NEPA and Other Disciplines

Safety

Safety Data Case Studies

The Roadway Safety Data Program is working with state and local agencies to develop case studies around roadway safety data collection, management, and analysis issues. These case studies present examples from around the United States of how safety can be incorporated in NEPA. The case studies clarify the challenges in data issues and the solutions agencies are implementing to address these challenges. An introductory document, Safety and NEPA: Case Studies and Noteworthy Practices, begins with a discussion of the Roadway Safety Management Process and its applicability to the broader project development process. Individual case studies are available at Safety Data Case Studies.

Integrating the HSM into the Highway Project Development Process

The Integrating the Highway Safety Manual (HSM) into the Highway Project Development Process guide provides information for State and local practitioners on how to integrate the HSM into their project development process. Each section provides an overview of some of the implementation opportunities for the HSM during each stage of the project development process. The HSM, integrated into agency processes and considerations, will support regional, State, and national fatality reduction goals alongside the goals of mobility, the environment, and other competing needs.

Integrating Road Safety into NEPA Analysis

A new tool created by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Transportation Safety Planning Working Group (TSPWG), Integrating Road Safety into NEPA Analysis: Practitioner’s Primer, presents a brief introduction to the topic of addressing safety in the NEPA process. It presents practitioners with basic concepts for including meaningful, quantitative analysis of project safety issues and for taking advantage of the latest tools, research, and techniques for improving road safety. The primer is designed for NEPA practitioners who want to learn more about best practices for analyzing and addressing project safety issues during each stage of the NEPA process. It also is intended to help safety practitioners understand the basics of the NEPA process and where safety considerations can be incorporated.

The Primer is organized into easy-to-use sections that walk users through the steps to accomplish the integration. These steps include:

• Considering Safety Prior to NEPA;
• NEPA Overview and Levels of Documentation;
• Public and Stakeholder Outreach;
• Purpose and Need Statements;
• Alternatives Analysis;
• Defining the Affected Environment; and
• Analysis of Environmental Impacts and Mitigations.

Further information is provided in the Appendices, including links to on-line courses, tools, and research documents, and several case studies describing best practice approaches used by several States.

FHWA and the TSPWG also developed a brochure that highlights the content in the Primer.

Resources

Travel and Land Use Forecasting

Certain transportation analyses have emerged as critical to a credible and successful NEPA process. Some of the most important analyses conducted for transportation projects are travel and land use forecasting as they supply information for purpose and need, alternatives analysis, and environmental impacts.

The Interim Guidance on the Application of Travel and Land Use Forecasting in NEPA (PDF) was written to encourage improvement in the state-of-the-practice in project-level forecasting as it is applied in the NEPA process. This guidance shares key considerations, collective lessons learned and best practices regarding how to apply forecasting in NEPA. The guidance can help DOTs avoid common issues and improve the quality of forecasts, resulting in faster and more effective project delivery. While technical guidelines for producing forecasts for projects have been documented by others, guidance has not been provided on the procedural or process considerations in forecasting. This guidance attempts to fill that gap.

In February 2018, FHWA released instructions for its staff to help ensure that adequate forecasts are prepared during the NEPA process. These instructions are also released below to facilitate the development of adequate NEPA documents, and to streamline NEPA approvals by ensuring that all necessary information about travel and land use forecasts is present in the NEPA documents.

Resources