The Future of Transportation: Costs, Innovations & Sustainable Systems

1. The Future of Transportation: Costs, Innovations & Sustainable Systems Greenroads Rating System Tim Burkhardt, AICP John Willis, P.E. ACEC/ODOT April 21, 2009 Wilsonville, OR

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3. Outline • Sustainability and Applicability to Road Projects • Introduce the Greenroads Rating System • Greenroads Categories, Credits and Examples • Using Greenroads • Greenroads Benefits and Progress Report • Ideas for Agency Participation • Discussion and Questions

4. Support for sustainability everywhere 4

5. LEED(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) LEED certification standards • New Commercial Construction and Major Renovation Projects • Multiple Buildings and On-Campus Building Projects • Existing Building Operations and Maintenance • Commercial Interiors Projects • Core and Shell Development Projects • Homes • Neighborhood Development • Schools A “…nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings. LEED gives building owners and operators the tools they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their buildings’ performance.” -U.S. Green Building Council

6. LEED for Newly Constructed Buildings Distribution by Geography 200+ 100-199 50-99 186 480 20-49 23(DE) 24(NH) 1-19 134 174 33 9 4 22 173 119 105 36 11 9 11 68 120 12 23 79 40 27 61 28 69 14 95 9 (DE) 38 (DC) 19 4 AK = 10 HI = 16 PR = 1 57 5 74 11 82 25 22 102 52 125 19 18 6 6 73

7. The Greenroads Rating System

8. Sasobit Warm Mix Asphalt I-90 near George, WA 23 June 2008 What is it? Greenroads is a rating system designed to distinguish more sustainable new or redesigned/rehabilitated roads. It awards credits for approved sustainable choices/practices and can be used to certify projects based on point value. How does it help? More sustainable roadways. This means less impact on the environment, lower life cycle costs/impacts and more positive societal outcomes. University of Washington - CH2M HILL Alliance

9. Quiet Pavement SR 520 Near Bellevue, WA 14 July 2007 Greenroads is a project-oriented system. It does not deal with planning and it does not deal with operations.

10. What Will it Mean as we Address Sustainability? • Incorporating sustainability at all levels • Program • Planning • Projects • Operations/maintenance • Evaluating overall sustainability improvements resulting from transportation solutions • Measuring the relative sustainability for improvements • Monitoring performance into the future EPA Environmental Life Cycle Analyses Green Roads Rating System Environmental Management Systems

11. 2 Essential Points on Sustainability

12. There are a lot of definitions for “sustainable” out there. This is how Greenroads defines sustainability.  Sustainability is a system characteristic which refers to the system’s capacity to support natural laws and human values.

13. There are a lot of definitions for “sustainable” out there. This is how Greenroads defines sustainability.  Sustainability is a system characteristic which refers to the system’s capacity to support natural laws and human values. • Natural laws = Ecology • Rule: Don’t break the earth • How we do this: • Do not take stuff out of the earth faster than it will go back in. • Do not produce stuff (e.g., pollution) faster than it can be broken down and integrated back into nature. • Do not diminish nature’s productivity or diversity or we will affect nature’s ability to process stuff that we create or use.

14. There are a lot of definitions for “sustainable” out there. This is how Greenroads defines sustainability.  Sustainability is a system characteristic which refers to the system’s capacity to support natural laws and human values. • Natural laws = Ecology • Rule: Don’t break the earth • Human values = equity and economy • Equity rule: Seek quality of life for all • Economy rule: Manage resources wisely • Resources = human, natural, manufactured and financial capital

15. There are a lot of definitions for “sustainable” out there. This is how Greenroads defines sustainability.  Sustainability is a system characteristic which refers to the system’s capacity to support natural laws and human values. • Sustainability should be: • Measured • Judged • Managed • Improved

16. Sustainability should also include 4 more items.  7 total components: ecology, equity, economic extent, expectations, experience, exposure • Defining “sustainable” for your project 1. Extent: how long do you want it to last? 2. Expectations: What are the performance expectations? • Making “sustainability” work 3. Experience: Need technical expertise to develop solutions 4. Exposure: Education and public awareness

