ABSTRACT
This chapter describes a proposal to incorporate public lands through joint use of highway right-of-way. The proposal identifies a potential highway site in Maryland for joint use as an engineered wetland to control urban nonpoint source (NPS) pollution from highly developed, established urban areas and provides preliminary analysis of the site’s control effectiveness and design life costs. Urban NPS pollutants include sediment, trace metals, toxicants, hydrocarbons, nitrogen, and phosphorus that originate from atmospheric deposition, metal corrosion, material from worn brake linings and tires, organic matter, litter, and debris. These materials accumulate rapidly on impervious surfaces and are easily washed off by rain and other means into streams and water bodies. It is in the public interest to maximize the quality use of highway right-of-way. A program of joint right-of-way use for the improvement of urban water quality should be implemented if plans can be developed to the satisfaction of the Maryland State Highway Administration and the Federal Highway Administration.
