Research

AASHTO is engaged in multiple efforts to undertake research relating to climate change. Below is a list of research projects, studies, meetings, and other initiatives that AASHTO members either directly fund or indirectly support in other ways, as of July, 2009.

AASHTO Studies

Primer on Transportation and Climate Change
Status: Completed April 2008
The AASHTO primer is an introduction to the issue of climate change and its implications for transportation policy in the United States. The paper is organized in five parts: Part I summarizes the current state of scientific knowledge concerning the causes and impacts of climate change; Part II provides an introduction to climate change policy issues; Part III discusses trends in GHG emissions from road transportation; Part IV reviews potential measures to reduce GHG emissions from road transportation; and Part V identifies issues for further research.

National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP)

NCHRP 08-36 (94): Executive Workshop on State Transportation and Climate Change
Budget: $200,000 ($100,000 from NCHRP; $100,000 from the Rockefeller Foundation)
Status: Workshop scheduled to be held in September, 2009
In collaboration with the Center for Clean Air Policy, AASHTO will organize and facilitate a two-day invitational workshop in the fall of 2009 to develop integrated state strategies to reduce transportation GHG emissions with a focus on slowing VMT growth and increasing transportation system efficiency. Five states will be selected to develop partner teams to participate in the workshop. Team members will include technical and policy experts from state DOTs, other state agencies (environment, energy, planning, economic development, housing), state legislators, MPOs, local government, transit agencies, environmental organizations, and the development community.

NCHRP 20-24/Task 59: Strategies for Reducing the Impacts of Surface Transportation on Global Climate Change
Budget: $150,000 (Phase 1); $50,000 (Phase 2)
Status: Phase 1 complete; Phase 2 approved May 2009 but not yet started
This research supports the efforts of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) to inform DOT leadership and others on strategies for reducing GHG emissions from surface transportation. The objective of this research is to prepare a synthesis and briefing materials to present important elements of current research and opinion regarding the relationship of surface transportation to emissions of greenhouse gases and global climate change and the implications of government mitigation strategies for transportation-system management. Final Report

NCHRP Project 20-24/Task 64: Comparative Assessment of Alternative Policy Mechanisms for Integrating Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Objectives into Transportation Decision Making
Budget: $367,000
Status: In progress; scheduled for completion April 2010
The objective of this project is to provide a factual basis for judging the merits of alternative methods that DOTs and MPOs can use for managing GHG emissions from transportation. The project will help policy makers to understand (a) how these alternative approaches to GHG emissions would affect states and metropolitan areas, (b) what approaches may be most effective for evaluating mobile-source GHG emission-management strategies, and (c) what particular tools are available to support implementation of these alternative approaches.

NCHRP 20-24/Task 70: Update to the 2003 Report “Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from U.S. Transportation”
Budget: $200,000
Status: Approved by the 20-24 panel May 2009; work expected to begin Summer 2009
One of the last attempts by a credible national organization to conduct a comprehensive analysis of what could be done through various GHG reduction strategies was the report by the Pew Center on Global Climate Change titled “Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from U.S. Transportation,” published in May 2003. Its principal investigators were David Greene from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Andreas Schafer from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. At AASHTO’s request the Pew Center on Global Climate Change has expressed a willingness to undertake an update of that 2003 Report. David Greene of Oak Ridge has expressed a willingness to help conduct the analysis needed. The update proposed will examine the overall potential GHG reductions from U.S. transportation, and help clarify the level of reductions obtainable from each component of the sector: vehicles, fuels, distance traveled, and system efficiency.

NCHRP 20-24/Task 72: Maximizing Highway Operational Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions
Budget: $150,000
Status: Approved by the 20-24 panel May 2009; work not yet started
The objectives of this research project are to support efforts to maximize operational strategies to reduce highway GHG, by (a) documenting a full range of operational strategies to reduce highway GHG, (b) indicating the circumstances and locales where these strategies could be most effective in reducing GHG, (c) providing quantitative estimates of their GHG reduction potential, both individually and in combination; (d) estimating their costs and cost-effectiveness; (e) identifying collateral benefits and dis-benefits; and (f) identifying policies and actions that could be taken to maximize their GHG reduction effect.

