Better Air Quality
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Texans deserve to breathe freely, confident that their air is safe and clear.
In the urban areas of our state, concentrations of emissions from automotive exhaust pose a potential threat to human health. To improve the state's overall air quality, we must use transportation alternatives, reduce vehicle emission rates, and, because vehicles produce substantially higher levels of pollution when running at low speeds, we must reduce the time vehicles spend idling.
TxDOT understands how important clean air is, and we are working to make it easier to achieve by adding more highways and lanes to existing roadways. New lane miles reduce congestion, which minimizes the time people spend idling in slow-moving traffic. Improvements to rail crossings also help eliminate vehicle stopping, which helps to reduce harmful emissions and keep traffic flowing.
Other clean air solutions include:
- Using public transportation / carpools
- Using alternative fuels in the TxDOT fleet
- Creating High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes
- Adding capacity to highways to reduce idling
- Improving railroad crossings to prevent vehicle stopping
Additionally, we developed the Drive Clean Across Texas campaign, which is a statewide initiative that makes Texas drivers aware of the seriousness of air pollution, educates them about the steps they can take to reduce emissions and encourages changes in their driving habits.
