• Surface Transportation-Environment Cooperative Research Program (STECRP)

The TEA-21 called for the establishment of a surface transportation-environment cooperative research program (STECRP). Through the STECRP, research will be conducted on many social, economic, technological, and environmental aspects of transportation. Included in the legislation are five specific issue areas to be addressed by the program:

• Development of more accurate models for evaluating transportation control measures and transportation system design for use by States and MPOs;

• Increased understanding of the factors that contribute to the demand for transportation;

• Development of indicators of economic, social, and environmental performance of transportation systems to facilitate analysis of potential alternatives;

• Analysis of the relationship between highway density and ecosystem integrity, including the impacts of highway density on habitat integrity and overall ecosystem health, as well as development of a rapid assessment methodology for use by transportation and regulatory agencies in determining that relationship; and

• Establishment of additional priorities as determined by the legislatively mandated advisory board and by the National Research Council.

In addition to the specific research areas to be addressed under STECRP, TEA-21 required the establishment of a STECRP advisory board. The advisory board will make recommendations for research on environmental, planning, and energy conservation, technology, and technology transfer activities related to surface transportation. The membership of the advisory board will be broadly drawn from the transportation and environmental research community to include State and local government agencies, academic institutions, environmental organizations, and transit agencies. As provided in TEA-21, some of the research activities of the STECRP will be managed by the National Academy of Sciences. The TRB is currently managing activities related to the establishment and operation of the STECRP advisory board. Other Federal agencies are also involved in the formation and functions of the advisory board, including the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The agenda for the STECRP is ambitious, and the FHWA is confident that the program will be helpful in enhancing coordination of transportation, environmental, and planning research and in the collaborative identification of research needs.