IENE 2016

This project aims at developing a method to increase the compliance of realized road and rail infrastructure investments with Swedish national environmental objectives, the national transport policy, project goals, project requirements and agreed environmental adaptation measures. The study is directed towards the environmental aspects of the so-called impact objective of the overall objective of the Swedish transport policy and on four of the national environmental objectives where the transport sector has an especially large role: Reduced climate impact, Clean air, A good built environment and A rich diversity of plant and animal life. The project focuses on the location and physical characteristics of the infrastructure but takes also the traffic into account. The project does not include aspects of economics. Case studies of four recently finalized infrastructure projects forms a central component of the project. Results from the first part of the project will be reported and is focused on the handling of the four environmental objectives throughout the environmental assessment, residual impacts and potential for improvements. The results from the first part of the project are based on a systematic literature search and is complemented by real case examples from infrastructure projects in Sweden. Preliminary findings in the literature show heterogeneity with regard to considerations of different environmental goals throughout the planning process research literature.