Integrating Transportation and Environmental Planning: Extending Applicability of Corridor and Subarea Studies and Decisions on Design Concept and Scope

Abstract

FHWA and FTA have proposed a combined process for integrating transportation and environmental planning. A major feature of the process is conducting corridor and subarea studies to reach a decision on design concept and scope in planning before a project enters a preliminary engineering phase. These corridor and subarea studies facilitate decisions by metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) and refinement of their long-range plans, analyses of alternatives, and analyses of demand reduction and operations required of congestion management systems. As developed to date, the combined process is seen primarily as applying to major investment studies. As part of its congestion management system, Florida (the Department of Transportation, MPOs, and others) addressed corridor and subarea studies, major investment studies, and the proposed combined process. Furthermore, the Florida congestion management system task team found that the combined process may have many beneficial aspects, addressed state and MPO institutional roles in reaching decisions on design concept and scope, and is evaluating the extension of the combined process to arterial investments and interchange justification analyses. By extending the process to these other projects and reaching a decision on design concept and scope in planning, the needs and alternatives analyses required by the National Environmental Policy Act could be obtained earlier, possibly improving and shortening the decision-making process. Overviews of the combined process and Florida actions that may lead to extending the process beyond major investment studies are presented. Florida actions include supporting pilot arterial investment studies to be coordinated by MPOs with funding provided by the state.