Federal, state, and municipal transportation agencies have taken steps to advance the integration of transportation planning and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to create more unified decision-making processes, reduce duplication of efforts, and support better informed project-level decisions. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Legal Research Digest 89: Planning and Environment Linkages: Review of Statutory Authority and Case Law details the origins and evolution o...

Public entities negotiating transportation construction contracts must strike the right balance between protecting the public from risk and affording counterparties the flexibility necessary to complete projects. The public nature and cost of transportation construction projects creates a risk of large consequential damages awards, leading to a proliferation of different contractual clauses and strategies to mitigate this risk. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Legal Research ...

Economic, social, and other factors cause a continuous increase in populations who are unsheltered throughout the United States. It is not unusual for individuals who are unhoused to establish refuge and shelter in encampments that encroach within, around, under, or upon transportation rights-of-way, including but not limited to highway/freeway interchanges, overpasses, bridges, and tunnels. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Legal Research Digest 87: Encampments of Unhoused In...

Managing risks is central to ensuring the success of highway construction projects. This has become even more evident as projects that are drastically increased in size and complexity have become more common. Known generally to the transportation industry as “mega projects,” the number of such highway projects is on the rise. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Legal Research Digest 86: Managing Enhanced Risk in the Mega Project Era  addresses the change in risk profiles of...

Transportation agencies across the country may face legal challenges from property owners when design or permit changes cause safety concerns or obstruct access to private driveways in the public right-of-way. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Legal Research Digest 85: Public Liabilities Relating to Driveway Permits evaluates the circumstances under which transportation agencies are held liable by property owners for the regulatory function of permitted and unpermitted driveways.

The condition of the transportation infrastructure in the United States is an issue of national importance. State departments of transportation and transit agencies face tough choices as they make decisions about how and when to keep their assets safely open to the public. The TRB Transit Cooperative Research Program and National Cooperative Highway Research Program's  TCRP Legal Research Digest 57/NCHRP Legal Research Digest 84: Fix It, Sign It or Close It: State of Good Repair in an Era of Budget ...

In the legal system, transportation engineering documents drafted by the transportation industry include manuals, studies, research documents, memoranda, and email. These documents are frequently used by litigants and courts as evidence bearing on the standard of care or duties for transportation agencies sued for alleged negligence in operation of transportation facilities. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Legal Research Digest 83: Guidelines for Drafting Liability Neutral T...

Utility companies are seeking to locate communications facilities and evolving wireless communication technology and its infrastructure in state right-of-way. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP LRD 81: Legal Issues Concerning the Use of Transportation Facilities to Generate Revenue for State DOTs summarizes and provides a legal analysis of the legal issues related to a state DOT’s obligation to provide access to the state right-of-way for communication utilities, and a DOT’s op...

Slope failures pose serious risks for state transportation agencies and federal agencies that own or maintain roads, highways, and/or adjacent property. Many transportation agencies have adopted unstable slope management programs and standards as part of a larger effort to provide an efficient and effective methodology to prevent or control landslides or rockfalls. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP LRD 82: Potential Liability Associated with Unstable Slope Management Programs ...

The Federal Highway Administration's “Buy America Act” requires federally funded highway projects to use only steel, iron, and manufactured products produced in the United States. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP LRD 80: Buy America Requirements for Federal Highway Projects summarizes the intent and application of the provision. It also summarizes the procedure that FHWA has implemented for granting waivers and the impact that court interpretation of such waivers has had on t...