Managing the Nepa Process for Toll Lanes and Toll Roads

The Practitioner's Handbooks are produced by the AASHTO Center for Environmental Excellence. The Handbooks provide practical advice on a range of environmental issues that arise during the planning, development, and operation of transportation projects. The Handbooks are primarily intended for use by project managers and others who are responsible for coordinating compliance with a wide range of regulatory requirements. With their needs in mind, each Handbook includes: ▪ key issues to consider; ▪ a background briefi ng; ▪ practical tips for achieving compliance. Conducting National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) studies projects involving toll lanes and toll roads involves many sensitive issues and complex considerations. Issues covered in this Handbook include: ▪ Developing plans and policies on tolling ▪ Building the project team ▪ Developing toll alternatives ▪ Framing the issues for decisions in the NEPA process ▪ Modeling the performance of tolled alternatives ▪ Evaluating impacts of tolled alternatives ▪ Synchronizing NEPA reviews with procurement process ▪ Considering tolling after NEPA is under way or completed American Association of State Highway and Transportation Offi cials Overview This Handbook provides recommendations for conducting National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) studies for projects involving toll lanes and toll roads. It covers issues associated with the NEPA process itself, as well as a range of related issues, such as developing tolling policies in the transportation planning process and coordinating NEPA studies with a competitive procurement for a public-private partnership. Tolling has received increased attention in recent years as a method for addressing transportation needs. This trend has resulted from many factors, including the expanded availability of electronic toll collection; the inadequacy of traditional funding sources for transportation projects; the removal of certain legal restrictions on tolling under federal law; and the success of toll projects both in the United States and around the world. Recent legislation—the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Effi cient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU)—seems likely to accelerate the trend toward tolling, by creating new programs that allow for the development of toll lanes and toll roads. For NEPA practitioners, the consideration of tolled alternatives presents a range of new issues to consider. This Handbook provides an overview of the key issues and offers suggestions for consideration in preparing a NEPA study for a project that includes tolled alternatives. It is important to bear in mind that approaches to these issues are rapidly evolving; decisions for each study must …