Air Quality Impacts of Highway Construction and Scheduling (1745-S)

The passage of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) has resulted in several urban areas in Texas being designated non-attainment areas. While the non-attainment areas are acting to improve air quality, several near non-attainment areas need to act to maintain their air quality at current levels to avoid being designated a non-attainment area. These areas are reviewing several transportation-related strategies to reduce emissions and prevent further degradation of air quality. One option already being implemented is the observation of ozone action days that encourage citizens to seek alternative modes of travel such as transit and car pool/van pool on days conducive to the formation of high ozone levels. Alternative highway construction practices may also offer air quality benefits, especially on ozone action days.Reconstruction and rehabilitation activities requiring lane closures on high-volume roadways result in traffic congestion and delays. The traffic congestion caused by construction activities and the materials and equipment used in construction may aggravate the air quality problem in non-attainment areas, especially during hot summer months when atmospheric conditions lead to the formation of high ozone levels. There is a need to determine the impact of highway construction on air quality and to determine alternative construction practices designed to minimize the detrimental effects on ambient air quality.