BACKGROUND

NCHRP Project 20-68A, Scan 16-02, “Leading Landscape Design Practices for Cost-Effective Roadside Water Management,” was conducted to investigate how transportation agencies are applying principles and practices of green infrastructure (GI) for roadside water management to mitigate adverse impacts of flooding, drought, and temperature extremes affecting their infrastructure.

Although there is a lot of information available from environmental and national highway agencies, only a few state departments of transportation (DOTs) seem to be fully implementing GI practices and recommendations. One reason for this is the lack of a common definition for GI, which was highlighted in a 2022 article titled What is green infrastructure? A study of definitions in US city planning. This lack of standardization can make it difficult to compare approaches and best practices. In 2019, the Water Infrastructure Improvement Act provided a definition of GI that encompasses a range of measures to store, infiltrate, or evapotranspirate stormwater using plant or soil systems, permeable surfaces, and stormwater harvesting. However, other organizations use different definitions, further contributing to the lack of consistency in GI implementation.

The scan team report for NCHRP Project 20-68A, Scan 16-02, identified eight categories of recommendations based on their findings. Information development and sharing is crucial for successful GI implementation, but there is currently no national effort to create a community of practice or collaborate among the related topical committees at the Transportation Research Board (TRB) and at the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). Moreover, there are no peer exchanges or conferences held specifically for GI implementation by state DOTs. To address this, a series of national-level workshops will be conducted to share the scan team's findings and provide a platform for participants to discuss and plan the creation of a community of practice.

OBJECTIVE 

The objective of this project is to implement the benefits of GI for effective roadside water management. This objective will be realized by (1) the development of contextual definitions of GI; (2) the development and conduct of workshops to disseminate information and gather additional information on GI; and (3) the development of viable approaches for funding and continuation of information exchange on GI practices.

RESEARCH PLAN

To realize the objective, the research plan shall describe appropriate tasks that include, but are not limited to the following.

Task 1. Develop a briefing document on the working draft definitions of GI.

This document should emphasize that the definitions of GI are context-dependent and vary according to the benefits they provide. Additionally, it should identify the latest information from relevant organizations about the scaling up and funding of GI.

Task 2. Conduct workshops on GI, along with the development of appropriate workshop materials, including a final report on the findings and conclusions of the workshops.

The workshops will be designed in conjunction with the project panel and should be disseminated nationally to elicit participation from state DOT members as presenters and/or as participants. A majority of the participants shall be from state DOTs, along with appropriate representatives from other federal, state, and local agencies.

Task 3. Develop dissemination materials such as presentations, one pagers, infographics, briefs, etc., on GI and GI practices.

These materials should highlight different GI practices that emphasize multidisciplinary approaches. 

Task 4. Draft a report on the viable approaches for funding and continuation of information exchange on GI practices.

This report can look at the National Hydraulic Engineering Conference model or the Clear Roads initiative as possible models to follow. 

Task 5. Draft a conduct of research report that documents the results of the project, along with a dissemination plan for the materials developed during the project.

STATUS: Proposals have been received in response to the RFP.  The project panel will meet to select a contractor to perform the work.