Natural Infrastructure Assets
Overview Ohio has significant natural infrastructure assets that include: land, water, air and community. Access Ohio’s goal is to advance investments in the transportation system that maintain and enhance Ohio’s environmental assets.
Why Natural Infrastructure Assets? There are environmental issues that could impact Ohio’s transportation system by 2045. Additionally, Ohio’s transportation system and its management could influence the natural environment. Identifying trends and drivers of change for the Access Ohio update will position that state to navigate future challenges.
Natural Infrastructure Assets in Ohio
LAND
40, square miles 5% increase Ohio’s total surface area from 10.8 to 15.8 percent, of developed land in the state, from 1982 to 2012
Transportation and land use are interconnected. Coordinating the two encourages the efficient use of both. Ohio’s status as a home rule state gives land use decisions to local governments. As a result, effective coordination of statewide and regional transportation investments requires collaboration and partnerships among Ohio’s state and local governments, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) and regional transportation planning organizations.
Current Issues, Emerging Trends Current and emerging issues and trends, related to land as a natural infrastructure asset, include:
• Automated and Connected Vehicles (ACV), electric vehicles and Hyperloop. Learn more about these technologies in the Access Ohio 2045 “Technology” white paper.
• Habitat preservation and species protection. These activities are federally mandated, and state supported, under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1970. Their goals include:
—— Reducing animal-vehicle crashes —— Reducing edge effects of separating or fragmenting wildlife habitats
—— Making wildlife crossings safer —— Supporting pollinator habitats —— Understanding the distributions of rare wildlife species
Ohio Department of Transportation | Fact Sheet: Natural Infrastructure Assets WATER
25,000+ 5,000+ 45 miles miles a es po ds a d reservoirs o he he Ohio iver orms Ohio s o s reams a d rivers i Ohio arger ha a acre i Ohio so her a d eas er orders
2 miles 2 + miles 400,000+ o a e rie shore i e r i Ohio s desig a ed sce ic acres a o g Ohio s or her order rivers h arges i co ry. o we a ds i Ohio
Due to the significant impact that transportation infrastructure - such as bridges, culverts and dams - can have on natural infrastructure assets, the Ohio Department of Transportation’s (ODOT) goal is to design bridges that balance meeting roadway users’ needs with preserving the natural environment.
Current Issues, Emerging Trends A leading issue and trend, related to water as a natural infrastructure asset, is:
• Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) in waterways within ODOT’s right-of ways (ROWs). These blooms occur in the late summer and early fall when large amounts of phosphorus and nitrogen enter waterways. This provides nutrients for algae to grow and flourish. Many algae produce toxins that negatively impact human, animal and plant health. Reducing and preventing these blooms is a focused, state concern. AIR Ohio’s air quality is monitored by the Ohio Environmental Ohio Air uality Areas Protection Agency (OEPA) based on the National Canton Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The NAAQS Cincinnati Cleveland-Akron Columbus-Newark LAKE Steubenville-Weirton measures pollutants considered harmful to humans and ASHTABULA
GEAUGA LORAIN the environment. CUYAHOGA PORTAGE MEDINA OEPA and USEPA determine when an area does not SUMMIT meet the standard for a given pollutant. When an STARK area does not meet the standard, it is designated KNOX JEFFERSON as a nonattainment area. Nonattainment areas must DELAWARE FRANKLIN identify and implement emission reduction strategies LICKING FAIRFIELD in order to meet the standards. Once an area again MADISON
WARREN CLINTON meets the standards, USEPA then re-designates the BUTLER HAMILTON area to a maintenance status. Maintenance areas must ± demonstrate they are meeting the standard for the CLERMONT 0 5 0 0 Miles next 20 years. Pollutants
2008 8-Hour Ozone Standard (**Maintenance Area) * A region is designated as a Nonattainment Area Ohio has five nonattainment and maintenance areas for 2015 8-Hour Ozone Standard (*Nonattainment Area) if it has not met an individual air quality standard. 2006 PM2.5 24-Hour Standard (**Maintenance Area) ** When an are subsequently begins meeting this ozone and/or fine particulates pollution. (See map) 2012 PM2.5 Annual Standard (*Nonattainment Area) standard, it is re-designated as a Maintenance Area.
Ohio Department of Transportation | Fact Sheet: Natural Infrastructure Assets USEPA and US Department of Transportation have regulations requiring that federally-financed transportation investments “will not cause new air quality violations or delay timely attainment of the NAAQS.”
ODOT and MPOs must demonstrate that federally-financed projects in transportation plans and transportation improvement programs meet air quality requirements. This happens through a process called transportation conformity. When a plan or project’s emissions are below air quality emission thresholds, it is in conformity.
Current Issues, Emerging Trends A leading issue and trend, related to air as a natural infrastructure asset, is:
• Green or Earthen Berm Noise Barriers. An emerging alternative to concrete sound barriers to reduce highway traffic noise are earthen berms, also called living sound walls (LSWs). There are several benefits to using LSWs instead of concrete, including: providing a vertical habitat for prairie grasses, providing pollinator habitats, supporting species diversity, lowering construction and life-cycle costs, increasing air pollution absorption and enhancing noise dampening.
