

three contests in which K-12 students 

submitted ideas for historical markers 

during Black History Month in 2020 and 

2021, and during Asian American and 

Pacific Islander Heritage Month in 2021. 

The best entries were selected, resulting in 

20 new markers that cover such people and 

topics as civil rights activist Barbara Johns, 

NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson, 

Tuskegee Airman John L. Whitehead Jr., 

Filipinos in the U.S. Navy, and Vietnamese 

immigration to Northern Virginia. These 

contests “were examples of hands-on, 

relevant, real-world learning at its best,” 

Lewis Longenecker, history teacher at 

Cumberland Middle School, observes. 

“Students had the opportunity to use their 

voice to ensure lesser-known historic figures 

acquired the recognition they deserved.” 

Participants “gained an understanding 

that there are common values, such as the 

importance of education, unselfishness, 

service to others, and a love of democracy 

that people of all backgrounds share,” 

he adds.

Marking a Path Forward: The Future

As the Virginia marker program looks 

forward to commemorating its 100th 

birthday in 2027, it can point to many 

successes. The program, featuring nearly 

2,600 markers, now highlights a wide 

variety of topics, from the Shoeless Wonders 

Football Team in Lynchburg and the 

Roanoke Life Saving and First Aid Crew 

to the 1889 Thaxton train wreck and the 

origins of Virginia’s chapters of the youth 

development program 4-H. Although 

Virginia’s marker program was slow to begin 

diversifying, it now features more than 

430 markers that focus on African-American history.

Looking toward the future, a priority 

is to use available technology to make the 

historical content of the marker program 

more easily accessible to the public. While 

DHR’s website already offers a searchable 

marker database, the agency is working with 

VDOT on a new, more flexible ArcGIS app 

that will allow users to search for markers 

by keyword, subject, or locality and view 

the results on a map. In ways that couldn’t 

have been imagined a century ago, the 

program will forge ahead in its mission to 

spark interest in Virginia 

history, draw visitors 

The historical marker for the Champ Clark Bridge in 

Missouri was designed during a STEM competition 

by the Hannibal Career and Technical Center and 

the text written by the Pittsfield High School. 

© Karen L. Daniels, MoDOT.
HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 19

to historical sites, and educate the public about a wide range of 

significant people, places, and events that shaped the past and 

influenced the present.

The MoDOT Historic Preservation Section’s interpretive 

panel program also looks forward to securing more partnerships 

through identifying resources that will benefit from panels, identifying appropriate locations on or off MoDOT rights-of-way, and 

providing feedback on drafts of interpretive text to ensure local 

perspectives are captured and critical errors are avoided. Similarly, 

opportunities to establish a growing network with local partners 

(i.e., cities, historical societies, and special interest groups) exist in 

locations that are accessible to the public (and in areas where the 

risk of vandalism is low) and where the consulting parties and the 

public have an interest in the resources. There must be local interest 

and support for the development and placement of interpretive 

panels to be considered as a good Section 106 mitigation measure 

by MoDOT. Nonetheless, MoDOT will work with stakeholders to 

develop the necessary support to continue to mark State history.

KAREN L. DANIELS, MoDOT’s architectural historian, has a B.S. in historic 

preservation from Southeast Missouri State University and a master’s in 

heritage preservation from Georgia State University.

MIKE MEINKOTH, historic preservation manager at MoDOT, has a B.A. 

in anthropology from Southern Illinois University and an M.A. degree in 

archaeology from the University of Illinois.

JENNIFER R. LOUX is highway marker program manager at the Virginia DHR. 

She received a Ph.D. and M.A. in history from Johns Hopkins University and a 

B.A. from the College of William and Mary.

For more information on the MoDOT Historic Preservation 

Section, visit https://www.modot.org/historic-preservation or contact 

Karen Daniels, 573-526-7346, karen.daniels@modot.mo.gov. 

For more information on the Virginia marker program, visit 

https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/highway-markers/ or contact Jennifer Loux 

at jennifer.loux@dhr.virginia.gov.

Drafts of the Old Greenville Interpretive panels were reviewed by the 

descendant community with an opportunity to provide feedback, 

which was valuable in understanding gaps in the historical record. 

© Mike Meinkoth, MoDOT.

Old Greenville Interpretive Panel Consultation

Old Greenville is a community that was relocated for planned 

dam construction in the 1940s. Much of the town site survives as 

archaeological remains on the Wapappello 

Dam reservation and the town site is listed 

in the NRHP. In 2005, MoDOT planned 

improvements to U.S. Highway 67—which 

runs adjacent to Old Greenville—and those 

improvements would have destroyed a small 

portion of the site and had an adverse effect 

under Section 106.

Instead of traditional archaeological mitigation, 

consisting of excavation of the site, the U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and the 

Old Greenville descendant community asked 

MoDOT to consider alternative or creative 

mitigation, including developing interpretive 

panels that would tell the history of the 

community. This had been on the Corps’ wishlist 

for many years but had never been funded.

MoDOT and the Federal Highway 

Administration agreed that this would be a 

better use of public funds than to reexamine 

the Old Greenville archaeological site which 

had already been tested. According to David 

Clarke, the FHWA Federal preservation officer, “FHWA’s policy 

regarding mitigation that utilizes public funding, including creative 

mitigation that is done in addition to, or in lieu of standard approaches 

to mitigation, is that it represents a reasonable public expenditure when 

considering the impacts of the action and the benefits of the proposed 

mitigation measures.”

The Corps, the Old Greenville descendant community, and MoDOT 

agreed to a list of themes that would be interpreted and a budget that 

the mitigation effort would not exceed. In addition to panels about 

Old Greenville, the Trail of Tears was also a theme since the Benge 

Route went through the area.

The Cherokee Nation was very involved in the development of the 

two panels related to the Trail of Tears. One panel explained the 

history of the Benge Route—a route used by only one of the 13 groups 

traveling west to present-day Oklahoma. Another interpretive panel 

was developed for and placed at the Bettis Ford site along the St. 

Francis River—a known, actual location the Cherokee passed through. 

The Cherokee Nation helped research information, edit text, and 

select imagery (including a painting by a Cherokee artist, to whom a 

license fee was paid for by MoDOT) for placement on the panel, to 

accurately illustrate their ancestors’ experience and ensure their story 

was told.

Once the panels had been drafted with text and images, MoDOT 

hosted an open house to allow stakeholders and the public to provide 

feedback. Many comments were received, with feedback from the 

public regarding errors in the historical record and assurances that old 

divisions within the community were accurately reflected were shared. 

The National Park Service provided comments on the illustrations 

depicting the Trail of Tears to the project team.

Once the comments were addressed, MoDOT had the interpretive 

panels manufactured and worked with the Corps on the installation. A 

series of dedication ceremonies were held as interpretive panels were 

installed and became accessible to the public.
20 | PUBLIC ROADS | SUMMER 2023

Resources for Understanding Challenges and 

Opportunities for Coastal Highway Projects

The Federal Highway Administration develops and deploys technical 

information and training to aid transportation professionals with understanding 

coastal processes, infrastructure vulnerabilities, and concepts important to 

resilient and sustainable planning and design of coastal highways.

by DANIEL S. SHARAR-SALGADO and ERIC R. BROWN

Highways in the Coastal Environment

“Two of the United States’ most storied love affairs are with the 

coast and with roads. Where these two intersect, coastal highways, 

there is a need for wise engineering, planning, and design,” says 

Dr. Scott L. Douglass, professor emeritus of Civil, Coastal and 

Environmental Engineering at the University of South Alabama in 

Mobile. Regularly delivering trainings on highways in the coastal 

environments to State departments of transportation (DOTs) across 

the country, Dr. Douglass often opens his courses with this quote. 

Having spent the last 40 years providing coastal engineering design 

in the highway environment, he has an acute understanding of the 

importance and challenges of coastal highways.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) strives to support 

this work. With an estimated 60,000 miles of coastal highways in 

30 States and all U.S. territories, these roadways remain a primary 

means for supporting mobility, economic opportunity, safety, and 

well-being for local communities and resources. As a result, FHWA 

provides foundational resources and training opportunities for 

developing and maintaining knowledge of and experience with 

coastal processes and their interactions with highways.

Low-lying coastal infrastructure, such as this stretch of North Road over a 

tidal marsh in Jamestown, RI, may challenge transportation professionals to 

address tidal fluctuations and storm events compounded by sea level rise. 

© 2022 Rhode Island Department of Transportation.

Coastal engineering expertise and know how is requisite for the 

planning, design, and operation of coastal roads and bridges. 

© 2022 Rhode Island Department of Transportation.
HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 21

Coastal Highways and Vulnerabilities

Coastal highways face exposure to various 

phenomena and processes that may result in 

infrastructure damage and effects on transportation system users. Extreme weather 

events, such as coastal storms, hurricanes, 

and tsunamis, may damage or destroy 

roads and bridges and reshape coastlines. In 

many locations, rising sea levels increase the 

vulnerabilities of coastal infrastructure to 

these events. Rising sea levels also contribute 

to high-tide flooding in low-lying areas. 

This flooding may cause minor roadway 

damage, traffic disruptions, and shoreline erosion.

According to Dr. Douglass, “Many roads 

and bridges are vulnerable because they are 

in the unique coastal wave and water level 

design environments. And that vulnerability 

is increasing with sea level rise [SLR].” The 

effects of SLR and related climate change 

impacts may lead to challenges for transportation professionals, such as more frequent 

minor flooding, greater flooding extents (the 

extent of land that has been, or might be, 

flooded), and damage from extreme weather 

events. Matthew Lauffer, assistant State 

hydraulic engineer at the North Carolina 

DOT, related, “At North Carolina, we have 

experienced numerous hurricanes that have 

caused significant damage to our coastal 

roads and bridges. With rising sea levels, 

these events will only become worse and 

more frequent in the years to come. Fortunately, our management supports our efforts 

to create more resilient coastal roadways 

and has supported us working with coastal 

engineers on coastal roadway projects.”

FHWA Resources for Coastal Highways

Increasing infrastructure stressors due 

to SLR notwithstanding, Dr. Douglass 

said, “We are deciding that many of the 

best adaptations for climate 

change are the same sound, 

proven coastal engineering 

and management approaches 

needed for improving the 

resilience of these roads today.” 

FHWA promotes a range 

of technical resources and 

training courses to provide 

State DOTs and others with 

the basic coastal engineering 

principals needed to develop 

and maintain coastal highways. These resources include 

technical manuals, training 

courses, pilot projects, and 

peer exchanges.

Technical Manuals

Highways in the Coastal Environment: 

Hydraulic Engineering Circular Number 25, 

Third Edition (HEC-25) remains FHWA’s 

most comprehensive resource on coastal 

processes and interactions upon highways. 

