The Future of "Green" Highways
Green highways may sound like a contradiction in terms, but the University of Washington is trying to change that for the Department of Transportation. The United States has over four million miles of highway, which takes as much energy as 200 homes use in a year, consumes as much raw material as 1,000 homes and generates more waste than 1,200 homes produce just to build and maintain our highways.
The University of Washington and the engineering firm CH2M Hill have launched the first rating system for sustainable road construction called “Greenroads,” which is similar to the LEED program for green buildings. It evaluates a highway’s environmental and social impact, by measuring such items as construction materials and practices, noise, and bike lanes. Projects wanting to earn the highest Greenroads rating have to incorporate building waste, pollution, lifecycle and outreach plans and can then earn extra points for, among other things, using recycled or local resources or by reducing the fossil fuel intake.
The University of Washington is currently following 15 case study projects to evaluate how the ratings system affects energy usage and the project’s carbon footprint and – of course – cost.
More information can be obtained by visiting the Greenroads website: http://www.greenroads.us/
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C. Michael Shull, III focuses his practice on construction law and litigation. Michael's client representations range from casinos and ENR Top 400 contractors to design firms and subcontractors.