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    <title>Research in Progress (RIP)</title>
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    <copyright>Copyright © 2026. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright>
    <docs>http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss</docs>
    <managingEditor>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</webMaster>
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      <title>Research in Progress (RIP)</title>
      <url>https://rip.trb.org/Images/PageHeader-wTitle-RIP.jpg</url>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/</link>
    </image>
    <item>
      <title>Pittsylvania County Road Orders 1767-1783</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2702871</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Road history projects undertaken by VTRC establish the feasibility of studies of early road networks and their use in the environmental review process.  This proposed volume marks the 33rd entry in the Historic Roads of Virginia series, initiated in 1973 by the Virginia Highway & Transportation Research Council (subsequently VTRC). Pittsylvania County Road Orders 1767-1783 will further the coverage of the early southern Virginia transportation records begun in the previously published Brunswick County Road Orders 1732-1749, Lunenburg County Road Orders 1746-1764, Amelia County Road Orders 1735-1753, and Halifax County Road Orders 1752-1767.

This volume covers the period of Pittsylvania County’s greatest extent, from its creation from Halifax County in 1767, through its division to create Henry County in 1777, and extending to the end of the Revolutionary War, which saw significant military contributions, including essential supply centers, in Pittsylvania. By the second half of the 18th century, Pittsylvania County contained important east-west and north-south transportation routes. The county’s early transportation records provide information relating to transportation connections not only with neighboring counties and other counties farther to the north, east and west in Virginia, but also with with neighboring North Carolina. This publication will have particular application to the cultural resource research relating to transportation projects in this area of southern Virginia. 

If questions arise about early roads once a VDOT road improvement project is already underway (or nearly underway), primary historical research of this nature can take 6 to 12 months to complete. Therefore, this volume can be a source of potentially significant cost savings for VDOT, including the avoided costs of project delays and avoided consultant costs for cultural resource studies should questions arise. 
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 14 May 2026 10:58:04 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2702871</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>The Changing Landscape of Environmental Reviews under NEPA for Airports</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2625811</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Prior to 2025, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and airports utilized the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations to review projects subject to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). In 2024 in Marin Audubon Society v. FAA the DC circuit found the CEQ regulations ultra vires and in 2025, in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v.  Eagle County the U.S. Supreme Court held that agencies’ determinations related to the boundaries of environmental review are entitled to substantial deference, and clarified that reasonably forseeable effects are close in time and space to the project being reviewed, and subject to the agency’s regulatory authorities. The CEQ regulations were fully rescinded in February 2025. Subsequently, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) issued Order 5610.1D, Procedures for Considering Environmental Impacts, and FAA issued Order 1050.1G, FAA National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Procedures. Additionally, the 2023 Fiscial Responsibility Act ammendments to NEPA and the 2024 FAA Reauthorization Act resulted in significant changes to agencies’ historical NEPA practices.

OBJECTIVE: This report will summarize the major changes in statutory and regulatory requirements, provide an overview of how Section 743 of the 2024 Reauthorization Act intersects with FAA’s National Enviornmental Policy Act (NEPA) obligations (e.g. segmentation, connected actions), and address how these changes interplay with state and local environmental laws. It should provide strategies for integrating local, state, and federal planning and environmental and permitting requirements to facilitate expedited project delivery. This report should update ACRP LRD 22, The Role of the Airport Sponsor in Airport Planning and Environmental Reviews of Proposed Development Projects Under the NEPA and State Mini-NEPA Laws.

]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 20 Nov 2025 15:14:27 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2625811</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Assessing Bat Use of Culverts in Virginia and Identifying Opportunities for Streamlining the Consultation Process for VDOT Projects: Phase I Study</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2617664</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) must comply with the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for transportation projects that may impact federally listed bat species. In 2024, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) released several updates relevant to these requirements, including the updated Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Programmatic Biological and Conference Opinion (PBO) for transportation projects. 

Although these updates and associated tools include several changes to improve consultation efficiencies, certain aspects of the coordination process remain outside their scope. In addition, structure assessments for bat occupancy represent a significant workload for VDOT and USFWS staff and an area where additional research is needed in Virginia. An understanding of culvert use by bats is an issue that has not yet been examined through a robust statewide study.

