America's Highways go Green

There was a time when people used to take leisurely drives for entertainment. It was so much a part of the American psyche that no mid-century film was complete it seemed without a red convertible and a handsome couple sitting in the front, wind blowing in their hair. Naturally, the scenery included stunning ocean views surrounded by rolling emerald green hills.

Nowadays people don’t drive for entertainment. Gas is too expensive, and we’ve figured out that too many carbon emissions on our roadsides actually kill the green things that we were driving out to see in the first place. But new initiatives are being introduced to help highways all across the US that show promise.

A program called the Green Highways Partnership (GHP) is encouraging people to work together to save our highways. According to its website GHP "is a voluntary, public/private initiative that is revolutionizing our nation's transportation infrastructure."

Through concepts such as integrated planning, regulatory flexibility, and market-based rewards, GHP seeks to incorporate environmental streamlining and stewardship into all aspects of the highway lifecycle.
In common terms the results of these this partnership is called green roads. Designed, built and maintained to protect and enhance the environment, they'll one day be as common as traffic lights. Green roads bring all of the pieces together into a more unified whole.

Green roads are:

•    Made from recycled materials such as powdered rubber tires, glass and broken concrete can be used as road surfaces and underlayers.
•    Roadside plantings populated with native plant and animal life contribute to habitat preservation. For example, one recent project directed drainage runoff from a bridge into a detention basin rather than the wetlands habitat of the Blanding's turtle.
•    Use drainage water for positive purposes.
•    Have permeable pavement, which cuts down on erosion.
•    Utilizes concrete roads reinforced by plastic fibers. The result is a denser concrete that is difficult for water to permeate, thereby increasing sustainability.
•    And maybe the most fun reason of all—features green lanes. Gone will be the days of riding sharing just for monetary benefit—although these lanes offer that, too. These lanes celebrate the people who take buses, ride-share and drive energy-efficient vehicles. This encourages mass transit and, ideally, reduces carbon emissions and fuel consumption.

To read more about the Green Highways Partnership, log onto:www.greenhighways.org.