CTI Academy Update Context Sesitive (CSS) Manual

Introduction In recent years, Context Sensitive Solutions (CSS) has been promoted by both AASHTO and FHWA as a best practice. CSS provides a systematic and comprehensive approach to project development from inception and planning through operations and maintenance. Its goal is to achieve an outcome harmonizing transportation requirements with community needs and values. A previous Academy Project developed a user manual providing practitioner guidance for the application of CSS. Subsequent to that manual additional advancements have been made in CSS specifically through NCHRP project 15-32 conducted by the University of Kentucky KTC/CE to provide performance measures for CSS applications. Recently however, the relative availability of funds for roadway improvements has rapidly diminished due to increasing fiscal constraints faced by state agencies. In order to meet the challenge of increasing demands with limited financial resources, the planning, prioritization and design of transportation infrastructure has been critically examined to deliver the most effective transportation system to the system users. Many state DOT's, and most notably Missouri DOT has initiated a "Practical Design" process that critically reviews projects resulting in more right-sized roadways. The Kentucky Transportation Center assisted in the development of Kentucky's Practical Design approach with the report "Practical Solutions for Planning and Design in Kentucky." With the focus on reducing costs, "Practical Design" or "Practical Solutions," as it is sometime called, is seen at odds with Context Sensitive Solutions. However, when critically examined both can be seen to find the "best fit" transportation solution for a given problem. The purpose of this project will be to further examine the similarities of the two processes and identi~' how each may incorporated into the project development process at the same time.