17. Greenroads Categories, Credits, and Examples

18. Greenroads Categories

19. Environmental & Water (EW)

20. Institutional awareness of environmental concerns can have greater impact than just a project focus. • There are a number of existing programs: • Internal company programs • NAPA Diamond Achievement Awards • NRMCA Environmental Excellence Awards • NSSGA Environmental Eagle awards • Many others

21. ISO 14001:2004 is a means for documenting institutional environmental procedures. The U.S. and North America could be doing better. Percent Share of ISO 14001Certification By Region • 78,000 companies certified worldwide • 80% are in Europe and Far East • 5.94% in North America • 5,585 in the U.S. • 1,636 in Canada • Of the 39 industry sectors: • Construction: 11.5% (2nd) • Engineering services: 2.26% (13th) • Some U.S. examples • Massport, MA • Vulcan Materials, Irwindale, CA • NC Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance

22. Example EW Credit Environmental Management System 2 Credits The prime contractor, primary designer, or owner shall be ISO 14001:2004 certified. There are programs in the US that are somewhat equivalent to ISO 14001 certification (e.g., Wisconsin HMA Environmental Leadership Award). They typically apply to HMA, RMC or cement plants but could also be extended to construction operations. 22

23. Access and Equity (AE)

24. Highway safety is a top priority in transportation. “…among the most compelling public health issues of our time.” AASHTO: Transportation: Invest in our Future “Safety is out top priority…” acting FHWA administrator Jim Ray, 7/25/08 “…road traffic injuries (pose) a global public health crisis requiring urgent national and international action.” UN General Assembly GA/10694 Graph from NHTSA Motor Vehicle Traffic Crash Fatality Counts and Estimates of People Injured for 2006 presentation.

25. A road safety audit is a formal, independent and documented review that can be used to improve roadway safety. • Cost • $1,000 - $8,000 depending on size • Benefit/cost ratios • 2:1 to 242:1 • First year rate of return: 146% • More data? • UK is now monitoring results 1 and 3 years after implementation

26. Example AE Credit Roadway Safety Audit 1 Credit Conduct a road safety audit (RSA) or road safety audit review (RSAR), whichever is appropriate, on the roadway(s) involved in the project. Adopt recommendations as practical. Guidelines for RSA, RSAR and the audit process are contained in FHWA Road Safety Audit Guidelines, FHWA-SA-06-06, 2006. Research surrounding RSA is summarized in NCHRP Synthesis 336: Road Safety Audits. 26

27. Materials & Resources (MR)

28. We have done well recycling hot mix asphalt and portland cement concrete as part of road construction. Waste in Washington State Asphalt and Concrete Recycled 1999 to 2004 HMA/PCC recycling = 30% of diverted waste 28 Graph from Washington State Department of Ecology data

29. We can do better. We can reduce the amount to landfills, and increase the amount to high-value surfacings. Destination of Recovered HMA Destination of Recovered PCC 29 Data from the USGS

30. Example MR Credit Recycled Content 1-4 points One point: Use recycled content to a minimum of 20% in the HMA/PCC and 40% of the total material if base course, fill, or structures are included in the project. Two points: Use recycled content to a minimum of 30% in the HMA/PCC and 50% of the total material if base course, fill, or structures are included in the project. Three points: Use recycled content to a minimum of 40% in the HMA/PCC and 60% of the total material if base course, fill, or structures are included in the project. Four points: Use recycled content to a minimum of 50% in the HMA/PCC and 70% of the total material if base course, fill, or structures are included in the project. 30

31. Pavement Technologies (PT)

32. Most of the energy involved in HMA pavements comes from plant production, so target this for maximum effect. Amount of Energy Required to Build 1 Lane-Mile of Pavement • Notes: • 90%+ from manufacturing • Numbers change a lot depending on assumption 300 mm (12-inch) HMA 3.0 TJ 7% 91% 2% 4.0 TJ 32 32 32 Data from: Zapata and Gambatese, Energy Consumption of Asphalt and Reinforced Concrete Pavement Materials and Construction, J. of Inf. Sys., vol. 11, issue 1, p. 9-20.

