Synthesis of Information Related to Highway Practices. Topic 57-06. Integrating Safety into Development Reviews and Transportation Impact Practices

Preliminary Scope: State departments of transportation (DOTs) are seeking multimodal opportunities to reduce fatalities and serious injuries by adopting goals and policies that incorporate safety measures at the planning stage and later during the design stage, especially during the access permitting process. The criteria for development reviews have historically been focused on the evaluation of traffic operations, with traffic delays and level of service as the primary metrics for identifying potential operational impacts. More recently, vehicle miles travelled has been considered as a different metric for assessing development impacts. Safety is also a consideration but may be addressed in a more qualitative manner. Some materials or metrics that agencies use for a quantitative safety assessment include crash modification factors, the Highway Safety Manual (HSM), research done subsequently to publication of the HSM, conflict analysis, and locally developed resources. As a result, there may be a wide range of how safety is reflected in a transportation agency’s development review process. The net effect may be that potential safety impacts of new development are not identified or addressed. The objective of this synthesis is to document state DOTs’ development review and access permit processes, with an emphasis on how such processes might reflect or integrate safety considerations. Information to be gathered includes (but is not limited to): development review policies and procedures; tools that state DOTs use and how the tools are integrated into the review process (e.g., potential safety-related tools can include crash modification factors, HSM, and intersection control evaluation); mitigation or improvement strategies in use; and lessons learned from the development review process. Information will be gathered through a literature review, a survey of state DOTs, and follow-up interviews with selected DOTs for the development of case examples. Information gaps and suggestions for research to address those gaps will be identified. Information sources (partial): (1) Best Practices for Traffic Impact Studies, Oregon DOT and FHWA, June 2006, https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/22633. (2) Gluck, J. S. and Lorenz, M. R. 2010. NCHRP Synthesis 404: State of the Practice in Highway Access Management. Washington, DC: Transportation Research Board. https://doi.org/10.17226/14419. (3) Ohio DOT (ODOT) in its State Highway Access Management Manual, July 2023, https://www.transportation.ohio.gov/working/publications/shamm. (4) National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2014. Access Management Manual. Washington, DC: Transportation Research Board. https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/27823/access-management-manual.

• Record URL:
  • http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=5983
• Supplemental Notes:
  • A research agency has been selected for the project. The contracting process is underway.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Proposed
• Funding: $65,000.00
• Contract Numbers:

  Project 20-05, Topic 57-06

• Sponsor Organizations:

  State Departments of Transportation (participating member states of American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO))

  American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO)
  444 North Capitol Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Managing Organizations:

  National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Synthesis

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC    20001
• Project Managers:

  Hutchins, Mark

• Start Date: 20260803
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Highway design; Highway planning; Highway safety; State departments of transportation
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01972947
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Transportation Research Board
• Contract Numbers: Project 20-05, Topic 57-06
• Files: TRB, RIP
• Created Date: Nov 26 2025 6:20PM