NCHRP Project Panel 20-59, focusing on research and associated with the AASHTO Special Committee on Transportation Security, has articulated an all-modes transportation sector rationale for an all hazards approach to natural hazards and security:

1. Safety first: build on the successful experience of the systems approach, and extend the mission of existing safety personnel
2. Build on state DOT expertise in response: urban areas work with law enforcement, fire, rescue, and towing and recovery on traffic incident management; statewide presence with emergency contracting, equipment (e.g., communications systems), personnel, and common response to weather emergencies; trained to observe and report
3. Build on transit expertise in security: in urban areas parallel size and location of high-value infrastructure; invested; bring expertise on policing and security; trained to observe and report
4. Make interdependence an asset: transportation depends on, and is depended on, by other critical infrastructures; roads and transit are publicly owned and managed, and house public involvement experts; consequently, many state DOTs may be well-suited to coordinate or support the coordination of state efforts to plan for all hazards risk management and emergency management

The desired outcome is to mainstream an integrated, high level, all-hazard, NIMS-responsive, multimodal risk management process into major transportation agency programs and activities. Central to this outcome is risk management philosophy. To assist infrastructure owners and operators in adapting a coherent risk posture, AASHTO is developing guidance intended to support the Six Goals for Transportation Security:

1. Social: Involve the public--make pre-operational surveillance riskier
2. Budget & Policy: Make risk-informed decisions the norm
3. Technical: focus on countermeasures & design (instead of vulnerabilities & threats) with dual benefits
4. Operational: quick, layered response with effective surge capability
5. Psychological:
• for the public, peace of mind/acceptance of risk: security = satisfaction
• for the attack planner, transportation is a difficult target, prepare more or attack something easier

6. Intelligence: Support police/military/intelligence by having trained transportation employees report suspicious activities and by making the bad guys stretch out their planning time

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this research is to develop compelling, understandable materials to effectively communicate to state transportation agency leadership such that they are moved to action: (1) the Six Goals for Transportation Security and how they are embedded within the all-hazards NIMS context; (2) to identify within that context the fundamental actions that state transportation agencies can take and have taken; (3) to describe selected resources supportive of those actions; and (4) to describe the role of AASHTO in providing national leadership on transportation security research, outreach, coordination, and the development and adoption of high-level risk management and emergency management guidance.

Materials to be developed will include an illustrated, descriptive article and a supporting set of PowerPoint slides. The materials should be designed to engage the attention and support of all 52 AASHTO member departments. These materials shall be suitable for posting on the AASHTO website after panel review and contractor revision.

TASKS

Task 1. Gather, review and distill relevant materials such as the Six Goals for Transportation Security slideshow, FTA's Top 20 Security Program Actions Items for Transit Agencies, FHWA's Attributes of an Effective State Highway Asset Security Program and its associated Checklist, AASHTO products (particularly the January 2006 white paper "Homeland Security and State Departments of Transportation: Maintaining Strategic Direction for Protecting America's Transportation System"), and TRB Cooperative Research Program products.

Task 2. Conduct interviews on transportation's role in planning for risk management and emergency management. It is anticipated that interviewees will include state agency staff representative of the variety of depth of staffing and involvement across the 52 AASHTO member departments, as well as AASHTO staff, NCHRP staff, and NCHRP researchers.

Task 3. Prepare draft materials to effectively communicate to state transportation agency leadership (1) the Six Goals for Transportation Security and how they are embedded within the all-hazards NIMS context; (2) to identify within that context the fundamental actions that state transportation agencies can take and have taken; (3) to describe selected resources supportive of those actions; and (4) to describe the role of AASHTO in providing national leadership on transportation security research, outreach, coordination, and the development and adoption of high-level risk management and emergency management guidance. It is anticipated that variations on core draft materials will be required to engage different audiences.

Task 4. Meet by teleconference with the NCHRP panel to garner consensus direction for revision of the draft materials.

Task 5. Submit revised final materials consistent with NCHRP panel comments and direction.

Status: Complete. A draft report was presented at the August 2007 meeting of the NCHRP Panel 20-59, Surface Transportation Security Research, with the AASHTO Special Committee on Transportation Security.  Revised final materials were received in December 2007.  Fundamentals of Effective All Hazards Security Management for State DOTs was delivered to AASHTO in February 2008.