This research will inform the development of Virginia-specific tools and strategies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of regulatory coordination for project reviews. The project will be conducted in two phases. Phase I will use literature findings VDOT bat survey data to develop a targeted sampling plan for Phase II field surveys to identify potential conditions where bat presence may be highly unlikely.  Phase I will also include a review of programmatic agreements from other states and gather input from VDOT, USFWS, and other DOT staff to find opportunities to increase the efficiency of consultation process.  The study findings will inform regulatory decisions for streamlining the project review processes and decreasing the workload for Virginia’s transportation and regulatory staff.
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 04 Nov 2025 10:05:56 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2617664</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Balancing Environmental Clearances with Construction Work Zone Needs</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2244511</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) project managers choose between project alternatives whose benefits, costs, and impacts differ. Alternative selection occurs through the preconstruction process and includes benefit-cost analysis, which depends on accurate cost estimates to support decision making. KYTC’s commitment to avoid or minimize environmental impacts, while optimizing project construction savings, requires that competing needs in the Enacted Highway Plan be balanced. Achieving this balance is difficult when project managers lack a reliable procedure for calculating environmental clearance limits (i.e., determining how much land on and near the project site the Cabinet should obtain an environmental clearance for so that contractors have adequate space to complete their work). Failure to obtain sufficient environmental clearances results in higher bid prices and unplanned post-letting environmental mitigation. This drives up project costs and potentially reduces the amount of resources available for other projects.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 14 Sep 2023 08:49:30 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2244511</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Environmental Assessment of Culvert Fish Passage using Environmental DNA</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1906839</link>
      <description><![CDATA[WSDOT is correcting hundreds of fish passage barriers in compliance with a U.S. District Court injunction. Culvert injunction implementation also requires post-project monitoring. WSDOT contracts with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) for biological monitoring to detect salmon and steelhead presence at WSDOT fish passage sites. Current methods for assessing fish use upstream of corrected barriers requires biologists walking the stream looking for evidence of salmon. 
The new method using eDNA enables the detection of species by taking water samples and analyzing the DNA which is constantly shed by organisms in the environment. This looks to be a more efficient and reliable method especially for detecting species present at low levels or those which are difficult to observe. The use of eDNA would also allow for the detection of rare or endangered species, or others of management interest which could aid in project analysis or prioritization. 
The proposed project will develop and routinize sensitive and cost-effective methods for endangered species assessments and post-project monitoring. Utilizing eDNA methods from water samples, the detection of salmonid species, ESA listed species, invasive species and other species of conservation interest will be undertaken as a continuation of a project already underway between UW and WSDOT at fish passage restoration sites in Skagit county on state roadways. Sampling protocols will be developed for three target species, along with guidelines for data interpretation. The protocols will be applicable for other species besides the three chosen for this proposal. 
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 27 Jan 2022 18:41:41 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1906839</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Accelerating Project Delivery</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1860963</link>
      <description><![CDATA[To aid in the implementation of the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) HEPE’s research program, HEPE requires support from multi-disciplinary teams to develop innovative strategies to expedite environmental reviews and accelerate project delivery. Services provided by the Volpe Center will be targeted at specific needs that will support FHWA work in accelerating project delivery as well as innovations in the environmental review process, and environmental permitting and consultation for natural and cultural resources. A key research program area is “Strengthening Transportation Planning and Environmental Decision-making.” HEPE is responsible for developing and implementing research projects focused on the following objectives: (1) promote more informed transportation decision-making to improve transportation planning, programming, operations, and coordination; (2) promote integrated planning that improves transportation safety and addresses environmental, social, and economic needs; (3) accelerate the project delivery process; (4) minimize environmental impacts of transportation investments; and (5) improve the way transportation contributes to economic development and communities' quality of life.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 21 Jun 2021 12:24:12 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1860963</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Considering Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate Change in Environmental Reviews: Resources for State DOTs</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1707244</link>
      <description><![CDATA[
NCHRP WebResource 3 is a guide for state departments of transportation (DOTs) and partner agencies that provides resources and approaches for addressing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate change effects in transportation environmental reviews. The WebResource:

Provides tools, methods, and resources to support consideration of GHG emissions and climate change effects in transportation project environmental reviews pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and to state environmental review requirements.

Describes how plan-level or programmatic environmental reviews and assessments can inform project-level environmental reviews.

Provides tools, methods, and resources for considering equity as related to GHG emissions and climate change effects.


Associated with the WebResource is NCHRP Web-Only Document 400: Considering Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate Change in Environmental Reviews: Conduct of Research Report, which provides a summary of the research that went into developing the guide, as well as a fact sheet that summarizes the project’s essential findings and an implementation memo that identifies implementation pathways for the project.