NCHRP 20-83/Task 04: Effects of Changing Transportation Energy Supplies and Alternative Fuel Sources on Transportation
Budget: $1,000,000
Status: Proposals received; consultant not yet selected
The objectives of this research are (1) to determine how the mandate, role, funding, and operations of DOTs will likely be affected by future changes in long-term energy supply and demand and (2) to identify strategies and actions that can be used by the DOTs to plan and prepare for these effects.

NCHRP 20-83/Task 05: Climate Change and the Highway System: Impacts and Adaptation Approaches
Budget: $1,000,000
Status: Proposals received; consultant not yet selected
The objectives of this research are to (1) synthesize the current state of worldwide knowledge regarding the probable range of impacts of climate change on highway systems by region of the United States for the period 2030-2050; (2) recommend institutional arrangements, tools, approaches, and strategies that state departments of transportation (DOTs) can use during system planning, design, construction, operations, and maintenance to adapt infrastructure and operations to these impacts and lessen their effects; and (3) identify future research and activities needed to close gaps in current knowledge and implement effective adaptive management. For this research, the term "highway system" should include all necessary intersections with intermodal elements, including those under the purview of local government agencies (e.g., metropolitan planning organizations, regional planning organizations, and regional transportation planning organizations). The term "project planning" should encompass project development and environmental review, including permitting. The term "system planning" refers to activities associated with the metropolitan and statewide planning and programming process.

NCHRP 25-25/Task 17: Assessment of Greenhouse Gas Analysis Techniques for Transportation Projects
Budget: $30,000
Status: Completed May 2006
This research focused on determining what methods are available for transportation agencies to accurately estimate greenhouse gas emissions from transportation activities. The report identified a total of 17 tools or methods that can be used to analyze the GHG implications of transportation projects.

NCHRP 25-25/Task 44: Development and Implementation of a Transportation and Climate Change Clearinghouse
Budget: $200,000
Status: Completed March 2009
The objective of this project was to develop and implement a U.S. Department of Transportation clearinghouse to serve as a “one-stop” source of information for the transportation community on transportation and climate change issues. This project was co-funded with FHWA. The website is available online at http://climate.dot.gov/.

NCHRP 25-25/Task 45: Transportation Program Responses to Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Reduction Initiatives and Energy Reduction Programs
Budget: $100,000
Status: In progress; final report expected Summer 2009
This project undertook research to understand the relative GHG reduction and energy efficiency capability of transportation related strategies that States and MPOs can deliver. Also, research was conducted to develop a critical path for state transportation departments and MPOs to follow when participating in state or regional efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy efficiency improvements.

NCHRP Project 25-25/Task 58: Methods to Address Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Transportation Construction/Maintenance/Operations Activities
Budget: $100,000
Status: In progress; consultant was selected in May, 2009
This research will be conducted in two parts. Part I will develop a tool (spreadsheet or other) that would allow the user to enter information on construction, maintenance and/or operations activities and would provide reliable estimates of greenhouse gas emissions. The tool should account for different types of equipment as well as different technologies (e.g. retrofits) and operational activities (e.g. hours of operation). Using this tool, transportation agencies could take into account their greenhouse gas emissions as part of their day-to-day activities as well as provide
information to the public and other stakeholders in examining the effects of transportation projects. Part II will develop a synthesis of current research on the cost-effectiveness of different strategies within these activities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, identify the gaps in current research, and recommend needed research to more affectively address the cost-effectiveness of these strategies.

NCHRP Project 25-25/Task 59: Evaluate the Interactions between Transportation-Related Particulate Matter, Ozone, Air Toxics, Climate Change, and Other Air Pollutant Control Strategies
Budget: $75,000
Status: In progress; consultant was selected in April, 2009
The purpose of this research is to identify cost-effective transportation strategies that will reduce multiple pollutants so that state officials can achieve the goals of contributing towards attainment of various air quality standards, as well as reducing toxics and GHG emissions. This research involves doing a literature search on the methodologies for determining the cost-effectiveness of strategies to reduce multiple pollutants to determine the state-of-the-art, and a survey of state efforts to determine the current state-of-the-practice. The outcome of this research would establish the feasibility of a more detailed, rigorous NCHRP study to examine these effects

Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP)

TCRP H-21: Combating Global Warming Through Sustainable Surface Transportation Policy
Budget: $275,000
Status: Completed October 2003
The objective of this project was to identify opportunities for public transportation services, and related sustainable transportation strategies, to aid in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector. The project developed an easy to understand method to measure the effects of personal travel decisions on global warming and identified strategies to increase public awareness of the impacts of travel decisions on global warming.

