This project concentrated on identifying potentially mobile constituents from highway construction and repair materials and their possible impacts on surface water and groundwater. Materials used in construction and repair that are likely to come into contact with the surface water and groundwater include: asphalt, concrete additives, metals, grouts, plastics/synthetics, shredded rubber tires, Styrofoam, creosote and other timber preservatives, and others. Explicitly excluded from consideration in this project were constituents originating from construction processes, vehicular operations, maintenance operations, and atmospheric deposition.

The key objective of this research was to develop a validated methodology for assessing the environmental impact of highway construction and repair materials on surface water and groundwater, and to apply the methodology to a spectrum of materials in representative environments. Accomplishment of this objective involved several phases. In the final phase, a proposed methodology for assessing the environmental impact of highway construction and repair materials on surface water and groundwater was developed and validated.

A summary document titled Primer Environmental Impact of Construction and Repair Materials on Surface Water and Ground Water was published as NCHRP Report 443. The revised final report is made up of five volumes: Volume I, Summary of Methodology, Laboratory Results, and Model Development; Volume II, Methodology, Laboratory Results, and Model Development for Phases I and II; Volume III, Methodology, Laboratory Results, and Model Development for Phase III; Volume IV, Laboratory Protocols; and Volume V, User's Guide, IMPACT. Volume I was published as NCHRP Report 448. All five volumes, the primer, and the IMPACT software have been distributed on CD-ROM as CRP-CD-7.