Taking its cue from the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED building certification program, a new Illinois initiative seeks to incorporate sustainable design and construction practices into state road and transportation projects.

Like LEED, the Illinois-Livable and Sustainable Transportation (I-LAST) Guide establishes a scoring system for planning, design and construction to “preserve natural resources and encourage low-impact forms of transportation,” says Doug Knuth, project chair with the American Council of Engineering Cos. of Illinois, which developed I-LAST in association with the Illinois Dept. of Transportation and the Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Association.