This manual introduces many complex 

topics in a manner suitable for transportation professionals with little background in 

coastal science and engineering. A few of the 

covered coastal topics are:

• Basic theory of waves

• Water levels

• Sediment transport

• Practical implications of 

coastal processes

• Shoreline recession

• Bridge deck damage mechanisms

• Foundation erosion (i.e., scour)

HEC-25 also provides overviews of 

various engineering practices (e.g., rock 

protection, seawalls, and nature-based 

solutions) that protect coastal infrastructure. 

The final section of the manual focuses 

on the project processes for planning, 

designing, and building a coastal highway 

that is resilient to the processes it may face. 

The manual includes practical methods for 

determining the level of effort needed for a 

highway project, depending on its location 

and complexity. Several short examples 

given range from simple, quick projects to 

large, complex efforts.

FHWA has a few more specialized 

technical resources for those interested 

in delving a little deeper into specific 

topics. A Primer on Modeling in the Coastal 

Environment introduces many concepts used 

Rising sea levels, among other factors, 

may contribute to flooding in low-lying 

coastal areas during normal tidal cycles. 

© 2017 Joe Krolak.

A bridge damaged by a hurricane. Investigators 

determined wave action displaced the deck panels. 

Source: FHWA.
22 | PUBLIC ROADS | SUMMER 2023

in computer software to estimate coastal 

storm impacts. The primer covers modeling 

theory and important steps of the modeling 

process. Nature-Based Solutions for Coastal 

Highway Resilience: An Implementation 

Guide provides pragmatic information 

about the process of implementing a range 

of nature-based solutions, starting from 

planning to design, construction, and maintenance phases.

Training Courses

FHWA provides a wealth of training 

course offerings through the National 

Highway Institute (NHI). A development 

team recently updated NHI 135082—

Highways in the Coastal Environment—a 

3-day, instructor-led course that serves as 

a companion to the HEC-25 technical 

manual. The previous version of this course 

taught basic coastal science and engineering 

concepts through a variety of hands-on 

techniques, such as operating a wave flume, 

performing hand calculations, and participating in an interactive trivia game. The 

updated course keeps or enhances many 

of these core activities while adding new 

material on coastal scour (i.e., erosion of 

soil around a structure’s foundation), SLR, 

nature-based solutions, and coastal project 

development. NHI 142085, Addressing 

Climate Resilience in Highway Project 

Development and Preliminary Design, also 

includes methods for assessing future 

impacts of climate change and sea level rise 

on highways.

FHWA has also developed four 

web-based trainings (WBT) focused on the 

basic terminology and principles of coastal 

science. These courses are titled:

• NHI 135082A, Future Sea Levels 

for the Design of Highways in the 

Coastal Environment

• NHI 135082B, Waves for the Design of 

Highways in the Coastal Environment

• NHI 135082C, Water Levels for 

the Design of Highways in the 

Coastal Environment

• NHI 135082D, Sediment Processes 

for the Design of Highways in the 

Coastal Environment

Participants may complete these free 

WBT courses by registering at the NHI 

website and selecting the courses of interest. 

The developers designed each of these 

WBTs to be completed in 1 to 2 hours. A 

fifth WBT called NHI 135082E, NatureBased Solutions for the Design of Highways 

in the Coastal Environment, is currently in 

development for release in 2024.

Research, Pilot Projects 

and Peer Exchanges

FHWA also sponsored a series of pilot 

projects and peer exchanges to explore 

coastal planning and design challenges and 

work together with States, municipalities, 

and consultants to identify potential climate 

impacts on surface transportation infrastructure and brainstorm solutions:

• The Gulf Coast Phase 1 and Phase 

2 studies measured the potential 

damages and costs to transportation 

assets in the central Gulf Coast region 

by simulating SLR and hurricane 

impact scenarios.

• The transportation engineering 

approaches to climate resiliency 

(TEACR) study analyzed how 

individual transportation assets could 

be modified or adapted to withstand 

future climate conditions, including 

SLR and future coastal storms.

• The report Emerging Issues Associated 

with Sea Level Rise: Findings from 

FHWA Peer Exchanges documents a 

series of peer exchanges involving State 

FHWA staff operate the wave flume used in the NHI 135082 Highways in the Coastal Environment

training course. Student feedback recognizes the flume as a hands-on activity that allows course 

participants to visualize and understand coastal processes and their impacts on roads and bridges.

Source: FHWA.
HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 23

and local transportation agencies that 

focused on the impacts of SLR on 

coastal roadways.

• A number of transportation resilience 

pilots have investigated resilience 

solutions to current and future extreme 

weather events, reducing future 

maintenance costs over the full life 

cycle of transportation assets.

“When we first started considering the 

potential impacts of climate change and 

relative SLR on transportation infrastructure, we were not sure how to approach the 

problem” said Robert Kafalenos, an environmental protection specialist and member 

of FHWA’s Resilience Team. According to 

Kafalenos, who has led many of FHWA’s 

resilience research projects, “We conducted 

research to better understand future impacts 

and develop methods and tools for assessing 

resilience and adaptation options for 

transportation projects. We also supported 

State- and MPO-[metropolitan planning 

organization] led pilot studies to apply our 

methods and tools, as well as others, to 

assess vulnerabilities of their transportation 

systems and projects. Our State and local 

partners did a great job documenting their 

resources, constraints, and the decisions 

the work lead to. The best part about these 

projects was that it set a template for other 

States and locals who will likely be facing 

similar concerns in the future.”

Looking Ahead

By understanding and applying concepts 

presented by these FHWA resources and 

tools, project teams may enhance the resilient design and operation of coastal highways. FHWA continues to develop resources 

for educating practitioners and students in 

the understanding, assessment, and application of coastal processes and their interactions with transportation infrastructure. 

For more information on FHWA coastal 

highway initiatives and activities, please 

reach out to the authors or your FHWA 

hydraulic engineering point of contact.

DANIEL S. SHARAR-SALGADO, P.E. is a hydraulic 

engineer with FHWA’s Office of Bridges and 

Structures, where he coleads coastal engineering 

initiatives and supports other hydraulic 

engineering program areas. He holds a B.S. in civil 

engineering from the University of Maryland and is 

a graduate student studying coastal engineering 

at the University of Delaware.

ERIC R. BROWN, Ph.D., is a senior hydraulic engineer 

with FHWA’s Office of Bridges and Structures, 

where he supports hydraulic engineering program 

areas. He holds a Ph.D. in civil engineering from 

Pennsylvania State University.

For more information, see https://www.fhwa 

.dot.gov/engineering/hydraulics/ or contact 

Daniel Sharar-Salgado (202–366–8791/ 

d.shararsalgado@dot.gov.)

Where to Start Learning the Basics

Hot Topics “Cool” Resources

Coastal processes

1. NHI 135082A-E

2. NHI 135082

3. HEC-25

Coastal modeling principles 

(e.g., water surfaces, waves) A Primer on Modeling in the Coastal Environment

Coastal design concepts 

1. NHI 135082A-E

2. NHI 135082

3. HEC-25

4. Resilience pilots

Coastal highway vulnerability 

assessments and resilience 

1. NHI 142085

2. Gulf Coast Phase 1 and Phase 2 studies

3. TEACR

4. Resilience pilots

Extreme weather events 1. HEC-25

Nature-based solutions

1. NHI 135082E

2. Nature-Based Solutions for Coastal Highway 

Resilience: An Implementation Guide

3. Resilience pilots

SLR

1. NHI 135082A

2. HEC-25 (chapter 4)

3. Emerging Issues Associated with Sea Level Rise: 

Findings from FHWA Peer Exchanges

FHWA Coastal Highway Resources

FHWA’s latest learning resources:

• Highways in the Coastal Environment: 

Hydraulic Engineering Circular Number 25, 

Third Edition (https://www.fhwa.dot.gov

/engineering/hydraulics/pubs/hif19059.pdf)

• NHI 135082, Highways in the Coastal 

Environment (https://www.nhi.fhwa.dot.gov

/course-search?tab=0&key=135082&sf

=0&course_no=135082)

• NHI 142085, Addressing Climate Resilience 

in Highway Project Development and 

Preliminary Design (https://www.nhi.fhwa

.dot.gov/course-search?tab=0&cat=10&srt

=10&sf=0&course_no=142085)

• A five-part WBT series (NHI 135082A-E) 

on resilient coastal highway project 

development and design (available 

summer 2023 through the NHI website: 

https://www.nhi.fhwa.dot.gov/)

о NHI 135082A, Future Sea Levels 

for the Design of Highways in the 

Coastal Environment

о NHI 135082B, Waves for the Design of 

Highways in the Coastal Environment

о NHI 135082C, Water Levels for the Design 

of Highways in the Coastal Environment

о NHI 135082D, Sediment Processes 

for the Design of Highways in the 

Coastal Environment

о NHI 135082E, Nature-Based Solutions 

for the Design of Highways in the 

Coastal Environment

• A Primer on Modeling in the Coastal 

Environment (https://www.fhwa.dot.gov

/engineering/hydraulics/pubs/hif18002.pdf)

• Nature Based Solutions for Coastal Highway 

Resilience: An Implementation Guide

(https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment

/sustainability/resilience/ongoing_and

_current_research/green_infrastructure

/implementation_guide/fhwahep19042.pdf)

• Emerging Issues Associated with Sea Level 

Rise: Findings from FHWA Peer Exchanges

(https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/engineering

/hydraulics/pubs/hif22051.pdf)

• Gulf Coast Study Phase 1 and Phase 2 

(https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment

/sustainability/resilience/ongoing_and

_current_research/gulf_coast_study/index.cfm)

• TEACR study (https://www.fhwa.dot.gov

/environment/sustainability/resilience

/ongoing_and_current_research/teacr/)

• Resilience pilots (https://www.fhwa.dot.gov

/environment/sustainability/resilience/pilots/)

Please contact the authors to discuss 

these and related FHWA resources.
24 | PUBLIC ROADS | SUMMER 2023

FORTY YEARS OF THE FEDERAL LANDS 

HIGHWAY PROGRAM

FORTY YEARS

OF THE FEDERAL LANDS 

Connecting the world to America’s most beautiful places.

FHWA’s Federal Lands Highway Program, with its motto, 

“We work where you play,” brings America’s natural and 

cultural heritage within reach, like Many Glacier—a popular 

tourist area within Glacier National Park in Montana. 

Source: FHWA.
HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 25

by DOUG HECOX and SCOTT JOHNSON

For 40 years, the Federal Highway Administration’s Federal Lands Highway (FLH) Program has built, maintained, and 

repaired one of the world’s largest transportation networks. 

Created in 1983, the FLH Program now manages a budget of 

more than $1.5 billion to oversee more than a half-million miles 

(805,000 kilometers) of roads, more than 11,000 vehicular 

bridges, and more than 1 billion acres on Federal properties 

owned by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Bureau of 

Reclamation (BOR), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), 

Presidio Trust, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), U.S. 

Forest Service (USFS) and National Park Service (NPS).

