Lester Contributes to National Study

The four-year study of the relationship between roads and the environment conducted by the National Research Council Committee of the National Academies concluded with the publishing of the 294-page book titled, “Assessing and Managing the Ecological Impacts of Paved Roads.”

Steve Lester, Urban’s Vice President, Engineering and Quality Services, who served as a member of the committee, is pleased with the results.

“I greatly enjoyed this experience. It gave me a chance to see some very interesting parts of the country and meet some very bright scientists who had world-class expertise in specialized areas. I experienced some state-of-the-art features in road ecology,” said Lester, who was nominated for the assignment by the American Society of Highway Engineers in response to a request for an experienced and practical engineer who could counter potential biases of this 15-person committee.

The group received presentations concerning the best ecologically sensitive design practices throughout the world. They traveled to Newport Beach, CA to learn of the California Department of Transportation’s vision for road ecology in a rapidly growing state. A field trip was made to observe a freeway where extensive efforts were made to provide means for animals to safely cross the highway.

Another trip was to Seattle for presentations by the Washington State Department of Transportation and field views its efforts to keep highway and bridge runoff from reaching salmon streams.

Lester said he believes this experience brings value to Urban’s clients.

“My participation had many tangible and intangible benefits,” Lester said. “I learned a great deal from the diverse professionals who served on the panel and the state-of-art road ecology presentations we received, and I had the opportunity to shape an important document.”

“Assessing and Managing the Ecological Impacts of Paved Roads” is available for purchase on Amazon.com for $60. For more information about the book, go to www.nap.edu.