Project Abstract

Purpose and Need: Inadequate roadway for current and anticipated traffic - travel lane too narrow, surface rough (gravel), and unnecessary amount of dust and siltation produced, detracting from the personal experience and water quality of the streams and river.

AR 215 from Cass to Ozark in the Ozark National Forest (US Forest Hwy 65), NW Arkansas’ Franklin and Johnson Cos.

This is one of 33 case studies included in National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 642 entitled Quantifying the Benefits of Context Sensitive Solutions, published in November 2009.  According to the authors, “The objective of this project is to develop a guide for transportation officials and professionals that identifies a comprehensive set of performance measures of CSS principles and quantifies the resulting benefits through all phases of project development”. The report documents a wide range of case studies in which the principles of CSS were applied. Each of these case studies was evaluated to determine the benefits of applying CSS. NCHRP Report 642 is available here.

Location: AR 215 from Cass to Ozark in the Ozark National Forest US Forest Hwy 65), NW Arkansas’ Franklin and Johnson Cos.

Lead Agency: Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department

Contact Person: Claude Klinck, PE

Phase Completed: Construction

Source: Stamatiadis, Nikiforos, et. al. Context Sensitive Solutions: Quantification of the Benefits in Transportation. National Cooperative Highway Research Program – Report 642. 2009.

CSS Qualities

Project Team(make up)
The project team included: engineers, planners, and environmentalists.

Stakeholders (make up, utilization, interaction)

The major stakeholders included: US Forest Service, National Park Service, US Army Corps of Engineers, Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, Arkansas Dept. of Environmental Quality and Arkansas Natural and Scenic River Commission.

Public involvement (types, documentation)

One-on-one and small group meetings were held throughout the process with the major stakeholders.

Design solution (process, modes and alternatives examined)

Roadway geometric and natural materials were brought together. Some built features were made possible by using special geotechnical design methods and materials that are not seen. The design maintains the visual quality of the viewscape from the Mulberry River and provides scenic overlooks of the forest and the river for the roadway traveler.

CSS concepts by project phase
CSS was practiced from planning through construction.

Lessons Learned

The final design solution required addressing design speed flexibly in order to meet U.S. Forest Service requirements to limit the project footprint. The agency learned a greater appreciation for aesthetics within the context of a natural forest environment.

Note: this is considered a CSS legacy project with the first two of five segments being constructed by late 1998. The Arkansas highway agency had the planning and design responsibility for these first segments and it was their first full-fledged experience with CSS practices. 

CSS Principles

A fundamental aspect of the NCHRP 642  research effort was the identification of CSS principles. The principles below were developed by a multidisciplinary team and were based on previous work by FHWA and AASHTO participants in the 1998 “Thinking Beyond the Pavement” conference, and others.

For this case study, web-based surveys were developed to solicit the expert opinions of the project team on the level of satisfaction from the application of the CSS principles on the project. The analysis of the scores noted in the survey, and presented in the following table, is based on a 4.0 scale, where 4.0 is Strongly Agree, 3.0 is Agree, 2.0 is Disagree, and 1.0 is Strongly Disagree.  Additional information on the data analysis, a summary of the scores for each case study, and general findings (from all case studies) is presented in the NCHRP Report 642, available here.

Discussion on CSS principles

Project team’s perspective
The project team strongly pursued several CSS principles including: Use of interdisciplinary teams; Maintain environmental harmony; Address aesthetic treatments & enhancements; and Consider a safe facility for users & community. It should be noted that the project has a rural forest setting that lacks an abundance of nearby residents.

CSS Benefits

Surveys were also utilized to ask the project team, as well as external stakeholders in the process, about their perceptions of the benefits derived from a CSS process. As with the surveys regarding CSS Principles, the Benefits were scored on a 4.0 scale, where 4.0 is Strongly Agree, 3.0 is Agree, 2.0 is Disagree, and 1.0 is Strongly Disagree.

Discussion on Benefit Values

Semi-Quantitative Benefits
The project team tended to strongly agree that several benefits accrued including: Fit with local government  land use plan; Minimized overall impact to human environment; Minimized overall impact to natural environment; and Improved safety (vehicles, pedestrians, and bikes). It must be noted that a few benefits certainly did not accrue, mainly due to the unique nature of this project. The local government (county official) stakeholder responding indicated strongly that several benefits accrued: Minimized overall impact to human environment; Minimized overall impact to natural environment; Improved mobility for all users; Improved quality of life for community; and Design features appropriate to context. This early CSS project with its unique features and setting has been recognized as a success by the agency and the several stakeholders. Information from an earlier detailed case study involving direct interviews with agency and primary stakeholder personnel was also available to researchers.

Quantitative Benefits
There was no additional information provided to the research team to be utilized in the development of quantifiable benefits.

Arnstein Comparison
The surveys conducted for this case study included a set of questions that could be used to evaluate potential differences in the level of satisfaction between project team members and stakeholders. These differences in satisfaction are known as the Arnstein gap, which is a heuristic metric by which the existing quality deficit of public involvement can be measured. Arnstein developed an eight-step scale (Arnstein’s Ladder) characterizing levels of public involvement in planning, ranging from “Manipulation” of the public (non-participation) to “Citizen Control” of the process. The NCHRP 642 authors adapted this approach to assess the perceptions of stakeholders and the project team.

Note: The project team and stakeholder rankings are based on the survey results of a 4.0 scale (4: They allowed us to provide direction; 3: We established a partnership; 2: We established a consultation relationship; and 1: We established an informational relationship).

There was significant agreement between stakeholder and team member responses indicating satisfaction regarding the relationships. Contrary to the typical Arnstein gap, this project had the stakeholder response (We established a partnership) exceed the team member response (We established a consultation relationship) in terms of the level of the relationship achieved.

Case Summary

Major Benefits

The Arkansas Route 215 project in the Ozark National Forest exemplifies the CSS principle -- achieve consensus on purpose and need. Providing for travel improvement and access to camping and other recreation opportunities while keeping the roadway footprint to a minimum was agreed upon.  The consensus was achieved through a series of one-on-one conversations and group meetings involving the state DOT’s divisional staffs, the US Forest Service, and the Water Quality and Scenic Preservation agencies beginning in the planning stage and continuing into the design stage. This desired minimalist approach took a bit of trial and error to achieve an acceptable design solution, which included acceptable cross-section, and geometrics that was sensitive to view sheds from the roadway and from the adjacent Mulberry River.

The Arkansas project also exemplifies the CSS principle - maintain environmental harmony. Extraordinary steps were taken in the design of Route 215 to ensure that the project was in harmony with the environment. The footprint was minimized with a curb and gutter design and the road generally follows the centerline of its gravel predecessor with a minimum of new cuts and fills. Attention was given to protecting the viewshed from the Mulberry River for canoeists and rafters while an overlook was provided for the motorists of the river valley. Natural stone from the area was used for retaining walls and for the stone veneer on the overlook walls.

Lessons learned

The final design solution required addressing design speed flexibly in order to meet U.S. Forest Service requirements to limit the project footprint. The agency learned a greater appreciation for aesthetics within the context of a natural forest environment.

Overall level of success

The local and resource agency stakeholders have expressed satisfaction in the level of success achieved by the Arkansas highway agency in planning and designing this Unique CSS project.