HOP and the SKIP transit services
The HOP and the SKIP transit services in Boulder are helping the city to meet both its air quality and congestion relief goals by providing easy access and frequent service for its citizens. This FHWA 1999 Environmental Excellence Award winning program provides services to close to 10,000 riders per day.
 FHWA 1999 Environmental Excellence Award winner.

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Implementation of Retrofit Program for Diesel Equipment During the Construction of the I-95 New Haven Harbor Crossing Project
The I-95 New Haven Harbor Crossing Improvement Program (NHHC) administered by the Connecticut DOT consists of the construction of a new State Street Commuter Railroad Station, the widening of I-95 from Exit 46 in New Haven to Exit 54 in Branford, the replacement of the existing Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge (Q Bridge) with a new 10-lane bridge, and the reconstruction of the I-95/I-91/Route 34 Interchange.  

The project is located in the municipalities of New Haven, East Haven and Branford, which are a serious non-attainment area for ozone (O₃).    The New Haven area only is a non-attainment zone for PM₁₀ and PM_2.5.   The construction of this 7.2-mile corridor, which started in 2002 and will take more than twelve years to complete, will include more than 200 pieces of diesel powered construction equipment.   Construction is divided in five phases under four major contracts.   The first contract was completed in June 2004.

In October 2000, the DOT formed an air quality working group, which investigated the benefits and costs of implementing a diesel emission control program.   The group included personnel from various offices within DOT, and experts from the New England States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM), Connecticut Department Environmental Protection (DEP), Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), and Connecticut Construction Industries Association (CCIA).   It was decided early on that the diesel emission control program called “Connecticut Clean Air Construction Initiative” would combine non-road diesel powered equipment control technology with the inspection of highway diesel vehicles.   The highway diesel vehicles are already regulated by the DMV under a heavy-duty diesel emissions regulation.    

Considering that this was a voluntary pilot program for DOT, it was decided that the most widely accepted technology and fiscally responsible emission reduction options would be used.   As such, the following technologies were selected:  

• Oxidation catalysts due to its wide acceptance and proven experience, and
• Clean fuels listed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or the California Air Resources Board which could achieve specific NOx and PM emissions reductions.

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Orlando Bikeways
City of Orlando; Orlando, Florida.

The City of Orlando developed the Orlando Bikeways program to make bicycling safer and encourage the use of this alternative transportation mode. Orlando has achieved this goal by increasing its bikeways from three miles to over 150 miles in the last 12 years. The City has publicized and promoted bicycling in numerous other ways, such as by expanding the bike units and teams of the Orlando Police and Fire Departments, increasing bicycle parking availability, and establishing an annual "Bike to Work" day, led by the Mayor.
 EPA 2002 Clean Air Excellence Award winner

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Air Quality Legislation to Reduce Greenhouse Gas
Maine Greenhouse Gas Initiative

The Maine State Legislature passed “An Act to Provide Leadership in Addressing the Threat of Climate Change,” which set goals for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions within the state. These goals, the first in the nation established by state statute, call for a reduction to 1990 levels by 2010, to 10% below 1990 levels by 2020, and in the long-term reductions “sufficient to eliminate any dangerous threat to the climate.” A 32-member Stakeholder Advisory Group consisting of representatives of government, business, non-government groups, an academic resource panel, and DEP staff was established to consider climate change issues and potential approaches to mitigating Maine’s greenhouse gas emissions. The group advised DEP in the development of A Climate Action Plan for Maine 2004 with 54 recommended actions for achieving the goals for reduction. The plan lists the 54 actions in decreasing order of expected greenhouse gas savings, and provides for the evaluation of progress toward meeting reduction goals, reviews the cost-effectiveness of the actions, and provides for the submission of an annual progress report.

The Maine Greenhouse Gas Initiative website provides additional information and resources at http://www.maine.gov/dep/air/greenhouse/

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Implementation of Dust and Diesel Emission Control Programs for the construction Phase of the Central Artery/Tunnel Project
The Central Artery/Tunnel (CA/T) Project administered by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority (MTA) consists of a new third harbor tunnel (named the Ted Williams Tunnel) which opened to commercial traffic in 1996 linking downtown Boston to Logan Airport in East Boston, and a new underground eight- to ten-lane Central Artery, which replaced Boston's elevated north-south I-93 expressway, and a ten-lane cable stayed bridge crossing the Charles River. The project opened to general traffic in 2005.