“Since 1905,” says Tim Hess, FHWA’s former associate 

administrator for FLH, “the Office of Federal Lands Highway 

and its predecessor agencies have assisted Federal Land 

Management Agencies in the design and construction of public 

roads, giving the American public access to and through 

the National Parks, the National Forests, and other 

Federally-owned lands. These 

roads, bridges, and tunnels 

allowed the public 

to access and 

experience the highest mountains, the quietest forest, the purest 

streams, and the best scenic views in America. The Office of Federal 

Lands Highway continues to this day to provide a safe, reliable, 

equitable, and resilient transportation system for all those accessing 

Federal Lands.”

Motorization of the Parks

In 1906, the West Coast was still recovering from the devastating 

earthquake and fires in San Francisco. More than 108,000 cars 

were in use, though America’s roads remained largely unpaved and 

rural. Cars of that era were still rare and, compared to their modern 

counterparts, unreliable and uncomfortable. The best-selling car 

that year was the Ford Model N, a four-cylinder two-seater with 

a top speed of only 40 miles (64 kilometers) per hour. Because of 

the rough condition of many roads, the undependable machinery 

powering such vehicles, and the relative shortage of trained 

mechanics, drivers rarely ventured too far from their respective 

homes. Interstate traffic was virtually nonexistent.

In the same year, at only 47 years old, Theodore Roosevelt was 

making his mark on the Nation. A few years earlier, America’s 

youngest president—elected in 1901 at 42 years old—made 

headlines by riding in a Columbia Electric Victoria Phaeton through 

parts of New England. It was the first time any U.S. president had 

ridden in a car as part of his official duties as commander in chief—

making it the Nation’s first presidential motorcade.

Roosevelt’s enthusiasm for the great outdoors was widely 

known. The man who historians would later call the “conservation 

president” spent much of his two presidential terms in the White 

House preserving wildlife, naming national monuments, and 

creating five new national parks—Crater Lake in Oregon, Wind 

Cave in South Dakota, Sullys Hill in North Dakota (which was later 

re-designated a game preserve), Mesa Verde in Colorado, and Platt 

in Oklahoma (now part of Chickasaw National Recreation Area).

With a stroke of his pen, Roosevelt also enacted the Antiquities 

Act of June 8, 1906, which enabled him and his presidential 

successors to proclaim historic or prehistoric structures, landmarks, 

and other resources of historical value or scientific interest in Federal 

ownership as national monuments. Within the first 6 months 

of signing the act into law, Roosevelt proclaimed four national 

monuments—Devil’s Tower in Wyoming, 

El Morrow in New Mexico, and Arizona’s 

Montezuma Castle and Petrified Forest. 

He also used the act, in subsequent years, 

to protect a large portion of Arizona’s 

Grand Canyon as a national monument.

By the end of his second term, Roosevelt had called for the preservation of six 

cultural areas and a dozen natural areas. 

Much of the total land area of these sites 

was initially administered by the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture (USDA), since 

NPS was still 10 years away from creation.

Car ownership was climbing rapidly 

throughout the 20th century’s first two 

decades. For example, in 1900, the United 

States had 8,000 registered vehicles. By 

1920, that figure had grown a thousandfold to more than 8.1 million. With the 

rise of registered vehicles came a rise in 

new drivers who were eager for new places 

to visit, and automobiles were increasingly 

Vehicles fill a parking lot built on the Blue Ridge 

Parkway, which extends 469 miles and links the 

Shenandoah National Park (in Virginia) to the Great 

Smoky Mountains National Park (in North Carolina). 

Source: FHWA.
26 | PUBLIC ROADS | SUMMER 2023

driven beyond cities and into country 

hamlets and scenic picnic-friendly meadows. 

America’s tourism industry had begun.

In 1902, Henry G. Merry sneaked his 

1897 Winton into Yellowstone National 

Park—making it the first car to enter the 

park. He raced his car past the guards at 

the Gardiner Entrance, who gave chase on 

horseback and caught up to him on a steep 

hill. The guards tied ropes to Merry’s car 

and dragged it to the park’s headquarters, 

where the park superintendent ordered it 

out of the park—after demanding a ride.

The Beginning of Drive-Throughs

While interest in exploring the Nation’s 

parks and monuments by car was growing, 

the official stance of the U.S. Department 

of the Interior—which manages America’s 

natural resources and heritage—was that 

no automobiles would be allowed in the 

national parks. Gradually, that stance began 

to change.

In 1907, a year after the enactment of 

the Antiquities Act, the issue was drawing 

congressional attention. Sen. Henry Myers 

(D-Montana) represented many constituents eager to drive through Glacier National 

Park, near Kalispell, in Montana. “We 

are very anxious to have the regulation so 

framed that automobiles may be used on the 

roads in the Park,” wrote Montana resident 

Fred Whiteside on March 24, 1911. “In 

the Yellowstone Park, nothing but horses 

are allowed, but we believe we have now 

reached the stage of civilization where it will 

be better to use automobiles even if the 

horses are to be left out.”

With the creation 

of NPS in 1916, 

there was a 

recognition of the need to create roads 

and bridges with which to accommodate 

growing public interest in these wild, new, 

untamed lands.

“The motorization of park transportation 

was generally regarded as a positive development,” wrote NPS Historian Timothy 

Davis in the 2004 book, America’s National 

Park Roads and Parkways: Drawings from the 

Historic American Engineering Record (The 

Road and American Culture). “Not only did 

it eliminate the tedious and uncomfortable 

experience of clattering along in slow and 

dusty stagecoaches, but by significantly 

reducing the time and expense of park vacations, automobiles made the national park 

experience available to a broader segment of 

the public,” Davis recalled. “The automobile 

was greeted with a mixture of enthusiasm 

and apprehension when it clanked and 

wheezed its way into national parks at the 

turn of the 20th century.”

Distinctive Designs

Upon its creation, NPS proclaimed, “that 

one of its most pressing tasks was to upgrade 

the [NPS] to accommodate motorists.” 

According to a book published by NPS, 

Historic Roads in the National Park 

System, “[d]esigners during the 

1920s tended to perceive 

roads and buildings 

as necessary 

evils, and they incorporated a variety of 

means in their designs to achieve harmony 

with the surrounding environment.”

“Roads and related features were to be 

designed to harmonize with their surroundings,” Davis added, “and great care was 

taken to ensure that the parks were not 

gridironed by excessive road construction.” 

Road designers would commonly use onsite, 

natural materials that supported the local 

environs, and curvilinear road alignments 

that hugged the topography—techniques 

today known throughout the FHWA as 

“context sensitive design.” Because this 

approach was widespread throughout the 

newly minted NPS, these new roads gave 

national parks a “distinctive, identifiable 

look and feeling.”

Between 1909 and 1915, visitorship to 

the parks increased fourfold, from 86,089 to 

335,299. The rise was partly due to sensational popularity of the automobile which 

made park vacations a reality for a large 

segment of the population.

In 1926, NPS formed a partnership 

with the Bureau of Public Roads (BPR)—

the precursor to FHWA—to formalize a 

relationship that had been working well to 

construct new roads and rehabilitate existing 

roads in national parks.

This interagency agreement gave BPR 

responsibility for surveying, engineering, 

and overseeing construction of park roads, 

while NPS maintained control over the 

A driver, attempting to navigate the Natchez 

Trace Parkway in Mississippi, gets stuck in a 

muddy section of the unpaved roadway. 

Source: FHWA.

The portions of the Foothills Parkway open to 

the public provide breathtaking views within 

the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. 

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

aesthetic and day-to-day management of 

road construction. Also, according to the 

1995 online publication, Historic Roads 

in the National Park System, “[t]he roads 

constructed through this working arrangement included some of the best examples of 

road engineering and the most scenic roads 

in the United States.”

The Joy of Park Roads

In the decades that followed, BPR built 

park roads while their State counterparts 

constructed roads to connect to or access 

them. Park roads were so well-designed that 

the joy of driving one became an integral part of the national park experience. 

For the last 40 years, the FLH Program 

has continued to uphold that legacy 

of excellence.

Driving on park roads has evolved into 

one of the recreational experiences that visitors relish most in parks. Few visitors go to 

Glacier National Park in Montana without 

driving on the Going-to-the-Sun Road, or 

to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado without driving on Trail Ridge Road.

As reliance on the U.S. government for 

road maintenance and construction grew, 

so did its financial needs. President Ronald 

Reagan enacted the Program in the Surface 

Transportation Assistance Act of 1982, 

signed on January 6, 1983. Nearly a century 

after Roosevelt signed the Antiquities Act, 

Reagan’s signature gave FHWA its mandate 

to build, preserve, and protect roads and 

bridges on all Federal lands.

“FHWA has a long and successful history 

of interagency partnership with Federal land 

management agencies,” says Hess.

Even now, more than a century after 

the creation of the first national parks 

and monuments, the high-quality roads 

and bridges that make visits to them so 

enriching remain the highest priority for 

the FLH Program. Each year, its hundreds 

of workers—alongside NPS, BLM, USFS, 

BOR, USACE, and USFWS—labor in 

scenic, but remote, locations, enduring difficult conditions, bad weather, rockfalls, and 

occasional encounters with bad drivers and 

wildlife. Nonetheless, the FLH Program is 

united by a central purpose: to ensure a safe 

and scenic travel experience for the millions 

of people who depend on them each year.

With its motto, “We work where 

you play,” FHWA’s FLH Program brings 

America’s natural and cultural heritage 

within reach.

“Federal agencies working together to 

carry out their missions, and to leverage 

each other’s expertise to fulfill those 

missions, is what this is all about,” Hess 

adds. “The over 700 people working in 

[the] FLH [Program] are proud to support 

our interagency partners by building transportation facilities which give the American 

people access to their national parks, forests 

and recreational areas in a manner that 

balances access with resource protection. 

This ensures our national treasures can be 

enjoyed not only by current generations but 

by future ones as well.”

DOUG HECOX, deputy administrator for FHWA’s 

Oregon Division, has a journalism degree from 

the University of Wyoming. He has authored two 

books, and taught journalism and public relations 

writing at American University for 20 years.

SCOTT JOHNSON is the director of Federal Lands 

Programs within FHWA’s FLH Headquarters.

For more information, see https://highways

.dot.gov/federal-lands/about.

Work crews at Yellowstone National Park 

carry on the tradition that FLH and its 

partners have been directly engaged in for 

four decades—giving access to and through 

national parks, forests, and recreational areas. 

Source: FHWA.

Beartooth Highway in Yellowstone National Park—

acknowledged as one of the most scenic roadways 

in the Nation—is one of the many picturesque 

highways and parkways designed and constructed 

under the Federal Lands Highway Program. 

Source: FHWA.
Making Healthy 

Connections in 

Transportation

Transportation infrastructure 

plays a key role in 

health outcomes.

