Environmental protection and remediation are integrated activities of road administration. International lending agencies such as the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank and the lawmakers of both developed and developing countries insist that all projects be environmentally sound. To achieve this goal, road departments need adequate institutional capacity to address and resolve all the environmental issues in a timely and cost-effective manner to reduce or avoid remedial costs. Experience with the administration of environmental units within road departments is detailed in this paper. The principal responsibilities of such a unit are the administration of environmental impact assessments; research, development, and adaptation of new technologies; and education and training of the department's managerial and technical staff. This kind of environmental management is set within a defined legal and regulatory framework and requires interinstitutional cooperation and coordination. In order. for this program to succeed, institutional strengthening is required for the development of human resources, improvement of the organizational set-up, implementation of environmental policies related to road administration, and improvement of the administration of environmental impact assessments. A typical institutional set-up and its responsibilities are presented.

In road administration, construction, improvement, rehabilitation or maintenance, and environmental protection or remediation are complementary aspects of the same agenda. The inclusion of environmental considerations in road development is being recognized by road planners and engineers as a legitimate concern to (a) promote better highway planning, design, and construction and (b) benefit society as a whole through protection of the environment and prevention of the loss of recognized environmental values (from aesthetic values to biodiversity). In other words, the era of classifying environmental considerations as a" required nuisance''seems to be over. A few indicators that strengthen this conclusion are as follows (1-6):