Project construction consisted of a total of 161 lane miles of new highway in a 7.5-mile long corridor, of which approximately one half was in tunnels. Construction included approximately 13 million cubic yards of excavated earth material and 4 million cubic yards of concrete, which were hauled in more than a half of million truckload trips. During mainline construction hundreds of pieces of heavy construction equipment were being used 24 hours per day, including large excavators, front-end loaders, bulldozers, cranes, cement trucks, and both 10-wheel and 18-wheel dump trucks.

Given the urban setting of the CA/T Project, with close proximity of construction activities to residential communities, medical facilities, businesses, and other sensitive abutters along the project alignment, stringent dust and odor control measures were implemented to protect public health. As part of the mitigation measures the CA/T project established a dust control specification, outlining the necessary measures and requirements that the contractors must follow in order to control on- and off-site nuisance dust. These included: reducing the number of truck entrances and exits from a site within the contract; providing a crushed stone base for the dump trucks in the on-site loading area; installing wheel wash stations at construction areas exits, daily use of watering trucks and street vacuum sweepers, and creating embankments between stockpiles and haul roads. These particular measures were implemented to manage and reduce dirt tracking.

To evaluate the effectiveness of these measures, and assist enforcement of them, the Project undertook a PM10 monitoring program. The monitoring program included the use of portable monitors located at sidewalks during the summer season measuring 24-hour PM10 levels twice a week at 5 to 10 locations per year, tracking emissions at the largest construction areas. A field dust inspection program was also implemented to verify contractor’s compliance with the specification requirements. The results of these programs concluded that most of the PM10 increases were localized, and confined to areas close to the major CA/T construction activities. The observations of the inspection program also concluded that the single most significant source of the high PM10 levels was re-suspended dust from construction trucks entering and exiting the construction areas. Strict enforcement of dust control specifications achieved approximately 50% reductions in peak PM10 levels.

During 1998, in conjunction with Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MDEP) and the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM), the project also implemented an emission reduction diesel retrofit program for off-road construction equipment using oxidation catalysts. This program resulted in well over 100 pieces of diesel powered equipment being retrofitted. Based on EPA certification data, it was anticipated that oxidation catalysts would achieve at least 20 percent reductions for PM, 40 percent reductions for CO, and 50 percent reductions for HC in all heavy-duty engines.

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VOC Reductions During Asphalt Placement
Historically the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) used a product called MC-70, an asphalt cutback product, for priming new gravel surfaces prior to placement of the first lift of pavement on its construction projects.   The carrying agents for the asphalt in the MC-70 are volatile organic compounds (VOC’s).   VOC’s comprise approximately one-third of the MC-70 product by volume.   This was an effective product for use as a priming agent, as the high VOC’s in this product helped the base asphalt in the MC-70 penetrate effectively into the top of the aggregate surfacing, and promoted a good bond between the first lift of the new pavement and the underlying aggregate surfacing.   However, the MDT was concerned about the large amount of VOC’s that escaped into the atmosphere with the use of this product.

The MDT began trials of other products in 2001 and 2002 to find an effective prime treatment that did not result in the release of large quantities of VOC’s.   The MDT settled on the use of a dust palliative (magnesium chloride in most instances), followed by the application of SS-1, an emulsified asphalt product that has the same base asphalt as MC-70.   The dust palliative, with its affinity for moisture, helps draw the SS-1 down into the aggregate surfacing, thereby promoting the bond between the aggregate surfacing and the first lift of new pavement.   While the new prime process is more difficult to construct, and is marginally less effective in penetrating into the aggregate surfacing in some instances, the MDT is committed to this process primarily for the environmental benefits it has over the former process.   The MDT has not used the MC-70 product in its construction projects since June of 2003.

Had the MDOT continued its use of MC-70 approximately 2,000 metric tons of VOC’s would have been released into the atmosphere. 

