BACKGROUND

All hazard guidance must draw from the experience and tradition offered by different types of emergencies in terms of scenarios, operations, technology, and institutions. A number of studies and presentations have identified the key challenges faced by state DOTs and emergency responders in developing, improving, and maintaining long-term effective emergency transportation operations. These include:

• The lack of an integrated guide for emergency transportation operations which contain minimum basic standards defined by all key agencies;
• Contemporary training, certification, and self-assessment tools to aid and guide transportation agencies and related organizations.
• The lack of long-term project champions to maintain and sustain multi-agency emergency transportation operations.
• Improved integration and interoperability;
• Institutionalizing regional traffic incident management;
• Enabling performance measurement; and
• Data sharing and data security.

The primary audience for this research includes state traffic engineers, district engineers, and personnel with management responsibilities for transportation operations and maintenance. The primary audience for the executive summary will also include CEOs, chief engineers, and board members.

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this project are (1) to develop a guide for emergency transportation operations, (2) to provide training and self-assessment tools to transportation agencies and related organizations, and (3) to develop and evaluate potential business models to maintain the guide and to facilitate adoption and use of the guide.

Status: Published as NCHRP Report 525, Surface Transportation Security Volume 6: Guide for Emergency Transportation Operations. A workshop was held in March 2006. A brochure was delivered to AASHTO in February 2007.