Publication Info
40 pages |  8.5 x 11 |  DOI: https://doi.org/10.17226/27888]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 19 May 2020 08:56:53 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1707244</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Southeast Los Angeles (SELA) Initiative
</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1637647</link>
      <description><![CDATA[SELA region is 62 square miles and includes 11 cities, 4 unincorporated areas, a high proportion of manufacturing and warehousing, and major highway and rail facilities serving port related freight (Figure 1). The population is majority Hispanic, generally low income, and classified by the state’s primary environmental burden mapping tool, CalEnviroScreen, as having high pollution burden. This case study is motivated by and leverages an earlier analysis of the area conducted by USC in 2017 in collaboration with the CSULA Pat Brown Institute and the SELA Collaborative, a partnership of 11 community and non-profit organizations (Giuliano et al, 2018). The research subtasks performed as part of this proposal are based on the above mentioned analysis and community input, including input received at a November 2017 community summit that gathered over 250 local elected officials, civic leaders, and community members. There are two main research subtasks in this the SELA initiative research plan and one engagement and outreach subtask.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 11 Jul 2019 17:39:32 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1637647</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Review of Special Provisions and Other Conditions Placed on GDOT Projects for Imperiled Aquatic Species Protection (Main Project Phase)</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1601083</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The overall objectives of this project are to identify those special provisions and other conditions that are necessary for managing impacts of crossings on imperiled aquatic species, and to create a biological assessment in support of a programmatic agreement.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 19 Apr 2019 14:11:29 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1601083</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Exploration and Evaluation of High-Resolution Imagery for Environmental Assessment</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1504843</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The goal of this project is to assess potential and develop protocols for the use of high-resolution LiDAR and multi-spectral imagery to evaluate environmental characteristics of Iowa DOT (DOT) project areas. Specifically, the research team will evaluate how LiDAR and multi-spectral imagery can support the assessment of design alternatives, and if these data could help DOT staff select alternatives earlier and with less fieldwork required. 

In addition to capturing normal land survey and engineering data concurrently, which is invaluable to the design and project development process, the team will augment this data with high-resolution remotely obtained data. This will allow the team to assess the extent to which the following can be completed using such imagery: (a) wetland spatial extent and vegetation characterization; (b) stream channel morphology
determination (depth, width, center-line location); and (c) tree assessment (tree stand density and health, individual tree heights, diameter and health).

In addition to land survey data for engineering purposes, the DOT also believes this remote sensed data (in the form of high resolution multi-spectral orthoimagery and LiDAR) will provide ancillary benefit that will allow potential threatened and endangered species habitat to be identified early as well as an Archaeological Landform and Architectural Building/Setting Assessment to be investigated further
through correlation of field collected data. While these additional assessments are not part of this proposal, the images and data gathered in this project will be available for future investigation.

Current DOT methods for environmental assessment require a significant amount of manual and on-site work, driving up the costs and time associated with these phases of projects. This project will determine what savings might be realized through use of high-resolution imagery and what the break-even point for this type of data collection might be in terms of the size of the study area. Specifically, the team intends to evaluate the use of three types of imagery at approximately a 15-50 cm spatial resolution: standard (near infrared) LiDAR elevation and terrain data, multi spectral color (blue, green, red, and near infrared) reflectance data, and narrow-band green LiDAR imagery which penetrates into water surfaces and gives information relevant to topography under shallow water.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 09 Mar 2018 14:18:09 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1504843</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Research for the AASHTO Committee on Environment and Sustainability. Task 104. Streamlining Carbon Monoxide Project-Level Air Quality Analyses with Programmatic Agreements</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1486821</link>
      <description><![CDATA[NCHRP 25-25 Task 78, “Programmatic Agreements for Project-Level Air Quality Analyses,” completed in 2015, successfully developed templates for a programmatic agreement (PA) and an associated technical support document (TSD) that were designed to be used by state DOTs to streamline project-level air quality (hot-spot) analyses for carbon monoxide (CO). The Task 78 study used MOVES2010b; which has since been replaced by EPA with MOVES2014a. FHWA announced that it is undertaking a streamlining effort by conducting CO project level analysis to reduce the analysis burden of State DOTs and project sponsors when assessing the air quality impacts in the project development process. Task 104 updated the Task 78 PA and TSD as needed (e.g., update the modeling to use current models and cover additional project configurations and/or types).
 
This project includes piloting the updated templates with a state DOT, making revisions to the templates as needed (e.g., to update the modeling to use current models, cover additional project configurations and/or types, and then apply state-specific modeling inputs), and continuing through necessary approvals and execution with FHWA. Lessons learned through this initiative can inform and assist the subsequent implementation of the updated templates for state DOTs across the nation.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Sun, 29 Oct 2017 10:44:43 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1486821</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Policy Development- HEPA/Environmental Analysis
</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1368933</link>
      <description><![CDATA[No summary provided.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 16 Sep 2015 15:14:49 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1368933</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>NOI # 17 - Sleep Disturbance
</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1368641</link>
      <description><![CDATA[No summary provided.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 14 Sep 2015 10:57:27 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1368641</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>NOI # 14 - NextGen CO₂ Sample Problem Anayliss
</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1368640</link>
      <description><![CDATA[No summary provided.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 14 Sep 2015 10:45:39 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1368640</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>NOI # 11 - Rapid Fleet-wide Environmental Assessment Capability 
</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1368635</link>
      <description><![CDATA[No summary provided.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 14 Sep 2015 10:08:48 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1368635</guid>
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