TCRP Synthesis J-07/Topic SH-09: Greenhouse Gas Emissions Savings from Transit - Synthesis of Information Related to Transit Problems
Budget: $30,000
Status: In progress
This report synthesizes available information and produced a compendium of the knowledge available on transit’s ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This includes discussion of the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by increasing ridership on existing transit, shifting single occupancy vehicle travel to targeted new transit investments, using transit to facilitate compact development, and minimizing transit’s emissions from its own operations and construction.

Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP)

ACRP 02-06: Guidebook on Preparing Airport Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Inventories
Budget: $200,000
Status: Completed September 2008
The objective of this research is to develop a guidebook that can be used to prepare airport source-specific inventories of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The guidebook shall provide methods to calculate airport GHG emissions inventories in a consistent manner and will provide information on considerations that should be taken into account when scoping and preparing such inventories.

ACRP 02-10: Low-Cost, High Return Practices to Reduce Airport Carbon Footprints
Budget: $500,000
Status: In progress; consultant has been selected
This analysis will foster the exchange of ideas and existing airport, airline, and other tenant experiences to develop a guidance document that identifies and evaluates best practices that could be voluntarily implemented at airports nationwide. The research will focus on identifying low-cost, high-return practices.

Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP-2)

SHRP-2 C09: Incorporating Greenhouse Gas Emissions into the Collaborative Decision-Making Process
Budget: $800,000
Status: In progress; expected completion fall 2010
This research develops a strategy for DOTs and MPOs to link GHG analysis to the Collaborative Decision Making-Framework (e.g., the transportation planning process). It develops a GHG assessment method and exercises the method in various generic situations. The research recognizes the evolving state and multi-state approaches to GHG emissions control and how transportation agencies will have to work with and perhaps report to them. The strategy will be tested in four states now active in GHG emissions control.

Other National Academies of Science (NAS) and Transportation Research Board (TRB) Studies

Special Report 290: Potential Impacts of Climate Change on U.S. Transportation
Status: Completed March 2008
This report explores the consequences of climate change for U.S. transportation infrastructure and operations and outlines strategies for adapting to these changes. This report explores the consequences of climate change for U.S. transportation infrastructure and operations. The report provides an overview of the scientific consensus on the current and future climate changes of particular relevance to U.S. transportation, including the limits of present scientific understanding as to their precise timing, magnitude, and geographic location; identifies potential impacts on U.S. transportation and adaptation options; and offers recommendations for both research and actions that can be taken to prepare for climate change. The report also summarizes previous work on strategies for reducing transportation-related emissions of carbon dioxide—the primary greenhouse gas—that contribute to climate change.

Potential Energy Savings and GHG Reductions from Transportation
Status: In progress; completion expected mid-2009
This project will estimate the potential energy savings and greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions that might be realized from transportation. All
GHG emissions resulting from transportation will be included. It will review policies and strategies to affect behavior and improve fuel economy for passenger and freight vehicles across all modes. Analyses of alternative fuels will include the full fuel cycle. Scenarios will be developed to illustrate potential savings over a 25-50 year time horizon for the United States. Safety, economic, transportation finance, and environmental trade-offs of energy-saving measures will be included in the analysis.

Relationships Among Development Patterns, Vehicle Miles Traveled, and Energy Consumption 
Status: In progress; completion expected August 2009
This project, sponsored by the Department of Energy, will consider (1) the correlation, if any, between land-development patterns and increases in vehicle miles traveled (VMT); (2) whether petroleum use in the transportation sector can be reduced through changes in the design of development patterns; and (3) the potential benefits of: (a) Information and education programs for state and local officials (including planning officials) on the potential for energy savings through planning, design, development, and infrastructure decisions; (b) Incorporation of location efficiency models in transportation infrastructure planning and investments; and (c) Transportation policies and strategies to help transportation planners manage the demand for and the number and length of vehicle trips, including trips that increase the viability of other means of travel.  In addition, the study will also assess the potential reduction in GHG/CO2 emissions from more dense development patterns.

More information on TRB’s activities related to climate change can be found at the following website: http://trb.org/climatechange/