In January 2020, leadership at Colorado DOT (CDOT) at the strong urging of local freight Industry stakeholders prioritized the establishment of a Freight Office to combine CDOT’s freight planning and operations functions. Colorado’s freight staff report that the pairing of expertise in freight planning and operations and maintenance has proven to be ideal for the Freight Office since the key aspects of freight issues and concerns are addressed in tandem which helps to expedite responses to issues as they arise. Staff particularly note efficiency gains in coordination, collaboration, and overall program success as a result of merging the operations and infrastructure freight functions merging into one freight office. The purpose of this new office is to build awareness around freight, centralize coordination, and leverage freight investments at CDOT. To educate CDOT Regions and other CDOT staff on the new office, staff embarked on the Freight Road Show, traveling across the state to promote the purpose and mission of this new office.

The Road Show garnered support for the program by describing the goals of the office, communicating CDOT staff roles and responsibilities to partners. It also helped to clearly define the services the new Freight Office offers, framing the office as a place for external stakeholders to conduct “one-stop shopping” through a centralized website for freight project engineering services, coordination with key stakeholders, resources for freight maintenance and permitting, and National Highway Freight Program administration. Staff felt the Road Show was successful in building internal champions for the program by educating both CDOT Regions and other areas within the Department on the specific boundaries of the new freight offices’ work as well as clearly defining how the Freight Office coordinates with other programs.

Takeaways for other agencies:

• Conduct an outreach campaign to educate internal partners on the program and how goals align across departments.
• Understand the value of collaboration for all projects across the DOT.
• Provide resources that can be easily accessed and used by all stakeholders.

Read more about CDOT Freight Planning https://www.codot.gov/programs/freight and FAC https://www.codot.gov/programs/planning/planning-partners/fac.

Since 2013, Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) has been interviewing manufacturers and the carriers that serve them to gain a better understanding of their specific freight transportation needs. These studies, called Manufacturer’s Perspective Studies, are conducted at the MnDOT regional district level and help MnDOT identify low-cost, high-value opportunities to improve the flow of freight to and from Minnesota’s manufacturers. MnDOT identifies businesses to interview using an analysis of regional industry clusters, along with additional input from regional economic development organizations. Cross-disciplinary teams of MnDOT staff and external partners conduct the interviews, typically in person.

The long-term relationships developed through these studies help build relationships that support regional economic vitality and improvements to the State’s freight infrastructure and planning processes. These relationships also help MnDOT coordinate its State-level freight planning with local and regional freight stakeholders, who may be more familiar with freight-related conditions in their region than MnDOT headquarters staff and the state-level Freight Advisory Committee.

Wherever possible, MnDOT districts address concerns raised during the interviews through maintenance, operational traffic changes, and previously scheduled improvements included in MnDOT’s four-year construction program. In cases in which the interviewees indicate a desire for more costly infrastructure projects, MnDOT staff consider this feedback when updating the agency’s District Freight Plans, which feed into the statewide freight plan. MnDOT also shares the findings from the studies with statewide conferences of operations and planning staff.

Takeaways for other agencies:

• Engaging with freight manufacturers and carriers provides an important perspective and local knowledge to inform freight transportation needs unique to each area.
• Builds relationships across the State helps inform statewide planning from many different geographic and industry perspectives.
• Engaging with those who use the freight system everyday creates an opportunity to hear about and quickly address smaller issues that may be overlooked with macro-level planning.

View MnDOT’s completed Manufacturer’s Perspective Studies: https://www.dot.state.mn.us/mps/

The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) is comprised of eight regional districts, each of which is currently developing a freight plan. These districts freight plans will validate and expand on existing studies and plans to develop a more complete look at freight movements at a more local level within the State.

The Minnesota State Freight Plan has an important relationship to the district level plans. The policies and goals established in the State Freight Plan inform the framework used in the district level plans for developing the project, policy, program, and partnership recommendations in each plan. The district level plans build on the State Freight Plan with local knowledge and community engagement. As of March 2021, four of MnDOT’s district freight plans are complete, while the others are currently underway.

The stakeholder engagement process is a critical component for the development of each district freight plan. MnDOT forms regional advisory committees comprised of public- and private-sector stakeholders; these committees vet interim findings as the study progresses. Each plan is also accompanied by a communication plan identifying the project objectives, work plan, and outreach/involvement. In some cases, MnDOT develops an online survey to engage stakeholders and the public on freight issues and opportunities in the particular region.

Takeaways for other agencies:

• Regional plans provide an opportunity to expand on a State Freight Plan by capturing local characteristics to identify in greater detail freight needs, challenges, and investment priorities.
• Enabling regions within the State to develop their own freight plans helps communities have a great say in how their freight systems are improved upon based on local knowledge of truck, rail, and other freight movements.

Find out more about MnDOT’s District Freight Plans: https://www.dot.state.mn.us/ofrw/freight/districtfreightplan/

The Washington State Department of Transportation’s (WSDOT) Practical Solutions Program breaks down agency silos to ensure a cross discipline approach is taken in project development. Practical Solutions aims to integrate commonly overlooked components (e.g. freight, maintenance, equity, and active transportation) into all Statewide transportation projects by educating all stakeholders involved in project development. Training is provided for WSDOT staff to host project-based regional forums to review project proposals with stakeholders. These forums offer an opportunity for WSDOT staff and other interested stakeholders to work collaboratively to develop creative, cost effective solutions to achieve WSDOT’s mission. Ensuring that freight is part of these discussions allows the unique needs for trucks to be addressed, particularly for innovative intersection designs such as roundabouts. Project costs are typically lower due to the team working together to address issues at the design stage rather than retrofitting solutions during or after construction.

Practical Solutions helps to educate WSDOT divisions and teams on both the needs and importance of freight. Freight’s impact on economic development is significant and creating infrastructure that reduces delay and improves safety for trucks is key to its success. SR 150 No-See-Um Road Intersection Improvements provides a great example of the value of the Practical Solutions approach. As stated on its WSDOT’s website: Practical design encourages efficient, effective, and sustainable transportation decisions.

Takeaways for other agencies:

• Working with project teams to integrate freight needs results in better infrastructure projects.
• Building internal capacity on the requirements to accommodate trucks increases awareness for all DOT divisions.

Learn more about WSDOT’s Practical Solutions Program: https://wsdot.wa.gov/engineering-standards/project-management-training/training/practical-solutions-training