01044625

Component

The relationships between transportation, air quality, and human health have been well studied, but for the large part it has been confined to the urban environment. A review of current transportation and air quality literature shows increasing concern for rural air quality, but a gap remains in modeling the effects of transportation on rural interstates and studies examining air quality and human health in communities nearby the interstate. Since 1985, the amount of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) on rural interstates has significantly increased, and the VMT for trucks has almost doubled in the southeastern United States. In 1997 the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for ground level ozone were redefined, classifying several rural areas as non-attainment areas. Also, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 characterizes air quality problems resulting from vehicle emissions to be regulated as cumulative and secondary impacts. The rural setting deserves special consideration because of its unique environment rich in biogenic sources, one of the precursors of tropospheric ozone production. The formation of ground level ozone results from a series of complex photochemical reactions involving Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). The surrounding VOCs from biogenic sources create a NOx-limited environment that provides the potential for substantial ozone production when vehicle emissions release NOx into the atmosphere on rural interstates. This project was a review of the current modeling efforts in both the United States and in Europe. While large scale 3-D regional studies in the United States are including rural areas, the grid resolution is still much too large to look at the effects of a single roadway. European studies are beginning to look at much finer resolutions, and develop programs to consider rural areas. As rural transport continues to increase, both within the U.S. and between the U.S. and Mexico and Central America, the deterioration of air quality in this rural area will only proliferate. The transportation community has addressed the issue of rural ozone only as part of a state implementation plan (SIP), and not as a secondary or cumulative impact of a transportation facility in a rural area. From a regulatory standpoint and an environmental health standpoint, the impact of vehicle emissions in rural areas merits further investigation.

01044603

English

15p

2006

10th National Conference on Transportation Planning for Small and Medium-Sized Communities

CD-ROM

Figures (1) ; References; Tables (2)

Air quality; Interstate highways; Nitrogen oxides; Nonattainment areas; Ozone; Public health; Rural areas; Vehicle miles of travel

National Ambient Air Quality Standards; National Environmental Policy Act of 1969

Air quality models; Volatile organic compounds

Europe; Southeastern United States; United States

Energy; Environment; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; I15: Environment; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning

TRIS, TRB

Mar 23 2007 11:52AM

• 1995-2004 CARTS Pedestrian/Bicyclist Crash Analysis
• A Pavement Management System for County Roads in the State of Alabama
• Application of an Internet-Based Travel Survey in a Medium-Sized Community
• Applying Value Methodology to Metropolitan Transportation Planning
• Better, Stronger Faster; How Oblique Aerial Imagery Is Changing the Face of Transportation Planning
• Bozeman Bicycle Network Plan
• Comparison and Evaluation of Simplified Transportation Project Selection and Prioritization Methodologies for Use by Small and Medium Sized Planning Agencies
• Design Considerations to Mitigate Non-Response in Regional Household Travel Surveys
• Developing a Consistent, Flexible, and Defensible Methodology for State and Regional Transportation Planning
• Development of Travel Demand Modeling Tools for Small Area Planning Purposes
• Discrete Event Simulation of Forecasted Non-Urban Freight Movement
• Evaluating the Relative Safety of Access Management Treatments in Micro-Simulation
• Getting Innovative Traffic Forecasting Model Networks "In Shape" Quickly Using GIS Datasets
• Highway Ranking Model
• Implementation of a Public Transportation System in Casper, Wyoming
• Innovative Financing at the Local Level: Project Funding for a Regional Transportation Agency
• Integrating Access Management into Local Transportation Planning
• La Entrada al Pacifico: Viability and Potential Impacts on the Odessa-Midland, Texas Area and Other Small Communities
• Local Road Safety Audits: A New Approach to an Old Problem
• Microsimulation for Transportation Planning for Small Communities
• New Approach for Updating Highway Functional Classifications
• PlanCheyenne - Co-Planning for MPOs
• Planning Analysis Toolbox for Small Urban Areas in North Carolina
• Potential Use of GPS Data for Calibrating Travel Demand Models
• Safe Routes to School in Superior, WI and Duluth, MN
• Safety Conscious Planning for Small and Medium Size Urban Areas
• Six Hints for Better Public Process
• Strategic Transportation, Environmental Planning Process for Urbanizing Places (STEP UP)
• Successful Use of Public Involvement Tools - Johns Pass Bridge Project
• Supporting Transportation Planning in Small MPOs Through Partnerships and Innovative Methods
• The Bridge Between NEPA and Corridor Studies: The Story of Northern Bridge Corridor Study
• US-280 Access Management - Managing Small Town Economics
• Using Simplified Regression Analysis in Financial Planning for an MTP, or Seeing the Forest for the Trees
• Web-Based Delivery of Geospatial and Transportation Data for a Rural Intelligent Transportation Systems Project
• When Big Projects Come to Smaller Places: The Communication Challenge
• Which Came First? The SR 386 Area Study