RES2025-04: Beautification Benefits Study
Tennessee is known for its natural beauty with the most visited national park in the country embraced by the Appalachian Mountains to the east; the rolling hills, meandering rivers, picturesque countryside, and endless forests in the middle; and the lush landscape, fertile plains, and serene waterways that is the beginning of the Mississippi Delta to the west. The major metropolises anchoring these regions are connected to county seats and each other by a network of well-maintained highways and byways. To preserve and sustain the scenic landscape and travel experience fitting to the state’s natural beauty, Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) deploys a varied group of programs through its Highway Beautification Office including those regulatory in nature: outdoor advertising, junkyard control, and vegetation control, and those focused on public outreach including litter pickup and prevention, pollinator habitat, landscaping of gateways, and enhancement of scenic roadways. While TDOT’s various highway beautification activities have won national accolades and federal awards over the years, it would be desirable to quantify the benefits directly and indirectly derived from the financial commitment associated with these efforts. To that end, this study will seek to quantify the benefits in various terms, see below, in a comprehensive approach, which guided by tested models and driven by Tennessee’s own specifics from TDOT program performance data, departmental financial data, litter research data, volunteer hours, efforts of local partners, and Tennessee tourism and economic development data.
Language
- English
Project
- Status: Active
- Funding: $200000
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Contract Numbers:
RES2025-04
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Sponsor Organizations:
Tennessee Department of Transportation
James K. Polk Building
Fifth and Deaderick Street
Nashville, TN United States 37243-0349 -
Managing Organizations:
Department of Transportation
Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC United States 20590 -
Project Managers:
McClanahan, Mike
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Principal Investigators:
Han, Lee
Gu, Yangsong
- Start Date: 20240901
- Expected Completion Date: 20260831
- Actual Completion Date: 0
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Beautification; Benefits; Customer satisfaction; Economic analysis; Environment; Highways
- Geographic Terms: Tennessee
- Subject Areas: Environment; Highways; Planning and Forecasting;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01932351
- Record Type: Research project
- Source Agency: Tennessee Department of Transportation
- Contract Numbers: RES2025-04
- Files: RIP, STATEDOT
- Created Date: Sep 30 2024 4:00PM