By Eric Murphy
Pursuing statewide or agency climate and equity goals isn’t just preferable for state DOTs, it can also be a matter of risk management. Several lawsuits targeting major transportation infrastructure projects, most recently in Wisconsin and Oregon, have taken aim at alleged failures to consider alternatives to capacity expansion that would reduce harm to the environment or inequitable project outcomes.
In Wisconsin, plaintiffs opposed to a $1.75 billion expansion of I-94 filed a lawsuit on August 19 alleging state officials did not do enough to analyze or mitigate the environmental and equity impacts of the proposed highway expansion and did not properly consider other alternatives. Advocates wanted an alternative that relies more on transit investments to improve congestion, rather than an expansion of the highway. WisDOT has emphasized the importance of public involvement and says the project will improve safety, pointing to the high crash rate compared to similar stretches of highway elsewhere in the state.
The August 9 lawsuit in Oregon is part of a longer legal fight over an expansion of I-5. Plaintiffs in that case argue that the department of transportation did not consider other ways to reduce congestion besides adding lanes. ODOT says they have followed local plans, and officials reworked a previous plan after public pushback to address some equity concerns. Other lawsuits over highway expansion projects so far this year include I-35 in Texas, and I-80, Highway 1, and Highway 99 in California.
SSTI recently highlighted new research showing highway projects cost more on average than the economic benefits they provide in time saved by drivers—and significantly more when land value is factored in, giving transit projects potentially a bigger bang for the buck. Studies have shown that transit projects can have a substitution effect in travel and mitigate congestion, although those benefits wane over time as the transit investment spurs development nearby. In project scoping, state DOTs can consider a broader range of project alternatives, including less expensive investments, that can still achieve a project’s intended purpose.
Some ambitious environmental lawsuits have been successful recently. In Hawaii, a group of young people sued the state DOT, saying operating a transportation system with high greenhouse gas emissions violated their right in the state constitution to a clean and healthy environment. That case came to a settlement on June 20 that gives HDOT one year to create a greenhouse gas emissions reduction plan, five years to complete the bicycle and pedestrian network, 20 years to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions across all transportation modes, and requires the agency to invest $40 million in electric vehicle charging infrastructure. While not specific to transportation, a ruling in Montana this year also found state agencies were violating a state constitutional right to a “clean and healthful environment.”
Some states like Minnesota have enshrined climate goals into state law. There, the state legislature passed laws in 2023 and 2024 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, aiming to reach net zero emissions by 2050. Those new laws require the Commissioner of Transportation to set official emissions reductions goals, and the agency has set an internal goal to reduce vehicle miles traveled by 20% per capita by 2050.
State DOTs can take a proactive approach to pursuing statewide climate and equity goals, consider a broader range of project alternatives to accomplish those goals, engage with the public early and often, and manage legal risk through a formal risk management program to ensure projects advance smoothly from planning through construction.
Photo Credit: Sora Shimazaki via Pexels, unmodified. License.