28 | PUBLIC ROADS | SUMMER 2023

by JHOSET BURGOS-RODRÍGUEZ, VICTORIA MARTINEZ, ELLIOT SPERLING, ANTHONY NICOME, and WENDY HEAPS

Transportation and health are interconnected. Beyond moving people and goods, transportation plays a key role in improving 

physical, mental, social, environmental, and economic health. 

Through programs, policies, and infrastructure investment, the 

U.S. Department of Transportation and its Federal partners, such as 

the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Centers 

for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), are working together 

to improve the connection between transportation and health, 

underscoring the vital importance of making equitable investments 

in our communities.

Building and strengthening partnerships will help leverage 

Federal programs and funding opportunities, including programs 

established by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) (Pub. L. 

117-58, enacted as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act) 

and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) (Pub. L. 117-169). These 

programs and funding opportunities, such as the Reconnecting 

Communities Pilot (RCP) Program and the Thriving Communities 

Program (TCP) can empower communities in the transportation 

decisionmaking process and continue moving the Nation toward a 

safer, healthier, and more equitable transportation system.

Transportation and Health Connections

Safe and reliable transportation is fundamental to the health 

of people, communities, and economies, making it a social 

determinant of health. The factors that influence health 

outcomes—including overall health status and individual and 

community quality of life—are known as social determinants of 

health. The places where people live, learn, work, and play have a 

large effect on an individual’s health outcomes. Transportation has 

the potential to negatively affect communities by limiting opportunities for safe physical activity, increasing exposure to pollution, and 

impacting community design. Increasing transportation connections 

can improve access to health-supporting activities, medical services, 

recreational facilities, and healthy food, as well as other destinations 

including schools, jobs, and community centers.

Efforts to improve health outcomes through transportation 

investments can help address the leading causes of U.S. deaths, 

many of which can be directly or indirectly attributed to transportation. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) estimates, 42,915 people died in motor vehicle 

traffic crashes in 2021, including 7,342 pedestrians and 985 cyclists. 

Enhanced safety measures, such as speed control management strategies and properly designed lighting deployment, can reduce traffic 

deaths and serious injuries. Also, less vehicle traffic can improve air 

quality and reduce chronic lower respiratory diseases. According 

to the CDC, chronic lower respiratory diseases claimed a total of 

142,342 lives in 2021. Similarly, the U.S. Surgeon General reported 

that regular physical activity can reduce the risk of heart disease, 

diabetes, and certain cancers. These illnesses led to approximately 

696,000, 103,000, and 605,000 deaths, respectively, in 2021. 

Access to safe, clean, and hazard-free environments 

can lead to better outcomes for all users, including 

pedestrians, bicyclists, and those with disabilities.

© adamkaz / iStock.com.
HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 29

Active transportation, including walking, 

biking, and rolling, positively contributes to 

people’s physical activity.

Barriers that limit community access—

such as arterials and highways that cut 

through communities—can discourage 

physical activity, exacerbate air and noise 

pollution exposure from roadways, and 

disconnect people from the places that 

matter most. In addition, socioeconomic 

inequities can contribute to (and can 

occur because of) disproportionate exposure to transportation-related negative 

impacts for underserved, overburdened, 

and disadvantaged communities. These 

communities can include people of color, 

people with disabilities, Native Americans, 

older adults, and people living in lower 

income neighborhoods.

Health and Equity Benefits of

Safety for All Road Users: Working 

Together Toward Zero Deaths

Increases in road fatalities and injuries 

persist even though vehicles have become 

safer to drive. The rate of roadway fatalities 

per 100 million vehicle miles traveled has 

not substantially improved over the last 

10 years, and increased significantly in 

2020. In 2020, a pedestrian was killed every 

81 minutes in traffic crashes according to 

NHTSA. The increasing rate of fatalities 

and injuries on the Nation’s roadways 

disproportionally affect underserved, overburdened, and disadvantaged communities. 

For instance, higher risks of crash deaths 

are concentrated in lower income neighborhoods where exposure to traffic volume 

and speed may be higher because of factors 

such as inadequate road safety infrastructure 

and reduced community engagement in the 

transportation planning process. Fatal and 

injury statistics grow yearly, in part, because 

of roadway designs that prioritize speed 

over the safety of people inside and outside 

of vehicles.

Through the National Roadway Safety 

Strategy and the Safe System Approach, 

USDOT aims to address the unprecedented public health issue of deaths and 

serious injuries from road traffic. As part 

of an ambitious long-term goal to reach 

zero roadway fatalities and serious injuries, 

USDOT has committed to focusing its 

safety programs and resources on infrastructure, human behavior, speeds, responsible 

oversight of the vehicle and transportation industry, and emergency response. 

According to the National Roadway Safety 

Strategy, “No one will reach this goal acting 

alone. Reaching zero will require USDOT 

to work with the entire roadway transportation community and the American 

people to lead a significant cultural shift 

that treats roadway deaths as unacceptable 

and preventable.”

Public and Active Transportation Can

Provide Opportunities to Address 

Our Nation’s Health Crises

Active transportation, such as walking, 

biking, and rolling, is an essential component of safe multimodal networks. The 

resulting increased physical activity can 

lower rates of chronic diseases. Similarly, 

people who use public transit, including 

young adults, older adults, and disabled 

Disproportionate Impacts

Recent statistics show that:

• Black, Indigenous, and people of 

color are 38 percent of the total 

U.S. population but account for 48 

percent of all pedestrian fatalities.

• Of the top 30 pedestrian crash 

locations in the United States, 

75 percent are bordered by 

low-income communities.

• Hispanics, Asians/Pacific Islands, 

and people who speak a language 

other than English at home are 

more likely to live within 150 meters 

of a major highway, suggesting 

increased exposure to trafficrelated air pollution and elevated 

risk for adverse health outcomes.

• Children, older adults, and people 

living in low socioeconomic 

communities are among those 

who are at higher risk for 

health impacts associated with 

living near busy highways, rail 

yards, and marine ports.

Social determinants of health. Source: FHWA.
30 | PUBLIC ROADS | SUMMER 2023

populations and those who do not drive or have access to a car, 

can improve their physical activity and health and increase their 

social connectivity, while meeting their mobility needs across their 

lifespan. In addition, motor vehicle-related injuries and fatalities 

are expected to decrease with fewer drivers on the roads. Activity 

friendly routes that include multimodal options decrease crash risk 

for people walking and biking the first and last mile to transit or 

all the way to their destinations. Safe multimodal transportation 

options and land-use policies can also increase community-wide 

access to everyday destinations and services, such as healthcare, 

which can help reduce health inequities. Transportation agencies 

and communities can enable safe, equitable, active, and public 

transportation access for all users by providing sidewalks and crosswalks, bike lanes, multiuse paths, and trails that connect people to 

essential daily destinations, like schools and grocery stores. Communities can also invest in more efficient and accessible transit options, 

such as new bus routes, ensuring existing transit routes are providing 

the levels of high-quality service for which they were designed. They 

can also support active transportation by installing streetlights and 

increasing green space.

High-speed, high-traffic roadways and other transportation 

infrastructure can act as community barriers and discourage active 

transportation because people do not feel safe walking, biking, or 

rolling along them. Barriers to active transportation and public 

transportation can lead to reduced physical activity and can affect 

access to jobs, healthcare, education, governmental services, and 

fresh and nutritious food.

A recent study published by the Preventive Medicine Reports

journal, entitled “Traffic as a barrier to walking safely in the United 

States: Perceived reasons and potential mitigation strategies,” found 

that nearly one in four U.S. adults reported traffic as a barrier to 

walking where they live and 80% of these people cited speed as their 

most important concern. Lack of access to active transportation 

infrastructure or public transit, including transit availability during 

nonpeak hours, can disproportionally harm underserved, overburdened, and disadvantaged communities. Barriers arising from land 

use patterns, historic discriminatory lending practices known as 

“redlining,” and community designs (e.g., urban sprawl, dispersion 

of job locations, and rapid rise of the cost of housing) exacerbate 

transportation inequity. Also, a report from the Society for Public 

Health Education, entitled Interviews with Black Scholars in Transportation, Public Health, and Land Use, identified overpolicing and 

fear of harm or harassment by law enforcement as another barrier to 

people feeling safe when using active transportation.

Investments that promote active and public transportation 

benefit people’s health, their quality of life, the environment, and 

the economy. In a letter published in the CDC report, Step It Up! A 

Partners Guide to Promote Walking and Walkable Communities, U.S. 

Surgeon General Vice Admiral Vivek H. Murthy described physical 

activity as “one of the most important things Americans can do to 

improve their health, and walking is an easy way to get moving.” 

USDOT supports active transportation through various programs 

and associated funding opportunities through the Federal Highway 

Administration, Federal Transit Administration (FTA), NHTSA, 

and the Office of the Secretary of Transportation (OST) as does its 

Federal partner, the CDC, through, for example, its website, “Active 

People, Healthy Nation (https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity

/activepeoplehealthynation/index.html).

FHWA, for instance, provides a range of resources through its 

Bicycle and Pedestrian Program. Furthermore, the FTA’s competitive 

Pilot Program for Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Planning 

focuses on improved access and provides funding to local communities to integrate land use and transportation planning with a new 

fixed guideway or core capacity transit capital investment, which 

can enhance the linkages between where people live, work, and play 

(Note: The Pilot Program for TOD Planning was originally enacted 

Emiko Atherton, former director of the National Complete 

Streets Coalition, Smart Growth America, grew up in 

one of the most ethnically diverse parts of Seattle, WA. 

Her neighborhood shaped who she would become. Her 

neighborhood did not have sidewalks or streetlights. Her bus 

line was considered one of the most dangerous routes in the 

city. It was harder for her family and neighbors to get around, 

and they needed to drive outside the community to get fresh 

food or access to good-paying jobs. What she did not know, 

until decades later, was how those conditions impacted 

her health and the health of her family and neighbors. She 

did not know people living in her neighborhood had poorer 

health outcomes than people living in other parts of the 

city. She also did not know that this was not an isolated 

problem, but an issue in neighborhoods throughout the 

country, whether in a city, small town, or rural place. In the 

Foreword to The State of Transportation and Health Equity 

(https://smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/The-State

-of-Transportation-and-Health-Equity_FINAL-PUBLIC.pdf), published by 

Smart Growth America, Atherton observed, “People’s ability 

to live healthy lives to their full potential was determined by 

their address.”

Adequate infrastructure improves active transportation safety. Source: FHWA.
HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 31

in Section 20005(b) of the Moving Ahead 

for Progress in the 21st Century Act (P.L. 

112-141) and amended by Section 30009 

of BIL). This form of development can 

improve housing affordability, recreation, 

and mixed-use development along transit 

corridors and near bus and rail stops. Since 

2014, FTA has provided $104 million in 

TOD planning funding for 129 projects.

Air, Noise, and Greenhouse Gas

Pollution Reductions Through 

Transportation Choice

Air and noise pollution negatively impact 

health. The transportation sector emits air 

pollutants—such as nitrogen oxides, volatile 

organic compounds, particulate matter, 

and various air toxics—that negatively 

impact environment and public health. 

