Traffic Air Pollution Effects of Elevated, Depressed, and At-Grade Level Freeways in Texas

Details

• Creators:
  Nikolaou, Michael ; Buffington, Jesse L. ; Herrera, Angel ; Inkeuk, Hwang
• Corporate Creators:
  Texas Transportation Institute. Texas A&M University
• Corporate Contributors:
  Texas. Dept. of Transportation. Research and Technology Transfer Office ; United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Air Pollution At Grade Intersections Carbon Monoxide Concentration (Chemistry) Freeways Impacts Literature Reviews Traffic
• Publication/ Report Number:
  FHWA/TX-97/1327-4
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States ; Texas
• Edition:
  Interim: September 1992 - August 1996
• Corporate Publisher:
  Texas Transportation Institute. Texas A&M University
• Abstract:
  To answer questions being raised by abutting residents and businesses about proposed elevated and/or depressed freeway improvements in the urban and suburban areas of Texas, a four-year study has been conducted to estimate the social, economic, and environmental effects of such freeway designs. Eight existing, two under construction, and one approved for construction freeway sections have been studied on a before, during, and after construction basis. The sections selected for study range in location from predominately residential suburban areas to predominantly commercial-industrial downtown areas. The specific effects of the three types estimated for each study section are as follows: (1) social impacts: population changes, neighborhood accessibility, neighborhood cohesion, and community services; (2) economic impacts: relocation and mitigation costs, business sales, property uses and values, tax revenues, employment and income, and user costs; and (3) environmental impacts: aesthetics, drainage and erosion, noise and air pollution, vibration, and hazardous spills. The literature review and a survey of highway agencies in other states were used to determine the appropriate procedures or models and mitigation measures to implement in estimating the social, economic, and environmental impacts of elevated and depressed freeways. The results of the study, presented in six separated reports according to types of effect, can be used by highway planning and design engineers to prepare environmental statements and documents addressing the expected social, economic, and environmental impacts of proposed elevated and depressed freeway projects. Also, the results can be disseminated at the public hearings for a proposed project. This report presents the findings of the traffic air pollution effects of elevated, depressed, and at-grade level freeways. The findings indicate that the grade level differences in air pollution dispersion rates are inconsistent from day to day on the same freeway. It was concluded that the differences were minimal and would require only minor changes in the pollution dispersion estimating model, TXLINE 4, CALINE 3 & 4, presently used by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT).
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  0-1327
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:cffa6dfd8f4425f21bf169f44d0521b145d45fa6663da1e71951c7615fe11691efbb405d7ed1346da9c7cbc0f0dbb7ca5e14820cf47b1d72642543a8ec2faf3d
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/82528/dot_82528_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 7.21 MB ]