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Ozone Action Days - notification/public outreach
The Ozone Action Days program is an effort of public outreach and education being implemented in the New York Metropolitan Area region to reduce emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) from transportation related activities. This program has been in place since 1997 and includes ozone forecasting, public notification of impending unhealthful ozone levels, public education, and outreach with the goal of persuading motorists to develop and use transportation modes other than single occupant vehicles (SOV) during periods of unhealthful ground level ozone concentrations. As more drivers participate in the program, fewer vehicles crowd the highways, congestion decreases, and commute speeds are optimized, all contributing to reduced emissions and ground level ambient ozone concentrations.

A number of strategies are employed to inform the public that unhealthful ozone levels are forecasted, including public service announcements, e-mail alerts, advertising, and announcements on highway variable message signs.  There are currently more than 500 business partners participating in the Ozone Action Days program. Their responses to an alert vary, from conveying the message to employees to measures that may include subsidizing vanpools or special incentives to encourage employees to use transit on alert days.

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Compressed Natural Gas Refueling Stations
The Central New York Regional Transportation Authority, with the support of the United States Department of Transportation and the New York State Department of Transportation, has been a leader in the testing and implementation of compressed natural gas as an alternative vehicle fuel. With a growing fleet of compressed natural gas buses, the agency needed a refueling station. Through interagency cooperation, public-private partnerships, and proactive public involvement, the team used Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program funding sources to build an state-of-the-art indoor compressed natural gas refueling facility. The project also included a public compressed natural gas fueling station, which has encouraged more widespread public and private vehicle fleet conversion to compressed natural gas in the greater Syracuse-Onondaga County area. The refueling station has benefited the surrounding communities by reducing air pollutants from mobile sources and has helped to improve the region's air quality by minimizing congestion and supporting public transportation.  This project won an Environmental Excellence Award from the Federal Highway Administration in 2001.
 Environmental Excellence Award from the Federal Highway Administration in 2001

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The Central New York Regional Transportation Authority's indoor state-of-the-art compressed natural gas refueling facility
The Central New York Regional Transportation Authority, through interagency cooperation, public-private partnerships, and public involvement, built an indoor state-of-the-art compressed natural gas refueling facility to fuel its growing fleet of compressed natural gas busses. The project, which included a public compressed natural gas fueling station, helped spur widespread fleet conversions in the area to compressed natural gas and helped reduce mobile source emissions. The Central New York Regional Transportation Authority’s indoor state-of-the-art compressed natural gas refueling facility, New York.
 FHWA 2001 Environmental Excellence Award winner

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Columbia River Crossing - Project-Level Greenhouse Gas Analysis
The Columbia River Crossing project in Oregon and Washington is one of the first major projects in the nation to incorporate an analysis of greenhouse gas emissions as part of its environmental impact statement.  Analyzing greenhouse gas emissions for the project helped demonstrate to local decisionmakers and the public that replacing the aging bridge with a state-of-the art, multimodal facility could help free up traffic flow while also reducing carbon dioxide emissions from bottlenecked traffic in the corridor.

The greenhouse gas analysis included as part of the draft environmental impact statement for the project received the National Association of Environmental Professionals’ environmental excellence award at the group’s annual conference held May 3-6, 2009. The project was honored in the category of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) excellence.

The Columbia River Crossing project would provide multi-modal improvements to address traffic congestion and safety concerns surrounding the aging lift bridge that carries Interstate 5 over the river and connects the major urban centers of Vancouver and Portland. Improvements would address access for cars, freight trucks, public transit, as well as bicycles and pedestrians.

Options to improve the corridor included building a replacement bridge with either bus rapid transit or light rail, or building a supplemental bridge with either bus rapid transit or light rail, as well as implementing a toll on the highway crossing.

The project team wanted to be able to compare each build alternative against no-build, and compare each build alternative to the other. In addition, the team wanted to compare emissions from bus rapid transit versus light rail, to analyze how tolls would affect traffic, and to test different transit operating scenarios.

The team found that existing methods of estimating emissions from transportation projects would not provide the level of detail needed to allow comparisons of project alternatives for greenhouse gas emissions.

