Historic Preservation and Roadway Design

WASHINGTON, D.C.

According to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, "moving people and goods safely and efficiently creates an interaction between transportation and the physical, social and economic environment it serves." Both ISTEA in 1991 and the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) in 1998 require that the interests of communities and the benefits they derive from the roads passing through them receive full consideration when transportation investment decisions are made.

The link with transportation that makes a project eligible for enhancements funding is that, in the eyes of the community, the project adds a value or benefit to a road. By improving the functional benefit of a road or other transportation facility and by favorably impacting the traveling experience, enhancements projects-- like landscape design-- contribute to community livability.

For example, South Carolina's Transportation Enhancements Program explicitly seeks impacts on liveability and sharpens the notion of proximity in determining historic preservation activities' eligibility. Similarly, California seeks to meet the relationship-to-transportation test by requiring that enhancement projects be adjacent to or prominently visible from the transportation system; that is, that they may be in areas served by the system, and located in a way that significantly enhances the transportation experience. In Vermont, the Agency of Transportation defines an historic preservation activity as one related to transportation by proximity, impact or function. Vermont equates the value of historic preservation enhancements with scenic or aesthetic activities, like landscape design, billboard removal and land acquisition.

The USDOT will hold a series of meetings on the provisions of TEA-21 relative to transportation enhancements. The meeting agendas will strive to provide a deeper understanding of the complex issues and factors the DOT should consider regarding funding and implementation of TEA-21. Landscape Architects and community representatives are invited to take place. For meeting agendas and information, log onto the web site at www.fhwa.dot.gov.