Highway Planning

Highway and bridge projects implemented under programs administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) may be eligible for federal funding if the sponsoring transportation agency project or public works organization meets certain standards in compliance with federal law, including conducting an environmental review. The environmental review process includes activities necessary to demonstrate that all potential project-related impacts to the human, natural, and cultural environment have been identified and that the effects of those impacts, such as economic or community benefits, have been taken into consideration before a final decision on the project is made.

In addition, the public must have the opportunity to be included in the project decision-making process as mandated by the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) of 1969. Typically, public involvement occurs at the first stage of the highway development process, which is the planning stage. The planning stage is followed by subsequent stages of development/preliminary design, final design, right-of-way, construction, and ongoing operation and maintenance.

It is during the first stage of the highway development process that the project is defined at the state, regional, or local level, based on the scope of the perceived problem and the proposed development solution. The most common types of problems predicating a call for highway development fall under one or more of four broad categories. Structural problems relate to existing physical structure that needs major repair or replacement. Capacity problems involve existing or projected travel demands that exceed available capacity and require increased access to transportation for greater mobility.

Issues related to safety occur when a route experiences an excessive number of incidents and accidents that can be resolved only through physical transformation of the route. Access problems are associated with developmental pressures along a route that make it necessary to reexamine the quantity, location, and physical design of access points. Solutions to all of these types of problems can be put into one of four types of improvement projects: new construction; reconstruction; resurfacing, restoration rehabilitation; and maintenance.

[Page 737]It is essential that all parties involved in highway development agree during the planning stage that a real problem exists, what the specific problem is, and whether the jurisdictional parties are willing to fix it. For example, road access may be identified as a real problem, but the jurisdictional community may prefer not to alter the status quo for fear of associated detrimental effects like increased traffic congestion.