Designing for Target Speed, Volume 2: Implementation Guide (2026)
Chapter: Front Matter
Designing for Target Speed
Volume 2: Implementation Guide
Marcus A. Brewer
Kay Fitzpatrick
Texas A&M Transportation Institute
The Texas A&M University System
College Station, TX
Mark Lenters
Kimley-Horn & Associates
Austin, TX
Guide for NCHRP Project 15-76(01)
Submitted November 2025
NCHRP Web-Only Document 460
Designing for Target Speed
Volume 2: Implementation Guide
© 2026 by the National Academy of Sciences. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the graphical logo are trademarks of the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM
Systematic, well-designed, and implementable research is the most effective way to solve many problems facing state department of transportation (DOT) administrators and engineers. Often, highway problems are of local or regional interest and can best be studied by state DOTs individually or in cooperation with their state universities and others. However, the accelerating growth of highway transportation results in increasingly complex problems of wide interest to highway authorities. These problems are best studied through a coordinated program of cooperative research.
Recognizing this need, the leadership of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in 1962 initiated an objective national highway research program using modern scientific techniques—the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP). NCHRP is supported on a continuing basis by funds from participating member states of AASHTO and receives the full cooperation and support of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), United States Department of Transportation.
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
Authors herein are responsible for the originality and accuracy of their materials and for obtaining written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copyright to any previously published or copyrighted material used herein.
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) grants permission to reproduce written material in this publication for classroom and non-commercial purposes subject to the rights of any third parties and appropriate attribution. Permission is given with the understanding that none of the material will be used to imply NAS, TRB, AASHTO, APTA, FAA, FHWA, FTA, GHSA, or NHTSA endorsement of a particular product, method, or practice. For other uses of the written material, users must request permission from the National Academies Press.
DISCLAIMER
This material is based upon work supported by the FHWA under Agreement No. 693JJ32350025. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed or implied in this document are those of the researchers who performed the research and are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board; the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; the FHWA; or the program sponsors.
The Transportation Research Board does not develop, issue, or publish standards or specifications. The Transportation Research Board manages applied research projects which provide the scientific foundation that may be used by Transportation Research Board sponsors, industry associations, or other organizations as the basis for revised practices, procedures, or specifications.
The Transportation Research Board, the National Academies, and the sponsors of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers’ names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the object of the report.
The information contained in this document was taken directly from the submission of the author(s). This material has not been edited by TRB.
Any written product, design, or report resulting from NCHRP Project 15-76(01) (the “research product”) has been developed and disseminated for informational and illustrative purposes only. The research product may include a preliminary, nonproprietary prototype that was tested and validated only for the conditions specified in the research product. The research product is not intended to serve as a standard of care, professional engineering design, or final specification. Any use of, or reliance upon, any research product by a third party is solely at their own risk. Users of research products are solely responsible for conducting independent analysis, validation, and verification of any reports or designs, including its suitability for any specific purpose, site conditions, or regulatory requirements.
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Learn more about the Transportation Research Board at www.TRB.org.
COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAMS
CRP STAFF FOR NCHRP WEB-ONLY DOCUMENT 460, Volume 2
Monique R. Evans, Director, Cooperative Research Programs
Waseem Dekelbab, Deputy Director, Cooperative Research Programs, and Manager, National Cooperative Highway Research Program
Camille Crichton-Sumners, Senior Program Officer
Dajaih Bias-Johnson, Senior Program Assistant
Natalie Barnes, Director of Publications
Brian Haefs, Associate Director of Publications
Jennifer J. Weeks, Publishing Projects Manager
NCHRP PROJECT 15-76(01) PANEL
Field of Design—Area of General Design
Christine A. Spangler, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Harrisburg, PA (Chair)
Rachel A. Carpenter, California Department of Transportation, Sacramento, CA
Jody J. Colvin, Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, Baton Rouge, LA
Eric E. Marabello, Maryland Department of Transportation, Baltimore, MD
John M. Mason, Jr., Kittelson & Associates, Inc., Pooler, GA
Hugh W. McGee, Sr., Springfield, VA
Khang M. Nguyen, Houston Public Works, Houston, TX
Samuel Offei-Addo, BSC Group, Inc., Boston, MA
Gustavo Riente de Andrade, Infraplan Consultoria Ltda, Gainesville, FL
Robert Mooney, FHWA Liaison
Clayton Wellman, FHWA Liaison
Patricia Bush, AASHTO Liaison
CONTENTS
Objectives and Guiding Principles – Target Speed
Road Elements Affecting Target Speed
CHAPTER 2. TARGET SPEED IN THE DESIGN PROCESS
Synthesis of Target Speed Practices
Target Speed Framework and Procedure
Target Speed and Types of Roadway Project
Target Speed Application to the Project Development Process
Step 1 – Document Existing Roadway Segment Characteristics
Step 2 – Conduct Traffic Engineering Study to Establish the Initial Operating Speed
Step 3 – Establish Transportation Expectations and Select Context Classification
Step 4 – Select an Initial Target Speed
Step 5 – Select Influential Factors and Set a Final Target Speed
Step 6 – Apply AASHTO Geometric Design Criteria Using the Selected Target Speed
Step 7 – Conduct Concept Design, Evaluation, and Public Engagement
Step 8 – Design and Construct the Facility or Road Improvement/Alteration
Step 9 – Undertake a Post-Construction Speed Study
Step 10 – Re-Evaluate the Segment if the Road Environment Changes over Time
CHAPTER 3. ACHIEVING TARGET SPEED
Road Elements Associated with Speed
Additional Speed-Related Considerations or Strategies
Step 1 – Document Existing Roadway Characteristics
Step 2 – Conduct Traffic Engineering Study to Establish the Initial Operating Speed
Step 3 – Establish Transportation Expectations & Select Context Classification
Step 4 – Select an Initial Target Speed
Step 5 – Select Influential Factors and a Final Target Speed
Step 6 – Apply AASHTO Geometric Design Criteria
Step 7 – Conduct Concept Design, Evaluation, and Public Engagement
Step 8 – Design and Construct the Facility
Step 9 – Undertake a Post-Construction Speed Study
Step 10 – Re-Evaluate the Segment if the Road Environment Changes over Time
Step 1 – Document Existing Roadway Characteristics
Step 2 – Conduct Traffic Engineering Study to Establish the Initial Operating Speed
Step 3 – Establish Transportation Expectations & Select Context Classification
Step 4 – Select an Initial Target Speed
Step 5 – Select Influential Factors and a Final Target Speed
Step 6 – Apply AASHTO Geometric Design Criteria
Step 7 – Conduct Concept Design, Evaluation, and Public Engagement
Step 8 – Design and Construct the Facility
Step 9 – Undertake a Post-Construction Speed Study
Step 10 – Re-Evaluate the Segment if the Road Environment Changes over Time
Step 1 – Document Existing Roadway Characteristics
Step 2 – Conduct Traffic Engineering Study to Establish the Initial Operating Speed
Step 3 – Establish Transportation Expectations & Select Context Classification
Step 4 – Select an Initial Target Speed
Step 5 – Select Influential Factors and a Final Target Speed
Step 6 – Apply AASHTO Geometric Design Criteria
Step 7 – Conduct Concept Design, Evaluation, and Public Engagement
Step 8 – Design and Construct the Facility
Step 9 – Undertake a Post-Construction Speed Study
Step 10 – Re-Evaluate the Segment if the Road Environment Changes over Time
Florida DOT Context Classification Guide
Washington State DOT Design Manual
Texas DOT Roadway Design Manual
Massachusetts DOT Project Development and Design Guide
City of Austin Draft Street Design Guide
City of Chicago Complete Streets Chicago: Design Guidelines
ITE Recommended Practice Designing Walkable Urban Thoroughfares: A Context Sensitive Approach
