About INVEST
INVEST is a practical, web-based, collection of voluntary best practices, called criteria, designed to help transportation agencies integrate sustainability into their programs and projects.
FHWA's INVEST (Infrastructure Voluntary Evaluation Sustainability Tool) is a web-based self-evaluation tool comprised of voluntary sustainability best practices, called criteria, which cover the full lifecycle of transportation services, including system planning, project planning, design, and construction, and continuing through operations and maintenance. FHWA developed INVEST for voluntary use by transportation agencies to assess and enhance the sustainability of their projects and programs.
To cover the full transportation lifecycle, the INVEST criteria are divided into four modules: System Planning for States (SPS), System Planning for Regions (SPR), Project Development (PD), and Operations and Maintenance (OM).
These four sets of criteria comprise a comprehensive self-evaluation tool to aid agencies in evaluating the sustainability performance of their projects and programs. The SPS, SPR, and OM modules are intended for evaluating an agency's programs and the PD module is for the evaluation of projects, from early project planning through construction. Each module is independent and is evaluated separately. The PD module consists of multiple scorecards designed to recognize the varying scope, scale, and context of projects across the country.
Each module contains between 14 and 33 criteria and each criterion focuses on a topic area. For example, criteria within the SPS and SPR modules include topic areas such as access and affordability, multimodal transportation, public health, and travel demand management. Criteria within the PD module include topic areas such as context sensitive project development, ecological connectivity, pedestrian and bicycle facilities, and construction waste management. Criteria within the OM module include topic areas such as asset management, road weather management, and transportation management and operations.