Welcome!
Pilot Test Version of INVEST, the FHWA Sustainable Highways Self-Evaluation Tool
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Version 1 of the INVEST tool is scheduled for release in the spring of 2012. At that time, this version of the Tool will be retired. Scores will not be transferred into Version 1 because they are not compatible (substantial changes have been made to the criteria and the tool). However, continued access to the Pilot Test version of the tool and scores evaluated in the Pilot Test version will be available upon request.
This website represents a significant revision of the FHWA Sustainable Highways Self-Evaluation Tool that was released as a Beta Version in the Fall of 2010. Called the “Infrastructure Voluntary Evaluation Sustainability Tool”, INVEST is a practical, web-based, collection of best practices that allow states to integrate sustainability into their transportation projects. The use of the tool is voluntary and can be used by states or other project sponsors to measure the sustainability of their projects.
We received many valuable stakeholder comments on the Beta Version, and have made some significant changes to improve the tool and to address many of the comments. A few of the major modifications:
- Enables evaluation of specific projects through the Project Development (PD) criteria.
- Enables evaluation of an agency's programs and processes through the Operations and Maintenance (OM) and the System Planning and Processes criteria.
- Greatly simplifies criteria and scoring. The criteria explanations have been simplified and many criteria have been eliminated or combined with others.
- Makes scoring smaller projects easier. We have created a “basic” scorecard for the tool that includes criteria that would be more appropriate for preservation, restoration, and small reconstruction projects.
FHWA will use this version to conduct pilot testing of the tool in the summer and fall of 2011. The feedback generated during the Pilot Test Phase will be incorporated into Version 1.0, to be released later in 2012.
Transportation and Sustainability
Transportation projects and systems serve many different and sometimes competing objectives. “Sustainability” is a concept that enables decision-makers to make balanced choices around these different objectives. The three pillars of the “triple bottom line” upon which sustainability is based—social, economic, and environmental—capture the broad range of transportation goals and objectives. In times of diminishing economic and natural resources, using sustainable approaches in transportation will allow us to continue to enhance quality of life and serve the transportation needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
What is the Purpose and Intent of this Tool?
FHWA's INVEST identifies characteristics of sustainable highways and provides information and techniques to help agencies and organizations integrate sustainability best practices into highway and other roadway projects. The tool is intended to provide a method for practitioners to evaluate their transportation projects and to encourage progress in the sustainability arena. It is not required and it is not intended to encourage comparisons across transportation agencies and projects. The tool is being developed with ongoing input from state and local transportation agency officials and staff and professional organizations such as AASHTO and ASCE. FHWA plans to continue to update this tool as the transportation sustainability field advances.
Website Organization
This website provides users an opportunity to Learn about sustainable highways, Browse the Criteria, and Score projects in the area of sustainability.