Elevated ozone and particulate matter levels 

increase the amount and seriousness of 

lung and heart disease. Breathing ozone can 

also trigger a variety of health problems, 

particularly for children and older adults. 

People who live, work, or attend school near 

major roads have an increased incidence 

and severity of health problems associated 

with air pollution exposures. In addition, 

people living in urban areas are at higher 

risk of developing neurological, reproductive, developmental, or respiratory disorders, 

given their prolonged exposure to higher 

levels of air toxics. As a stressor, air pollution 

can cause illnesses such as heart disease and 

cancer that are among the leading causes of 

death in the United States. Similarly, traffic 

noise can interfere with people’s quality of 

life and is associated with negative health 

outcomes, including activity interference, 

sleep impacts, and cognitive effects.

An EPA report found that transportation 

sources accounted for about 28 percent of 

the national greenhouse gas emissions in 

2021, and greenhouse gases are a leading 

contributor to climate change. Socially 

vulnerable populations— including low 

income, older adults, and communities 

of color individuals—are more likely to 

experience impacts from climate change 

and extreme weather than other groups 

since they:

• Are likely already living in riskprone areas or exposed to poor 

environmental conditions (e.g., 

living in urban heat islands or 

within flood-prone areas).

• Are often excluded in 

planning processes.

• Typically have less access to climate 

change information and resources.

• Have limited financial resources to 

mitigate or rebound from climaterelated disasters.

Air and noise pollution and climate 

change disproportionately impact the 

health outcomes of underserved, overburdened, and disadvantaged communities. 

These communities are overrepresented 

in areas with higher levels of air and noise 

pollution such as near ports, in dense 

urban areas, and within close proximity to 

highways and high-volume roadways. In 

“Transportation has a profound 

impact on public health,”

states Jeffrey Tumlin, director of 

transportation of the San Francisco 

Municipal Transportation Agency, 

in “Transportation for a New Urban 

Century,” on YouTube’s True Story 

Document Channel (https:/www.youtube

.com/watch?v=O36ZvA5EZng). “In fact, my 

physician friends routinely complain 

to me that I as a transportation 

professional have more impact on 

public health outcomes than they do 

as doctors. Their job is to clean up the 

problem once it’s already happened, 

but the transportation industry, we’re 

the ones responsible for delivering 

healthy places.”

Community engagement is critical 

for transportation planning.

© Toole Design Group / pedbikeimages.org.
32 | PUBLIC ROADS | SUMMER 2023

many urban areas, these same communities are at greater risk for extreme heat and 

associated heat-related illness because, for 

example, they are less likely to have the 

resources to adapt to extreme heat (e.g., 

having or running air conditioning units), 

are more likely to have underlying chronic 

diseases that can be exacerbated by heat, 

are more likely to have jobs that require 

exposure to heat (e.g., construction and 

agricultural workers), and are less likely to 

be surrounded by green spaces.

Improving opportunities for safe, active, 

multimodal transportation can help reduce 

dependence on vehicles that produce air and 

noise pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Including strategically placed trees, 

shade, and green space when building infrastructure may provide additional support to 

underserved communities and reduce skin 

cancer which is one concern for outdoor 

physical activity. USDOT and its partner 

agencies employ numerous programs to 

address air and noise pollution and reduce 

greenhouse gas emissions, including:

• Clean Air Act requirements for States’ 

air quality planning efforts, including 

mobile source pollution reduction 

(42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.).

• EPA-promulgated emissions standards 

for passenger and heavy-duty vehicles 

under the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 

7521(a)).

• Diesel Emission Reduction Act 

Program, which funds grants and 

rebates that protect human health 

and improve air quality by reducing 

harmful emission from diesel engines 

(42 U.S.C. 16132, 16133).

• Clean Air Act transportation 

conformity provisions to help integrate 

the air quality and transportation 

planning processes.

• Congestion Mitigation and Air 

Quality Improvement (CMAQ) 

Program to support transportation 

projects and programs that improve air 

quality and provide traffic congestion 

relief (23 U.S.C. 149).

• FHWA’s Infrastructure Voluntary 

Evaluation Sustainability Tool 

(INVEST), which can be used by 

transportation agencies to assess and 

enhance the sustainability of their 

projects and programs.

• FHWA’s National Electric Vehicle 

Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula 

Program to strategically deploy 

electric vehicle charging infrastructure 

and establish and 

interconnected network 

(BIL, Division J, 

Title VIII, Highway 

Infrastructure Program 

heading, paragraph (2)).

All Hands: Partnerships 

to Support Health and 

Transportation Connections

Addressing health inequities in the transportation sector cannot be done by one agency 

or State alone. Transportation agencies may 

consider partnering and engaging with 

public health, housing, environmental, 

business, and community-based organizations—as well as the affected communities 

themselves—in promoting transportation 

connections that support the U.S. population’s health. USDOT fosters partnerships 

among its Operating Administrations and 

with other Federal departments and agencies 

as well as encourages partnerships with 

Tribal, State, territorial, and local transportation agencies. As an example, FHWA 

developed a Framework for Better Integrating Health into Transportation Corridor 

Planning to provide action-oriented 

information that can assist transportation 

practitioner efforts to incorporate health 

into corridor planning processes.

Recognizing the need for multisectoral 

engagement to plan and implement safe and 

HinT Working Group—A Decade of Progress

Recognizing public health as an integral part of 

transportation planning, program delivery, and decision 

making, FHWA created the agencywide Health in 

Transportation (HinT) working group (WG) in 2012. 

Since its inception, the HinT WG has worked to develop 

resources and expertise related to health and improve 

leadership and communication on the link between 

transportation and health. Because collaboration and 

partnerships are such an integral part of incorporating 

health considerations into transportation policies, 

programs, and investments, the HinT WG membership 

includes subject matter experts from OST and other 

USDOT operating administrations including FTA, 

NHTSA, and the Federal Aviation Administration. CDC 

and EPA have also joined the HinT WG, broadening the 

connections between health and transportation beyond 

USDOT. 

In the past 11 years, the HinT WG has helped increase 

USDOT focus on, and awareness of, transportation 

initiatives on health outcomes and created resources to 

assist transportation practitioners in improving health 

through transportation. For example, the Metropolitan 

Area Transportation Planning for Healthy Communities

provides a framework for metropolitan planning 

organizations to successfully consider health throughout 

the transportation planning process. These and other 

related resources and case studies are available on the 

USDOT HinT website.

“The USDOT and FHWA encourage Federal, State, 

and local transportation agencies to prioritize the 

integration of health considerations throughout the 

transportation decisionmaking process. Through the 

HinT WG, the USDOT and FHWA have provided technical 

assistance, conducted research, facilitated conferences, 

and developed decision tools and frameworks that 

help State and local transportation agencies to put 

people first by incorporating health considerations into 

transportation planning, programming, and project 

delivery,” observes Emily Biondi, acting associate 

administrator of FHWA’s Office of Planning, Environment, 

and Realty. “We hope that the HinT Working Group 

serves as a model to our partners, promoting 

multidisciplinary collaboration to achieve shared 

transportation and health goals.”

Safe and accessible bike paths and community areas 

allow all road users, especially older adults, to enjoy 

the benefits of mobility and exercising outside.

© Dan Burden / pedbikeimages.org.
HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 33

equitable transportation programs, USDOT expanded its focus on 

public participation and community engagement. USDOT recently 

published 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), which provides 

practices that can promote a shared understanding of meaningful 

public involvement. The guide is intended to support practitioners 

of all modes of transportation in various roles, including policy, 

planning, engineering, operations, civil rights, environmental 

justice, and public involvement. It also contains promising practices 

that can help USDOT funding recipients meet the requirements 

of meaningful public involvement and participation under Federal 

statutes, such as Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.

USDOT recently rolled out two community-focused programs 

that highlight transportation and health connections:

• The RCP provides Planning Grants and Capital Construction 

Grants, with the purpose of reconnecting communities by 

removing, retrofitting, or mitigating transportation facilities, 

like highways or rail lines, that create barriers to community 

connectivity, including to mobility, access, or economic 

development (BIL Section 11509).

• The TCP funds Capacity Builder teams to provide technical 

assistance, planning, and capacity building to disadvantaged 

communities. The program aims 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 

comprehensively plan for and deliver quality infrastructure 

projects and community development projects that enable 

their communities and neighborhoods to thrive (Consolidated 

Appropriations Act, 2022 (Pub. L. 117-103, Division L, Title 

I)). The TCP Program is part of a larger Federal initiative in 

which USDOT, in coordination with other Federal agencies, 

such as the EPA, the Department of Housing and Urban 

Development, and the Department of Energy, created a 

Federal Interagency Thriving Communities Network (TCN) 

to guarantee that communities can access Federal resources, 

including those under the BIL and the IRA.

Results-driven collaboration with other Federal agencies 

produces more holistic programs that benefit communities and 

provide agencies an opportunity to leverage funding resources 

to broaden the impact of those programs within communities. 

USDOT has partnered with key Federal agencies focused on 

health, including CDC and EPA.

A constellation of recent events helped to accelerate collaborations between CDC and USDOT. These events include, but are 

not limited to, policies established under BIL directing crossagency collaboration; the Coordinating Council on Access and 

Mobility (CCAM) 2023–2026 Strategic Plan, which includes 

metrics for multisector collaborations and equitable transportation; and memorandums of understanding (MOU) between 

USDOT and CDC. One such MOU was between the CDC 

National Center for Injury Prevention and NHTSA to prevent 

motor vehicle crash-related injuries and deaths, including among 

vulnerable road users (VRUs). Programmatic activities such as 

Source: FHWA.

Define 

Transportation 

Problems and 

Public Health 

Issues

Identify 

Transportation 

and Health Needs, 

Resources, and 

Priorities

Develop Goals 

and Objectives 

that Promote 

Health in the 

Community

Establish 

Evaluation Criteria 

that Include 

Public Health

Develop and 

Evaluate 

Alternatives 

and their 

Health Impacts

Identify 

Alternatives that 

Support Health in 

the Community

Health in Transportation Corridor Planning Framework
34 | PUBLIC ROADS | SUMMER 2023

CDC participation in the FHWA National 

Complete Streets Assessment and the Vision 

Zero peer exchange have furthered information exchange between transportation and 

public health professionals. Together, these 

efforts can help improve data collection, 

strengthen evidence for policies to protect 

VRUs, synergize programs and research, 

and promote evidence-based interventions, 

particularly related to equity.

Similarly, for the Fiscal Year (FY) 

2022 RCP Notice of Funding Opportunity, USDOT and Federal interagency 

partner staff, including staff from the EPA, 

conducted the grant evaluation process. 

