INTEGRATED APPROACH FOR IDENTIFYING POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES OF PROPOSED TRANSPORTATION CORRIDORS

Transportation projects often have delays, unnecessary duplication of efforts, and especially a lack of coordination among the involved agencies, leading to extra costs associated with the environmental review and approval process. The Florida Department of Transportation and University of Florida researchers are exploring several strategies for developing software tools to address such concerns. The goal is to identify major issues of the proposed transportation projects early in the planning phase so appropriate stakeholders can consult and resolve those issues before additional resources are invested in the project. Proposed is a methodological framework and a conceptual system design for building these software tools. The methodology for analyzing the impact is conceptualized as object-oriented, modular, and highly customizable. This approach offers analysis consistency and great flexibility for applications anywhere in the United States, provided that spatial databases are available. The system design strategy proposed for implementing the methodology takes an integrated approach between geographic information systems and relational database management systems. A prototype application developed based on the proposed framework proved effective in confirming the primary impact issues in a road extension pilot study in Florida. The tool quickly analyzed each of the proposed alignments and compared the levels of impact. Future directions will include expanding the focus from impact assessment to decision support with capabilities for selecting optimal road alignments.