In particular, a method was needed to account for not only the number of vehicles crossing the river – which can be determined with regional travel demand data and models – but also details on traffic speed at various times of the day.

To achieve this level of detail, the team used a series of analyses and models. For highway emissions, a traditional travel demand model was used to determine the number of trips per day across the river.  The results were then processed using a microsimulation traffic model, which provided detailed speeds throughout the day. An energy model was used to calculate year 2030 fuel use for each classification of vehicle, and that was converted into greenhouse gas emissions using an emissions factor.

In addition to looking at emissions from cars, trucks, and buses, the analysis also estimated greenhouse gas emissions from sources that would power the proposed electric light rail. The model also helped evaluate impacts of tolling, accounting for the number of trips that might be converted to transit or how many drivers might choose alternate routes to avoid paying the toll.

The analysis demonstrated that future population and employment growth in the area would result in higher greenhouse gas emissions under any scenario. However, all of the “build” alternatives for the project would reduce emissions compared to doing nothing. In particular, the analysis illustrated that the alternatives that provided greater mobility and reduced congestion showed meaningful reductions in CO2 emissions.

The analysis also demonstrated that tolling and high capacity transit made a notable difference in emissions. Although tolling would cause some diversion of traffic to longer routes, it also would eliminate some trips and would provide incentives for drivers to transfer onto light rail. Meanwhile, emissions from light rail transit would be lower than those from bus rapid transit, even if buses used biodiesel fuel.

In addition to looking at the direct emissions of greenhouse gases, the draft EIS also included a “rigorous” analysis of induced impacts. This analysis showed that the project alternatives would continue to concentrate development in the existing urban corridor and would not induce sprawling growth in rural areas.

As a result, the local project partners – including the cities of Vancouver and Portland, the two state transit agencies, and the two regional planning organizations – agreed that the replacement bridge with light rail was the best alternative for the project. The locally preferred alternative assumed tolling would be necessary to fund the project – as well as for demand management – and that the project would include bicycle and pedestrian facilities.

The project team is continuing work on the approach and may incorporate some changes in the final EIS, including consideration of tolling structures and the impact of removing the bridge lift. In addition, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Mobile Vehicle Emission Simulator (MOVES) model may be used to replace the energy model and emissions factors used at the end of the process.  But the travel demand model and microsimulation would remain as the basis for getting good, detailed traffic operations data.

Although there is no guidance regarding how to conduct such analysis, the Columbia River Crossing team worked closely with federal lead agencies – the Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration – as well as the two states’ transportation agencies to develop an appropriate approach.

The approach to greenhouse gas analysis also was subjected to review by a panel of experts, who determined that the approach and its findings were reasonable.
The final EIS for the project is expected to be completed in 2010, with construction anticipated to start in 2012. Cost estimates for the project range from $3.1 billion to $4.2 billion, a portion of which would be financed by tolls.

More information on the project, including the draft EIS and other documentation, may be accessed on the Columbia River Crossing website at http://www.columbiarivercrossing.org/.

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Each year the Environmental Protection Agency recognizes exemplary efforts in air quality protection with its Clean Air Excellence Awards. Categories include: Clean Air Technology; Community Action; Education/Outreach; Regulatory/Policy Innovations; Transportation Efficiency Innovations; and Thomas W. Zosel Outstanding Individual Achievement Award. Award winners since 2000 are described on the EPA Clean Air Excellence Web Site.

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The Environmental Protection Agency has recognized 27 winners of its 2008 SmartWay Excellence Awards to recognize businesses and organizations for their efforts to reduce fuel use and carbon emissions from freight transport. The 2008 awards recognize freight carriers for investing in trucks that are SmartWay Certified to be the cleanest and most fuel-efficient, optimizing delivery routes, and providing more flexible shipping and receiving practices to reduce unnecessary idling. For more information, link to the 2008 SmartWay Excellence Award Winners and the SmartWay Transport Partnership website.

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Examples of analyses, procedures, and strategies for meeting transportation conformity requirements are available from the Federal Highway Administration. The agency’s conformity practices website is intended to provide an easily searchable repository of examples of transportation conformity documents and processes that could be replicated in other areas of the country. For more information, link to FHWA's conformity practices web page.

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