A downside to LSWs is that they take up more space than a concrete wall. ODOT currently requires a slope for noise barriers that is at least a 2:1 ratio, meaning for every foot taller the berm is, the base length (to the center) gets wider by two feet. For example, a 6-foot berm would need a base, to the center, of 12 feet or 24 feet overall.
There are LSWs along several Ohio highways including I-77 in Canton, I-75 in Troy, I-270 on the east side of Columbus, I-71 near Marengo and I-480 in Cuyahoga County.
COMMUNITY Ohio s , 4 ,2 counties Ohio s es ima ed pop a io i ased o S e s s da a have more ha 00 o Ohioa s ive i r a areas r ra incorporated municipalities th most populated i c di g ci ies a d vi ages. s a e i he co ry
More details about Ohio’s current and future populations and their impacts on transportation planning are in the Access Ohio 2045 “Demographics” white paper.
Ohio Department of Transportation | Fact Sheet: Natural Infrastructure Assets Current Issues, Emerging Trends Some of the current and emerging issues and trends, related to community as a natural infrastructure asset, are:
• Active transportation. Responses to ODOT’s 2016 Transportation Preferences Survey indicate that more than two-thirds of Ohioans think it is important to provide better linkages between travel modes, including bikes, pedestrians, cars and buses. ODOT’s recent active transportation initiatives include:
—— An Active Transportation Guide to help communities interested in creating an active transportation plan
—— The Strategic Highway Safety Plan’s Active Transportation emphasis area team —— The creation of Ohio’s State & U.S. Bike Route System • Safety. ODOT has a robust, proactive safety program to protect all roadway users—motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists, wildlife and highway workers. Fatalities from motor vehicle crashes in Ohio hit a record low in 2013 but have been rising since then. Learn more about what ODOT is doing to reduce these crashes in the Access Ohio 2045 “Safety” white paper.
Another program that keeps younger Ohioans safe is the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program. SRTS focuses on encouraging students in grades K-8 to walk and bike to school safely by helping communities create and implement school travel plans. ODOT funding is available to implement infrastructure and non-infrastructure recommendations in these plans. Today there are nearly 200 ODOT-approved school travel plans in Ohio.
• Efficiency and material management. With increased availability and decreasing costs, ODOT is working to incorporate more recycled and/or energy efficient materials into its projects. These include light-emitting diode (LED) lights and solar arrays and wind turbines on state-owned land, including in ODOT ROW and on LSW.
Recent “green” ODOT projects include: replacing the lights in the Lytle Tunnel on I-71 through downtown Cincinnati with LEDs and the Interstate 280 Solar Array Research Project in northwest Ohio— one of the first of its kind in the nation.
Countdown to 2045 – Ohio’s Natural Infrastructure Assets Integrating Sustainability into Transportation Planning Today
ODOT has adopted several practices that support and advance sustainability considerations as part of its transportation planning work. These include:
• Installing solar arrays in ODOT ROW • Conducting research on natural channel design at bridge crossings • Constructing LSWs along ODOT ROW
Ohio Department of Transportation | Fact Sheet: Natural Infrastructure Assets Integrating Sustainability into Transportation Planning Tomorrow As technology continues to advance, there could be new opportunities for ODOT to continue protecting Ohio’s natural infrastructure assets. These include:
• Advances in renewable energy technology, including solar and wind • Increases in efficiency and lower costs for energy-efficient construction materials • Growing market share for electric vehicles • Changes in the frequency and duration of extreme rainfall events • Increases in need and demand for alternative transportation options, especially related to demographic shifts
Opportunities to Integrate Sustainability into Transportation Planning Some opportunities for ODOT and its partners to consider as it works to maximize targeted, systems-level investments, while also enhancing the state’s environmental assets, include:
• Continue and expand the use of ODOT ROW for renewable energy generation—like the I-280 Solar Array Research Project in northwest Ohio. Renewable energy generation is one way for the state to meet the target in the Ohio Strategic Energy Plan of obtaining more than half of Ohio’s energy from renewable sources by 2050. Continued advancements in the rapidly-evolving energy industry could also create additional strategic coordination points between ODOT and state regulatory agencies to advance statewide transportation and renewable energy goals.
• Explore green storm water infrastructure applications in highway settings—such as bioswales, rain gardens, natural or engineered wetlands, and permeable pavements. Several local transportation projects around the state have successfully used using these applications.
ODOT also could look at working with the Green Highways Partnership (GHP), a partnership between the USEPA and the Federal Highway Administration. GHP encourages the use of green transportation infrastructure by state and local governments and private industry. It is currently is involved in several cooperative efforts with state DOTs around the country.
More analysis and details are in the “Environmental Assets” white paper at Access.Ohio.gov.
Ohio Department of Transportation | Fact Sheet: Natural Infrastructure Assets