33. Warm mix asphalt (WMA) can reduce the energy and emissions involved with plant production. Some noted emission reductions: • Data from (available on http://www.warmmixasphalt.com/napa2008.aspx): • WMA SCAN (Corrigan, 2007 European scanning tour) • Ohio WMA Demo (Ursich, at NAPA 53rd Annual Meeting, 28 Jan 2008) 30-40% less CO2 35% less SO2 50% less VOC 10-30% less CO 60-70% less Nox 20-25% less dust 10-20% less fuel

34. Example PT Credit Warm Mix Asphalt 2 Credits Reduce the mixing temperature of hot mix asphalt by a minimum of 50oF from that recommended as the mixing temperature by the asphalt binder supplier. Mixing temperature shall be measured as the temperature of the mixture as it exits the mixing drum (for drum plants) or pugmill (for batch plants). This reduced temperature mix must comprise a minimum of 50% of the total project pavement surfacing by weight to earn this credit.

35. Certification Levels Version 0.96: 76 Total Points 23-29 points 30-37 points 38-44 points 45+ points 30-40% of total 40-50% of total 50-60% of total 60+% of total

36. Tying Greenroads Back to Sustainability

37. Greenroads credits can be mapped to the elements of sustainability and fundamental resources. Elements of Sustainability Fundamental Resources Ecology Equity Economy Extent Expectations Expertise Exposure Air Water Soil/materials Virgin space Developed space Plants Animals People Renewable energy Non-renewable energy Time/money

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40. Using Greenroads

41. The system will be entirely online Manual Get certified Documentation Certification levels

42. The manual is a comprehensive means to understand and use the rating system. Contents for each credit Credit name Number of credits Goal Sustainability components Credit requirements Explanation Submittal documents Examples Research (background) References

43. Get your project certified.

44. Example: Communicating Sustainability Performance

45. If improving sustainability is an agency/company goal, how do you assess your performance? • Use Greenroads as an accounting system • Compare achieved vs. goals • Compare this year vs. last year

46. Greenroads Benefits and Progress

47. Benefits of a Greenroads rating standard? More sustainable roads Specific benefits: Defines basic roadway sustainability attributes Greater participation in roadway sustainability Better evaluation of tradeoffs and decisions Provide means for sustainability assessment Allows innovation because it is end-result oriented Confer marketable recognition on projects

48. Greenroads effort right now…(April 2009) • Who is developing Greenroads? • University of Washington and CH2M HILL • Who is funding Greenroads so far? • TransNow (DOT Region 10 University Transportation Center) • State Pavement Technology Consortium (WA, CA, MN, TX) • Federal Lands Highway Division (FLHD) • What is the status right now? • Version 0.96 now • Online: www.greenroads.us • When can it be used? • We want comments and pilot projects NOW • Let us know via the website (www.greenroads.us)

49. Greenroads effort right now…(1 April 2014) • Who is developing Greenroads? • University of Washington and CH2M HILL • Who is funding Greenroads so far? • TransNow (DOT Region 10 University Transportation Center) • State Pavement Technology Consortium (WA, CA, MN, TX) • Federal Lands Highway Division (FLHD) • What is the status right now? • Version 0.96 now • Online: www.greenroads.us • When can it be used? • We want comments and pilot projects NOW • Let us know via the website (www.greenroads.us)

50. How Can Transportation Agencies Participate in Greenroads? • Review and provide input on the rating system and credits • Which credits are currently compatible with agency procedures? • Likelihood that new technologies can gain acceptance? • Provide comments and other suggested elements • Evaluate Greenroads for program wide application • How might a rating system be applied for part or all of program? • What process would be used to implement a program?