EPA staff and subject matter experts 

served as advisors to USDOT’s application 

review teams, advising USDOT on topics 

including environmental justice, strategies 

for equity, community engagement and 

stewardship, equitable development, and 

revitalization strategies. USDOT and EPA 

carried out a similar effort with the TCP 

Program. These efforts are reflective of 

USDOT and EPA past collaborations to 

bring communities together and foster new 

opportunities for both agencies to more 

regularly work together to protect public 

health and the environment.

A Whole-Government Approach to 

Improve Transportation Access

Led by FTA, the Federal interagency 

CCAM is an example of multisector 

collaboration among 11 Federal agencies 

to improve the efficiency and reliability of 

transportation networks across the country 

for low-income individuals, older adults, 

and people with disabilities. This type of 

partnership could be replicable at the State 

and territorial level.

Opportunity to Make Bigger Strides 

Toward Healthy and Equitable 

Transportation: BIL and IRA

The historic 2021 BIL and 2022 IRA 

provide funding to foster safer, healthier, 

and more equitable transportation and to 

change the current car-dependent transportation network that has exacerbated the 

issues described in this article. BIL provides 

transformative transportation investments, 

including those for improving public safety 

and climate resilience, allowing for the 

creation of jobs, and delivering a more 

equitable future. IRA provides investments 

in a range of areas, including environmental 

programs, and aims to improve public 

health, reduce pollution, and revitalize 

marginalized, underserved, and overburdened communities. Programs under both 

statutes can help to reconnect communities 

divided by existing infrastructure, mitigate 

negative impacts of transportation facilities, 

support equitable transportation planning, 

and make our existing transportation 

system cleaner by providing healthier and 

more sustainable transportation options, 

including walking, biking, and using 

public transportation.

Health-related programs created or 

reauthorized by BIL or IRA include 

the following:

• Highway Safety Improvement 

Program (HSIP)—BIL provided 

this existing formula program 

approximately $15.6 billion for FY 

22–26. The purpose of HSIP is to 

achieve significant reductions in 

traffic fatalities and serious injuries 

on all public roads (23 U.S.C. 

148(b)(2)) and funds highway safety 

improvement projects and specified 

safety projects to achieve this goal 

(23 U.S.C. 148(e)). Specified safety 

projects allow HSIP funds to be 

used on certain noninfrastructure 

safety projects (e.g., education and 

emergency response programs), and 

States can spend up to 10 percent 

of their HSIP apportionment each 

fiscal year on specified safety projects 

(23 U.S.C. 148(a)(11), 148(e)(3)). 

Every State can use HSIP funds for 

bicycle and pedestrian highway safety 

improvement projects, but, depending 

on their total annual VRU fatalities, 

certain States are required to obligate 

at least 15 percent of their HSIP 

funds on highway safety improvement 

projects to address the safety of VRUs 

(23 U.S.C. 148(g)(3)).

This street includes multiple safety 

countermeasures to create safe and comfortable 

corridors and facilities for all road users, including 

a wide sidewalk with street furniture, separate 

bike lanes, wide crosswalk, and on-street parking.

© Toole Design Group / pedbikeimages.org.
HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 35

• Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) 

discretionary grant program—A new 

BIL program that provides more than 

$1 billion in annual grants from FY 

22–26 to fund regional, local, and 

Tribal initiatives to prevent roadway 

deaths and serious injuries through 

the creation and implementation of 

safety action plans (Section 24112). 

SS4A can support projects such as 

developing comprehensive safety 

action plans and conducting safety 

analyses to transform a high-injury 

network into a Complete Street with 

safety improvements to control speed, 

separate users, and improve visibility. 

A Complete Street is safe, and feels 

safe, for everyone using the street.

• Carbon Reduction Program 

(CRP)—A new BIL formula program 

that provides more than $1.2 billion 

annually from FY 22–26 to reduce 

transportation emissions defined as 

carbon dioxide emissions from on-road 

highway sources (23 U.S.C. 175). 

Multimodal projects that help reduce 

dependence on single-occupancy 

vehicles are eligible for this funding 

such as public transportation projects 

and the construction, planning, and 

design of facilities for pedestrians, 

bicyclists, and other nonmotorized 

forms of transportation.

• CMAQ Improvement Program—

BIL provided this existing formula 

program over $2.5 billion annually 

from FY22-26. CMAQ provides a 

flexible funding source to State and 

local governments for transportation 

projects and programs to help meet 

the requirements of the Clean Air 

Act in areas with air quality problems 

(23 U.S.C. 149). Eligible projects 

include fostering increased use of 

public transportation and bicycle and 

pedestrian transportation, retrofitting 

or replacing diesel trucks fleets to 

reduce emissions, funding shared 

micromobility projects, expanding 

zero-emission vehicle fleets and 

infrastructure, and improving traffic 

flow. CMAQ Program funds can 

also be used for any transit capital 

expenditures otherwise eligible for 

FTA funding, as long as they have an 

air quality benefit.

With these and other programs, BIL and 

IRA provide a once-in-a-generation opportunity for Federal agencies, Tribes, States, 

territories, local governments, and communities to use formula and discretionary funds 

to support an active, multimodal, resilient, 

and accessible transportation system to 

improve health outcomes of individuals 

and communities. BIL and IRA allow 

State and local transportation agencies to 

further consider public health in its projects 

and planning.

Several States have transformed project 

scoring processes to ensure health considerations are embedded in their planning 

processes. For instance, in Kentucky, 

“Building a safer, more equitable transportation system that serves all community 

members is a priority here in the Commonwealth, and that includes creating more 

options for bicyclists and pedestrians,” says 

Mikael Pelfrey, Kentucky Transportation 

Cabinet Division of Planning director. “The 

SHIFT [Strategic Highway Investment 

Formula for Tomorrow] scoring process 

takes all of these components into consideration to help us plan for the future and the 

generations of Kentuckians who will rely on 

our infrastructure for their daily needs.”

States may also develop new policies to 

ensure that all road projects include publichealth-oriented corridor designs that are safe 

and accessible for users of all ages and abilities. New York enacted legislation to increase 

the State share of funding for municipalities 

incorporating such approaches as Complete 

Streets. The Washington State Department 

of Transportation issued a policy (Project 

Delivery Memo No. 22-03), requiring 

Active transportation like walking 

and running have positive 

effects on people’s health.

© 2023 Bernadette Dupont.
36 | PUBLIC ROADS | SUMMER 2023

certain transportation projects greater than 

$500,000 to be screened and to incorporate Complete Streets design features. The 

Louisiana Department of Transportation & 

Development changed the requirement of 

the CDC-funded Louisiana High Obesity 

Program by reducing local match funding 

and removing local responsibility for design, 

construction, engineering, and inspection 

to make it easier and more equitable for 

communities under 50,0000 population 

to apply.

USDOT and EPA Collaborate on 

Programs Established in New 

Infrastructure Legislation

The BIL, IRA, and American Rescue 

Plan Act of 2021 (Pub. L. 117-2) all have 

provided a wealth of new opportunities 

for USDOT and EPA to work together 

to support public health in transportation 

infrastructure investments. An example of 

this collaboration includes TCN. DOT 

and EPA are co-chairs of this Federal 

Government program. TCN is designed to 

help Federal agencies coordinate strategy, 

collaborate across initiatives, and target 

deployment of a full range of Federal 

place-based technical assistance and capacity-building resources to urban, rural, and 

Tribal communities experiencing a history 

of economic distress and systemic disinvestment. This effort includes resources to 

help disadvantaged communities with grant 

and financial management, predevelopment assistance, community engagement, 

planning, and project delivery support. 

Each TCN partner agency is committed 

to coordinating and collaborating between 

their technical assistance programs, especially within regional or field offices that 

often serve as front doors and key points 

of contact to support communities. By 

working alongside and within communities, technical assistance programs can 

better support the locally identified needs 

and priorities.

Conclusion

While government agencies have made 

progress in bringing together transportation 

and health in the planning, programming, 

development, and maintenance of infrastructure investments, agencies still have 

a long way to go to secure a healthy and 

equitable transportation system. “There 

is nothing sacred about the status quo,” 

said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete 

Buttigieg in his remarks on the launch of 

the RCP Program in Birmingham, AL. 

“These highways, roads, and railways are 

not rivers, lakes, or mountains. They are 

not divinely ordained. They are decisions. 

And we can make better decisions than 

what came before.” Better transportation 

decisions benefit from putting people first, 

making health a transportation priority, and 

strengthening partnerships to help leverage 

Federal programs and funding opportunities, including the historically transformative 

ones under BIL and IRA.

JHOSET BURGOS-RODRÍGUEZ is a policy analyst 

with the USDOT Volpe National Transportation 

Systems Center. Before joining USDOT, he served 

as a CDC quarantine public health officer at the 

CDC San Juan Quarantine Station. He holds a 

bachelor’s degree in biology from the University 

of Puerto Rico, a master’s degree in biology and 

environmental science from the University of 

Rhode Island, and a law degree from the University 

of Puerto Rico.

VICTORIA MARTINEZ is an environmental 

protection specialist with the FHWA Office of 

Planning, Environment, and Realty Office of 

Natural Environment, specializing in health in 

Micromobility options such as bikes increase 

active transportation opportunities.

© 2023 Bernadette Dupont.
HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 37

transportation, mobile source air toxics, and near 

road emissions. She co-chairs the USDOT HinT 

WG. She holds a master’s degree in urban and 

regional planning from Florida State University, 

and a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from 

the University of Florida. She is certified by the 

American Institute of Certified Planners.

ELLIOT SPERLING is a transportation program 

analyst in FTA’s Office of Budget and Policy, 

focusing on advancing policy development and 

implementation and also providing engagement 

on efforts to advance health focuses. He holds 

a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and 

a master’s degrees in civil engineering and city 

and regional planning from Georgia Institute 

of Technology.

ANTHONY NICOME is a stakeholder coalition 

coordinator in the EPA Office of Environmental 

Justice and External Civil Rights. He holds a Master 

of Health Science degree in environmental health 

from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg 

School of Public Health and a Bachelor of Science 

degree in geography from Texas Christian 

University. He is currently a graduate student at 

Yale University.

WENDY HEAPS is a senior policy analyst at the CDC 

in the Office of Policy, Performance and Evaluation 

in the Office of the Director. She was a contributor 

to FTA’s Coordinating Council on Access and 

Mobility’s 2023 Strategic plan to improve 

access and mobility for people with disabilities, 

low-income, and older adult populations, and 

participates as a project panel member for the 

Transportation Research Board. As a public health 

expert, she works on population health policies 

and approaches to reduce the rate of infectious 

and non-infectious diseases. She holds a Master 

of Public Health from Emory University and a 

Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the 

University of Toronto.

(Disclaimer: The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors 

and do not necessarily represent the views 

of the Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention/the Agency for Toxic Substances 

and Disease Registry.)

The authors wish to thank the following 

individuals who played a key role in developing this article: April McLean-McCoy 

from FTA; Bernadette Dupont, Tameka 

Macon-Ryan, and Kamala Joy from FHWA; 

Hatidza Zaganior from CDC; and Larissa 

Ireland, Joan Chu, and Amy Plovnick from 

the Volpe Center.

