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PennDOT's 10-Step Process to Transportation Project Development
 | The 10-Step Transportation Development Process developed by the
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation integrates the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) and Section 404 of the Federal Clean Water Act. Through a series of monthly
meetings, transportation projects are developed in cooperation with several state and
federal agencies including:
 | Federal Highway Administration |
| Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission |
| Pennsylvania Department of Transportation |
| US Army Corps of Engineers |
| US Environmental Protection Agency |
| US Fish and Wildlife Service |
| Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection |
| Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture |
| Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission |
| Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission |
| Pennsylvania Game Commission |
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| The 10-Step Transportation Project Development Process Flow Diagram is a
systematic process which ensures that transportation projects are developed in an
environmentally-sensitive manner that reflects agency and public input. The steps of the
process are outlined below:
| Steps 1-3 focus on establishing PROJECT NEED.
Information is gathered and an analysis of the need for the project is completed and
reviewed with resource agencies and the public. |
| Step 4 considers a full range of alternatives and
establishes the PRELIMINARY ALTERNATIVES that will be evaluated in greater detail in Step
5. |
| Step 5 seeks agreement on DETAILED ALTERNATIVES
and is characterized by detailed engineering and environmental analysis of the smaller
number of alternatives identified for further development in Step 4. In this step, the
alternatives to be evaluated in detail in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement are
identified. |
| Steps 6 & 7 involve preparation of the DRAFT
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT (DEIS), as well as circulation of the document for agency
and public review and the public hearing. During these steps consensus is sought for a
PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE. |
| Step 8 involves the preparation and distribution
of the FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT (FEIS), which documents and addresses comments
received from agencies and the public on the DEIS. |
| Step 9 & 10 include the preparation and
issuance of a RECORD OF DECISION (ROD), which documents the final decision on the selected
alternative and completion of a MITIGATION REPORT for use in final design and construction
of the project. The Mitigation Report outlines the measures which will be taken to lessen
impacts of the project. |
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| Planning regulations developed as a result of the Intermodal Surface
Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) required the completion of two additional
studies during Step 4 for the Mon/Fayette Expressway PA-51 to Pittsburgh and the three
Southern Beltway Projects. These studies were conducted in cooperation with the
Southwestern Pennsylvania Regional Planning Commission (SPRPC), who was a co-lead agency
with the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission for the development of the studies. The two
studies (whose findings were approved by SPRPC on September 30, 1996) are described below:
| Congestion Management System (CMS) Analysis - A
study that determines how measures such as transit, car pooling, van pooling, flex-time,
intersection improvements and high occupancy vehicle lanes might reduce traffic congestion
and reduce or eliminate the need for a new highway as an alternative in the development of
the project. |
| Major Investment Study (MIS) - An analysis which
evaluates the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of alternative transportation
investments in attaining local, state and national goals and objectives for the
metropolitan region. The study utilizes a cooperative process which leads to a decision on
the design concept and scope of an investment. It assesses a broad range or alternatives
to ensure that the alternatives under consideration are cost effective and will meet the
needs of the project area before they are studied in detail. The alternatives which may be
evaluated include: new highways, light rail, mass transit improvements, multi-modal
facilities and/or upgrading of the existing transportation network. |
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