NETTCP Environmental Impact & Sustainability in Transportation 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which strategy is most effective for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from existing freight trucking operations along New England highway corridors?
- Increasing highway speed limits to reduce travel time
- Transitioning to alternative fuels such as compressed natural gas (CNG) or electric powertrains (Correct answer)
- Widening freight corridors to reduce congestion delays
- Increasing axle weight limits to allow fewer truck trips
Correct answer: Transitioning to alternative fuels such as compressed natural gas (CNG) or electric powertrains
Alternative fuel vehicles and electric trucks significantly reduce tailpipe CO2 and criteria pollutant emissions from the freight sector, which is a major contributor to transportation emissions.
Question 2: What is the purpose of an Erosion and Sediment Control (ESC) plan during highway construction in New England?
- To minimize dust from concrete mixing operations at staging areas
- To prevent disturbed soil from washing into streams and wetlands during and after construction (Correct answer)
- To stabilize embankments against frost heave in cold climates
- To document the volume of excavated material removed from the site
Correct answer: To prevent disturbed soil from washing into streams and wetlands during and after construction
ESC plans specify best management practices like silt fences, sediment basins, and temporary seeding to prevent sediment-laden stormwater from degrading nearby water bodies during land disturbance.
Question 3: How does a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system improve environmental outcomes compared to expanding highway capacity?
- BRT eliminates the need for any road pavement in urban areas
- BRT moves more people per lane with lower emissions per passenger-mile than single-occupancy vehicles (Correct answer)
- BRT vehicles produce no emissions because they run on gravity
- BRT systems require no public subsidy unlike highway construction
Correct answer: BRT moves more people per lane with lower emissions per passenger-mile than single-occupancy vehicles
By carrying large numbers of passengers efficiently, BRT achieves much lower emissions per person-mile than cars, and dedicated lanes prevent the induced demand that causes highway expansion to fill with new traffic.
Question 4: Which invasive plant species commonly spread along highway rights-of-way in New England, threatening native ecosystems?
- Eastern red cedar and white pine
- Japanese knotweed, multiflora rose, and Oriental bittersweet (Correct answer)
- Staghorn sumac and common milkweed
- Red maple and gray birch
Correct answer: Japanese knotweed, multiflora rose, and Oriental bittersweet
Japanese knotweed, multiflora rose, and Oriental bittersweet exploit disturbed soil along roadsides, outcompeting native vegetation and altering habitat structure in adjacent natural areas.
Question 5: What does the term 'life cycle assessment' (LCA) evaluate when applied to a transportation infrastructure project?
- The expected service life of pavement before resurfacing is needed
- The total environmental impacts from raw material extraction through construction, operation, maintenance, and end-of-life disposal (Correct answer)
- The number of years until a bridge requires full structural replacement
- The long-term maintenance cost schedule for highway guardrails
Correct answer: The total environmental impacts from raw material extraction through construction, operation, maintenance, and end-of-life disposal
LCA quantifies environmental burdens including energy use, emissions, and resource consumption across all phases of an infrastructure project's life, enabling comparison of alternative designs.
Question 6: Under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), what must a transportation agency do if a proposed project may affect a federally listed species?
- Automatically cancel the project and select an alternative alignment
- Consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or NOAA Fisheries to assess and mitigate impacts (Correct answer)
- Pay a mitigation fee to the state wildlife agency and proceed
- Conduct a 10-year monitoring study before beginning construction
Correct answer: Consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or NOAA Fisheries to assess and mitigate impacts
ESA Section 7 requires federal agencies to consult with USFWS or NMFS to ensure projects do not jeopardize listed species or destroy critical habitat, resulting in a Biological Opinion.
Question 7: What environmental benefit do green roofs on transit stations and park-and-ride facilities provide in an urban transportation context?
- They generate electricity for the transit vehicles using solar cells embedded in the soil
- They reduce stormwater runoff, lower building energy use, and mitigate the urban heat island effect (Correct answer)
- They eliminate the need for HVAC systems in transit buildings
- They provide agricultural space to offset the land consumed by transportation infrastructure
Correct answer: They reduce stormwater runoff, lower building energy use, and mitigate the urban heat island effect
Green roofs retain rainwater, provide insulation that reduces heating and cooling energy demands, and cool surrounding air through plant evapotranspiration, addressing multiple urban environmental challenges.
NETTCP Environmental Impact & Sustainability in Transportation 5
Which strategy is most effective for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from existing freight trucking operations along New England highway corridors?