A Guide to Emergency Response Planning at State Transportation Agencies

In May 2002, following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the subsequent anthrax attacks, NCHRP produced A Guide to Updating Highway Emergency Response Plans for Terrorist Incidents (available on the AASHTO website at http://security.transportation.org/sites/security/docs/guide-ResponsePlans.pdf). Since then, a lot of research has been completed, and state transportation agencies have gained experience and recognized the need to revise and expand the 2002 Guide. For example, while the 2002 Guide recommended an all-hazards approach, the guidance needs to be expanded to apply to all transportation modes that are under state control or influence. This expansion will complement the scope of NCHRP Project 20-59(17), Guide to Risk Management of Multimodal Transportation Infrastructure, which is in progress. National policy also has changed since development of the 2002 Guide. Of particular relevance is the Department of Homeland Security's National Incident Management System (NIMS), which "provides a consistent nationwide approach for federal, state, tribal, and local governments to work effectively and efficiently together to prepare for, prevent, respond to, and recover from domestic incidents, regardless of cause, size, or complexity." The National Response Plan (NRP) implements NIMS and calls for states to develop "target capabilities" in order to ensure that all items in the "universal task list" (derived from Homeland Security Council planning scenarios) can be performed to the standards set by the NIMS Integration Center. NCHRP Report 525: Surface Transportation Security, Volume 6: Guide to Emergency Transportation Operations (ETO) outlines a coordinated, performance-oriented, all-hazards approach for improved management of traffic incidents, natural disasters, security events, and other emergencies on the highway system. There is a need to reflect changes in national response planning requirements, build on completed research such as ETO, and replace the 2002 Guide. The new Guide should be operationally oriented and practical guidance for state transportation agencies to use as they plan, organize, staff, train, exercise, manage, implement, and fund preparations to carry out their emergency responsibilities. These responsibilities include all transportation modes that are under state control or influence and functions performed by state transportation agencies in support of state and local emergencies (i.e., Emergency Support Functions under NIMS as reflected in state plans). The objective of this research is to develop a recommended Guide for use by state transportation agencies in planning and developing their organizational functions, roles, and responsibilities for emergency response within the all-hazards context of NIMS.

• Record URL:
  http://www.trb.org/TRBNet/ProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=642

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Completed
• Funding: $325000.00
• Contract Numbers:

  Project 20-59(23)

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)

  444 North Capitol Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  National Cooperative Highway Research Program

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

  Parker, Stephan

• Performing Organizations:

  Telvent Farradyne Incorporated

  ,    
• Principal Investigators:

  Wallace, Charles

• Start Date: 20061204
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 20090930
• Source Data: RiP Project 10771

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Coordination; Emergencies; Emergency response time; Guidelines; Operations; Research projects; Terrorism; Traffic; Transportation planning
• Identifier Terms: National Cooperative Highway Research Program
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01463055
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: National Cooperative Highway Research Program
• Contract Numbers: Project 20-59(23)
• Files: RIP, USDOT
• Created Date: Jan 3 2013 2:15PM