For more information, see https://www.fhwa

.dot.gov/planning/health_in_transportation/ or 

contact Victoria Martinez, 787-771-2524, 

victoria.martinez@dot.gov.

To learn more:

• Active People, Healthy Nation 

(https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity

/activepeoplehealthynation/index.html)

• American Rescue Plan (https://www

.whitehouse.gov/american-rescue-plan/)

• Bicycle and Pedestrian Program 

(https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/bicycle

_pedestrian/funding/funding_opportunities.cfm)

• Bipartisan Infrastructure Law 

(https://www.congress.gov/117/plaws/publ58

/PLAW-117publ58.pdf)

• Carbon Reduction Program 

(https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/bipartisan

-infrastructure-law/crp_fact_sheet.cfm)

• CDC Health Equity (https://www.cdc.gov

/healthequity/whatis/index.html)

• CDC Physical Activity (https://www.cdc

.gov/physicalactivity/about-physical-activity

/what-cdc-is-doing.html)

• Clean Air Act (https://www.epa.gov

/laws-regulations/summary-clean-air-act)

• Complete Streets (https://highways.dot

.gov/complete-streets)

• Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality 

Improvement Program (https://www.fhwa

.dot.gov/environment/air_quality/cmaq/)

• Coordinating Council on Access 

and Mobility (https://www.transit.dot.gov

/coordinating-council-access-and-mobility)

• Coordinating Council on Access and 

Mobility 2023–2026 Strategic Plan 

(https://www.transit.dot.gov/regulations-and

-programs/access/ccam/about/2023-2026

-coordinating-council-access-and-mobility)

• Diesel Emission Reduction Act 

(https://www.epa.gov/dera)

• Federal Interagency Thriving 

Communities Network (https://www

.transportation.gov/federal-interagency-thriving

-communities-network)

• Framework for Better Integrating 

Health into Transportation Corridor 

Planning (https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning

/health_in_transportation/planning_framework/)

• Funding Opportunities for Ports and 

Near-Port Communities (https://www.epa

.gov/ports-initiative/funding-opportunities-ports

-and-near-port-communities)

• Health in Transportation (https://www

.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/health_in_transportation/)

• Highway Safety Improvement 

Program (https://highways.dot.gov/safety/hsip)

• Inflation Reduction Act (https://www

.congress.gov/117/plaws/publ169/PLAW

-117publ169.pdf)

• Infrastructure Voluntary 

Evaluation Sustainability Tool 

(https://www.sustainablehighways.org/)

• National Complete 

Streets Assessment 

(https://highways.dot.gov/research/projects

/fhwa-national-complete-streets-assessment)

• National Electric Vehicle 

Infrastructure Program 

(https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/nevi/)

• National Environmental Policy Act 

of 1969 (https://ceq.doe.gov/laws-regulations

/regulations.html)

• National Roadway Safety Strategy 

(https://www.transportation.gov/NRSS)

• Ports Initiative (https://www.epa.gov

/ports-initiative)

• Reconnecting Communities Pilot 

Program (https://www.transportation.gov

/grants/reconnecting-communities)

• Safe Streets and Roads for All 

(https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/bipartisan

-infrastructure-law/docs/ss4a_fact_sheet.pdf)

• Safe System Approach (https://www

.transportation.gov/NRSS/SafeSystem)

• The U.S. National Blueprint For 

Transportation Decarbonization 

(https://www.energy.gov/sites/default

/files/2023-01/the-us-national-blueprint-for

-transportation-decarbonization.pdf) 

• Thriving Communities Program 

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

/thriving-communities)

• Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 

(https://www.justice.gov/crt/fcs/TitleVI)

• Transit-Oriented Development 

(https://www.transit.dot.gov/TOD)

• USDOT Technical Assistance 

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

/dot-navigator/technical-assistance-resources)

• Vision Zero Community (https://highways

.dot.gov/safety/zero-deaths/vision-zero)
38 | PUBLIC ROADS | SUMMER 2023

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.

A 6-foot deep pretensioned bridge girder 

arrives at the Turner-Fairbank Highway 

Research Center Structures Laboratory.

Source: FHWA

ALONG THE ROAD
HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 39

Public Information and Information Exchange

UHPC Pretensioned Bridge Girders Begins New 

Chapter for Structures Laboratory’s Research

The Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center Structures Laboratory is a state-of-the-art facility that specializes in 

developing and testing designs, materials, and construction 

processes for bridges across the Nation. One key aspect of the 

laboratory focuses on bridge durability and constructability over 

time, which supports one of the Federal Highway Administration’s 

strategic goals of improving the safety, reliability, and cost 

effectiveness of bridge construction.

Modern advances surrounding the knowledge and mixture 

of concrete materials have led to the development of ultra-high 

performance concrete (UHPC). Research into the structural 

behavior of UHPC has begun a new chapter with the recent arrival 

of a 6-foot (1.829-meter) deep pretensioned bridge girder—or 

beam—that is used to provide structural support to smaller 

beams of a bridge. The girder’s delivery to the laboratory will 

provide researchers opportunities to gain specific insight into the 

performance of narrow web, which increases buckling strength and 

helps eliminate the need for vertical stiffeners while being more 

economical and visually appealing, and other optimized elements 

being considered for future use in the construction of bridges.

For more information, visit https://highways.dot.gov/research

/laboratories/structures-laboratory/structures-laboratory-overview.

Reviewing New Ideas: The NCHRP Highway 

IDEA Program Committee

During the November 2022 National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Innovations Deserving 

Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) Highway Program’s committee 

meeting, staff from the Federal Highway Administration’s Research 

and Technology program volunteered their time and expertise 

to evaluate and score proposals describing innovative concepts 

that will significantly advance the Nation’s highway systems. 

The committee—consisting of technical experts from industry, 

academia, and State and Federal transportation agencies—reviews 

proposals twice a year (in the summer and winter) and selects the 

most promising ones.

Though there are three separate IDEA programs—highway, 

rail safety, and transit—the intent for each one is the same: 

to capture the unexpected concept that challenges 

conventional thinking. Established in 1992, the 

NCHRP Highway IDEA program seeks advances in 

construction, safety, maintenance, and management of 

highway systems; pavement and bridge performance; 

and environment and resource conservation. The proposals 

selected are awarded start-up funding.

Since its inaugural year, the NCHRP Highway IDEA 

Program has received over 2,500 proposals, awarding 240 projects 

with more than $35 million in funding for research. During 

2022, the 57th cycle of the NCHRP Highway IDEA Program, 28 

proposals were received. Proposals are due March 1 and September 

1 and each NCHRP IDEA Program is open to all, including 

foreign nationals living and working outside of the United States.

For information on current and completed projects, committee 

members, proposal selection criteria, and the 2023 Highway IDEA 

Program announcement, visit https://www.trb.org/IDEAProgram

/IDEAHighway.aspx#.

FHWA Participates in Workplace Event for Kids

The Federal Highway Administration once again hosted Take Your Child to Work Day (TYCWD)—known formerly as 

Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day—at Turner-Fairbank 

Highway Research Center (TFHRC) on April 27, coinciding with 

the national annual TYCWD.

FHWA’s TYCWD is designed to allow children to witness a 

segment of the American workforce and explore the scientific, 

technological, engineering, and mathematical (STEM) applications 

of their parents’ work that could inspire them to consider a STEMbased and/or transportation-related career.

FHWA hosted several different activities throughout TYCWD. 

The last observance, held in April 2019, featured more than 40 

workshops and exhibits, including “The Drone Experience” where 

children could learn to fly small consumer drones; mentoring 

sessions; hands-on experiments; and a crash test at TFHRC’s 

Federal Outdoor Impact Laboratory—a demonstration that is 

usually a hit with the young visitors. This year’s event was also 

filled with other fun, interesting, useful, and educational activities 

relating to science, engineering, and transportation.

A scientist in the Chemistry Laboratory teaches a 

staffer’s daughter how to safely use a torch during 

the TFHRC Take Your Child to Work Day event.

Source: FHWA
40 | PUBLIC ROADS | SUMMER 2023

USDOT Selects Johns Hopkins to Lead Search for 

Climate-Focused Transportation Solutions

The U.S. Department of Transportation invests in the future of transportation through its University Transportation Centers 

(UTC) Program, which advances state-of-the-art research and 

technology in transportation. In March 2023, Johns Hopkins 

University announced its $10 million award from USDOT to 

lead a consortium research project focused on preserving the 

environment through transportation solutions. UTCs have 

traditionally served as the Department’s research arm since the late 

1980s, informing transportation policy and practice at the local, 

State, and Federal level.

The Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Climate-Smart 

Transportation will collaborate with a group of experts from 

other higher learning institutions including the Massachusetts 

Institute of Technology, Morgan State University, University 

of Texas at Austin, University of Utah, and Diné College, a 

public Tribal land-grant college serving the Navajo Nation. 

The consortium will explore viable methods to mitigate climate 

change in the transportation sector, with an emphasis on equity 

and environmental justice, as well as how alternative fuels can 

be used in transportation. Other focal points involve discovering 

ways to achieve net-zero emissions and ways to advance other 

net-zero emissions policies, such as reducing per-capita vehicle 

miles traveled.

For more information, visit https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2023

/johns-hopkins-selected-by-us-department-of-transportation-to-lead

-new-10-million-center-for-climate-focused-transportation-solutions.

USDOT Intersection Safety Challenge Begins 

with $6 Million Prize Competition

To help address growing concerns regarding the safety of vulnerable road users at intersections and as part of the 

National Roadway Safety Strategy (NRSS) call to action, the U.S 

Department of Transportation launched the Intersection Safety 

Challenge on April 25, 2023. The Challenge aims to transform 

safety through the development of innovative intersection safety 

systems (ISS) that identify, predict, and mitigate unsafe conditions 

involving vehicles and vulnerable road users. It anticipates the 

use of emerging technologies, such as machine vision, machine 

perception, sensor fusion, real-time decisionmaking, artificial 

intelligence, and vehicle-to-everything communications, to 

transform intersection safety and ensure equity among all 

road users.

The Challenge includes a multi-stage prize competition—Stage 

1A: Concept Assessment and Stage 1B: System Assessment and 

Virtual Testing—to encourage teams of innovators and end-users 

to develop and test their ISS solutions to compete for up to 

$6 million in prizes. If sufficiently compelling candidate solutions 

are identified, the USDOT may choose to fund follow-on projects 

through a procurement mechanism.

To participate in the first stage of the prize competition, submit 

an ISS Concept Paper (by 5:00 pm EDT on September 25, 2023) 

at https://www.challenge.gov/?challenge=us-dot-intersection-safety

-challenge. Up to 10 prizes of up to $100,000 each may be awarded 

for Stage 1A.

2023 LTIP Student Data Analysis Contest 

Accepting Entries through August 1

The Long-Term Infrastructure Performance (LTIP) team invites undergraduate and graduate students to submit technical 

papers that use the extensive data in InfoPaveTM or InfoBridgeTM.

