00928100

Monograph

http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/sr/sr264.pdf

In 1998 the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) reauthorized the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) program for an additional 6 years (1998-2003) and increased its funding to a minimum of $8.1 billion. TEA-21 also included a request that the National Academy of Sciences conduct an evaluation of the CMAQ program. Hearings conducted during the reauthorization process had raised many issues that prompted this request. To respond to the congressional request and address these issues, the Transportation Research Board of the National Research Council appointed the Committee for the Evaluation of the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program. This report presents the committee's findings and recommendations. Chapter 1 provides a brief introduction to the CMAQ program, followed by a more detailed discussion of the study charge, an overview of the committee's approach to the study, and a summary of the report organization. In Chapter 2, an overview of air quality and congestion problems, which provide the context for the CMAQ program, is presented, along with a brief discussion of emerging trends that could affect the future direction of the program. Implications for program evaluation are considered. In Chapter 3 an overview of program operations to date is provided, including a review of funding allocations and eligible activities, a history of program spending trends by project category and geographic area, and a review of program operation in the case study sites. The committee's assessment of the program's results is given in Chapter 4. What is known about the cost-effectiveness of CMAQ projects is reviewed; the cost-effectiveness of alternative strategies for pollution reduction is examined; and the qualitative aspects of the program are addressed, drawing again on the case studies. The findings presented in Chapters 2 through 4 served as the basis for the committee's summary findings and recommendations, which are presented in Chapter 5.

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English

520 p.

2002

Transportation Research Board Special Report

0309077001

Appendices (6) ; Figures; References; Tables

Air quality management; Case studies; Cost effectiveness; Evaluation and assessment; Pollution control; Recommendations; Traffic congestion; Traffic mitigation

Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program; Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century

Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Research; I73: Traffic Control

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Jul 31 2002 12:00AM