Is developing a transportation sustainability program and establishing project level best practices (criteria) cost effective?

This question is one of the reasons why sustainability programs have not been well adopted and endorsed by many transportation management, engineering and maintenance representatives at the federal, state and local level and transportation lending institutions. Sustainability-cost effectiveness is an area that has not been well articulated to upper management and key decision makers.
The bottom-line is that many of the transportation decision makers do not care or see the value of sustainable elements, such as environmental habitat enhancement, unless there is a cost savings or perceived value. It is a challenge to put a cost toward increasing lynx mobility via sub-grade animal crossings or avoidance of species habitat. Read More

Many state, county and municipal departments of transportation (DOTs) are spending significant amounts of financial resources on stormwater management; especially for the Municipal Separate Stormwater Sewer System (MS4) Permit requirements for post-construction best management practices. Is this really an environmentally and financially sound approach to protect water quality? Read More