Authors of the first- and second- place papers in each 

category will be sent to the Transportation Research Board 

Annual Meeting and the papers will be published by the Federal 

Highway Administration.

To enter the contest, university students are to use data from 

either of the following Web portals: InfoPave for Long-Term 

Pavement Performance (LTPP) data, or InfoBridge for LongTerm Bridge Performance (LTBP) data. Students who enter the 

competition will gain the experience of using quality performance 

data, applying that data by using appropriate research methods to 

derive recommendations, and ultimately, using that data to make 

informed decisions.

Students are encouraged to develop their own ideas to 

investigate topics that may advance long-term pavement or 

bridge performance. Recent winning entries were: “Correlation 

of Bridge Deck Deterioration With Truck Load Spectra Based 

on Weigh-in-Motion Data” and “Key Climatic Factors Affecting 

Asphalt Pavement Roughness Differ in Different Climate Regions: 

Exploratory Analyses.”

The deadline to enter is August 1, 2023, enter today!

For more contest information, visit: https://infobridge.fhwa.dot.gov

/Content/Documents/LTIP_Student_Data_Analysis_Contest.pdf

For information on LTPP InfoPave: https://infopave.fhwa.dot.gov/

For information on LTBP InfoBridge: https://infobridge.fhwa.dot.gov/

Internet Watch

STEAP: Version 2.0 Enhancements

I

n January 2023, the Federal Highway Administration updated 

the Screening Tool for Equity Analysis of Projects (STEAP), 

which supports transportation project prescreening, assists 

in the effective use of Federal resources, assesses impacts on 

environmental justice (EJ) populations, and helps to develop 

meaningful public engagement plans. By using this interactive web 

tool, transportation planners, engineers, and civil rights officials 

can select existing highway segments, sketch-in or insert roadways, 

and assess EJ impacts by analyzing U.S. Census data for selected 

areas. The tool, an extension of FHWA’s Office of Planning, 

Environment, and Realty (HEP) geographic information systems 

(HEPGIS) web application, permits rapid screening of potential 

project locations anywhere in the United States 24 hours a day, 7 

days a week.

STEAP was designed to have a simple interface. Enhancements 

in STEAP version 2.0 reflect this simplicity and help generate 

better buffer analysis reports by adding three new columns 

corresponding to city, county, and State statistics and a function 

to evaluate if a project disproportionally affects disadvantaged 

populations. Updates also include data from the 2020 Decennial 

Census, which helps to investigate Title VI of the Civil Rights 

Source: USDOT.
HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 41

Act of 1964 complaints using more accurate data 

from smaller areas of geography and full population 

counts, and the 2015–2019 and 2016–2020 American 

Community Surveys as well as improved user interface. 

Users can now find project locations based on city/

town name and download buffer analysis reports in a 

spreadsheet format.

For more information about STEAP, visit 

https://hepgis.fhwa.dot.gov/fhwagis/buffertool/ or 

contact Supin Yoder (supin.yoder@dot.gov).

Technical News

Iowa DOT Uses VR to Connect Project Ideas with Public Involvement

Virtual public involvement (VPI)—digital means of enhancing engagement by making participation more convenient, 

affordable, and enjoyable—is gaining popularity among 

organizations like State agencies that seek to enhance current 

public involvement practices or require it based on statute, 

regulation, or executive order. Virtual reality (VR), a form of VPI, 

helps transportation professionals communicate their ideas and 

engage with the public in unique and creative ways.

The Iowa Department of Transportation, for example, 

collaborated with Iowa State University to develop a VR 

demonstration of the Interstate 74 (I–74) Mississippi River Bridge 

replacement project with the aim of attracting more citizens to 

observe, advise, and provide feedback on the project. Via the VR 

experience, users were able to view the placements of the old I–74 

bridge crossing the river on two separate structures alongside the 

proposed twin arch bridge delivering four lanes in each direction. 

Additionally, users were able to:

• Drive and fly over the bridge.

• Walk along the bridge’s pedestrian path.

• Observe the view from the bridge’s scenic deck.

• Dive into and view educational information about the 

Mississippi River’s environment.

In conjunction with public meetings and presentations, the VR 

demonstration was also available through a headset at multiple 

locations across the local communities and posted on social media 

to garner comments and suggestions from residents. The new I–74 

bridge, fully opened in December 2021, was designated as the top 

bridge of 2022 by a leading trade publication. Demolition of the 

old bridge has begun and will continue through mid-2024.

For more information on this and other VR demonstrations, 

visit https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/innovation/innovator/issue89

/page_02.html.

Policy, Programs and Regulations

What is HSIS?

The Highway Safety Information System (HSIS) is a multistate database developed by the Federal Highway Administration in 

support of its safety research program. HSIS contains quality data 

on crash, roadway, and traffic volume for a select group of States, 

including California, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, North Carolina, 

Ohio, and Washington, as well as Charlotte, NC, an urban area.

HSIS is available to transportation professionals, analysts, 

researchers, and policymakers involved in making informed 

highway safety-related decisions. HSIS data are acquired annually 

from liaisons and prepared for analysis. Each HSIS liaison serves 

as an initial single point of contact at the participating State 

department of transportation (DOT), and generally is the manager 

of safety data at the State DOT. Though the information collected 

varies slightly from State to State, HSIS receives data on crashes, 

roadway inventory, traffic volume, intersections, interchanges/

ramps, curves and grades, and guardrails/barriers. Two new 

databases were recently added: Motorcycle Crash Causation and 

Roadway Lighting.

In addition to the databases, FHWA also manages other 

HSIS-related activities, including a virtual HSIS laboratory and 

an annual Excellence in Highway Safety Data Award student 

competition (which encourages university students to use 

HSIS data with the intent of introducing future highway safety 

professionals to good quality safety data).

For more information, visit: http://www.hsisinfo.org/index.cfm or 

see the HSIS Excellence in Highway Safety Data Award ad in this 

issue of Public Roads.

A screenshot of a buffer analysis report for the Minneapolis, MN, area that is available through STEAP.

Source: FHWA.

A screenshot of the virtual reality demonstration used to inform and solicit public 

involvement for the Interstate 74 Mississippi River Bridge replacement project.

© Iowa Department of Transportation.

The Highway Safety Information System contains quality highway 

safety data on crash, roadway, and traffic volume. Source: FHWA.
42 | PUBLIC ROADS | SUMMER 2023

Three-Day, In-Person Training on Urban Drainage Design

by STAN WORONICK and SABRINA SYLVESTER

Urban drainage design facilitates safe passage for vehicles during a storm event to support a sustainable, resilient, and reliable 

transportation network. Although it can be challenging, urban 

drainage design strives to maintain compatibility and minimize 

interference with existing drainage patterns; control roadway 

surface drainage; and minimize potential environmental impacts 

from highway-related stormwater runoff.

In a highway environment, urban drainage design includes the 

collection of stormwater runoff from the roadway surface, 

conveying it along the right-of-way, and then discharging it into an 

adequate receiving water body without causing adverse onsite or 

offsite impacts. The rapid collection and removal of stormwater 

from pavement surfaces ensure the safety of the traveling public by 

minimizing the conditions that can cause hydroplaning. 

Stormwater conveyance systems (e.g., storm drain piping, ditches, 

channels, pumps) provide an efficient mechanism for conveying 

flows from inlet locations to the discharge point without 

surcharging inlets or otherwise causing surface flooding.

To support the design of safe and reliable transportation 

networks, the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA’s) 

National Highway Institute (NHI) has updated its training to 

provide a detailed introduction to urban roadway drainage design 

that will enable participants to solve basic water-related problems.

Achieving Urban Drainage Design Success with NHI

NHI now offers the Urban Drainage Design (3-Day) 

(FHWA-NHI-135027) course as an Instructor-led Training (ILT) 

or as a virtual option (FHWA-NHI-135027V). Referencing and 

building on the procedures and methodologies in the FHWA 

publication, Hydraulic Engineering Circular No. 22 (HEC-22), 

Third Edition: Urban Drainage Design Manual, this ILT helps 

individuals with roadway and drainage design responsibilities.

This training includes an overview of urban drainage design 

along with the fundamental hydrology and hydraulics principles 

most used. The ILT emphasizes the primary importance of 

ensuring safety among the traveling public and reviews pavement 

drainage and hydroplaning. This training also provides 

introductions to the concepts of and methods for analyzing and 

designing gutters and a variety of inlet types, including grate, 

curb-opening, and specialty inlets. Overall drainage system design 

is also addressed, including inlet spacing, storm drain layout and 

pipe sizing, and computing hydraulic and energy grade lines. The 

course concludes by describing the interactions between roadway 

geometric and drainage design.

To create a dynamic and engaging environment, the training 

instructor encourages and facilitates the sharing of knowledge 

about and personal experiences with drainage design practices 

among participants. “This course allows for the exchange of 

information and best practices between designers and practitioners 

that deal with roadway drainage design. Participants will learn a lot 

from the instructors but also from each other,” says FHWA 

hydraulics engineer Ryan Lizewski.

Recommended Courses

If you are a beginner in hydraulics or want to refresh your skills, 

NHI also offers the following courses in highway 

hydraulic training:

• Introduction to Highway Hydraulics (FHWA-NHI-135065).

• Practical Highway Hydrology (FHWA-NHI-135067).

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 information on 

how to register or host 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.

STAN WORONICK is a training program manager for NHI.

SABRINA SYLVESTER is a senior marketing contractor for NHI.

© Ryan Bemben / Shutterstock.com.

Source: NHI.

TRAINING UPDATE
2024 TPF 

Excellence 

Awards 

Nomination

August 8, 2023–

September 12, 2023

CALLING ALL 

COLLABORATORS! 

First Biennial

Does your TPF study give 

innovation the green light?

How to Apply: 

For more information on the nomination form go to www.pooledfund.org/

TPFExcellenceAwards. Submit nominations to: TPFExcellenceAwards@dot.gov

Awards Debut

2024

The biennial award is 

jointly administered by 

FHWA and the American 

Association of State Highway 

and Transportation Officials 

Research Advisory Committee.

Recognizing TPF studies that:

DEMONSTRATE 

EFFECTIVE PARTNERSHIP

ADD VALUE TO THE 

TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRY

SUPPORT U.S. DEPARTMENT OF 

TRANSPORTATION STRATEGIC GOALS

ADVANCE RESEARCH 

AND INNOVATION

Two TPF studies will be selected for the 

2024 award ceremony.
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 

summaries, you can choose the option that best fits the information you want to share. 

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

deadlines, and requirements, visit https://highways.dot.gov

/research/publications/public-roads/FHWA-HRT-22-076.

Questions? Contact us at PublicRoads@dot.gov.

© 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 

practitioners, and academia may also submit content for Public Roads

but are encouraged to collaborate with FHWA and State DOTs.
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