As our transportation systems become more dynamic, so too do the planning and design efforts to future-proof our mobile infrastructure networks. Helping to lead the charge is Sharat Kalluri, a senior project manager whose recent work in the Northeast has helped both public and private clients implement multi-modal upgrades that make travel safer, easier and more efficient.

Sharat and I recently met to discuss how forward-thinking clients are utilizing the complete corridors mindset to progressively plan for city-wide growth and innovation, all while keeping equity and environmental justice at the top of mind.

Q: Sharat, let’s start with your interpretation of complete corridors. How would you describe the philosophy, and what would you say to clients who might not be familiar?

It’s a way of planning improvements on highway corridors that allows for the integration of all the other infrastructure that's around the corridor: utilities, architecture, landscaping, transit, bicycles, pedestrians. We have completed work with municipalities and agencies on improvements that have started as highway projects and, with the help of a forward-thinking team, have turned into holistic initiatives that allow our clients to evaluate and upgrade their infrastructure assets in a more integrated manner.

To me, the key to getting people to better understand the full meaning of this complete corridors philosophy is about educating them on   how  we integrate all these elements into one umbrella.

Q: I’m happy you bring up this equity piece, because in some ways this is probably even harder to pull off than the “traditional” elements of a transportation project. How do you balance the priorities of so many groups?

Yes, equity and environmental justice have become bigger focuses in the last few years as agencies strive to seek more fairness in mobility and accessibility. In the past, when we thought about highway projects we really only thought to address the people who drove on the roadway. But now we know that transportation projects are about so much more than that.

Now we’re able to pull in extremely useful data points like census data and community engagement surveys to think about equity-based solutions that benefit all the users of a corridor. Do we have proper design to account for physically impaired users to move through this section? Are we engaging the community in the language that they speak? Are we making sure transit stations are well-lit and easily accessible? How are we keeping the area resistant to climate change and other environmental impacts?

It's exciting to see how improvements in the way we think about our end-users can transform the transportation industry for the better.