The National Highway Institute (NHI) serves as the training and education arm of the FHWA, assisting transportation professionals across the country in building skills to enhance their job performance since its establishment in 1970. A number of new courses are available, free to public sector agency employees. These courses might be helpful for rural agencies looking to link the process of environmental review with the overall planning process, as outlined in the FHWA’s Planning and Environmental Linkages toolkit. Details on the new courses are below. 

Questions about any of the courses can be directed to the NHI at [email protected]. 

Climate Resilience Training Courses: 

This NHI instructor-led training focuses on planning and designing highway projects to be more resilient to changing climate conditions. Participants (expected to include staff from state DOTs, local governments, Tribal governments, and Federal State agencies) will be introduced to project-level adaptation assessment. This will assist in determining which projects should be considered for resilience analysis. More information on this course ($700 per participant) can be found at this link. Complementary web-based training courses are also available: 

• Understanding Past, Current and Future Climate Conditions 
• Introduction to Temperature and Precipitation Projections 
• Systems Level Vulnerability Assessments 
• Adaptation Analysis for Project Decision Making 

Introduction to NEPA and Transportation Decision-making: 

This update to existing web-based training concerns the FHWA’s approach to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in the transportation decision-making process. The course covers the regulations, policies, and guidance defined by the Council on Environmental Quality and FHWA, assisting in the balancing of the human and natural environment with the public’s need for safe and efficient transportation. More information on this course (which has no cost) can be found at this link. This introductory course serves as a recommended prerequisite for an instructor-led course ($1,000 per participant) viewable at this link. 

Integrating Transportation and Land Use: 

This web-based training course helps practitioners plan multimodal transportation systems that support community development goals and shape land use patterns that support performance goals. These strategies for integrating transportation and land use planning are of use to a target audience including mid-level State DOT employees, City and County engineers and planners, MPO staff, transit operators, Federal employees, resource agency staff, local zoning officials, and others. More information on this course (which has no cost) can be found at this link.