Data Center Permitting Models Are Forgetting About These Transportation Costs
Noel Popwell argues that current data center permitting models in the U.S. overlook significant transportation impacts during the multi-year construction phase. This oversight saddles communities with unexpected congestion, road damage, and safety risks. Local governments are urged to adopt a new framework that accurately assesses these impacts, moving beyond the current focus solely on post-construction operational trips.
In an op-ed for Next City, Noel Popwell, an independent public-sector consultant and member of the Fairfax County Transportation Advisory Commission, contends that local governments nationwide are failing to adequately evaluate the substantial transportation impacts associated with data center construction. Popwell highlights that while data centers are marketed as low-traffic land uses post-operation, their multi-year building phase involves intensive freight operations, comparable to major infrastructure projects, placing undue strain on local road networks.
The article points to Northern Virginia, particularly Loudoun and Prince William Counties, as a prime example where rapid data center growth has outpaced regulations, leading to continuous truck routes on suburban arterials and accelerated road deterioration. Residents in these areas report frequent backups, lane closures, and crumbling pavement, consequences that are rarely accounted for in official review processes which typically focus on post-construction operational trips.
Popwell advocates for a new regulatory framework, suggesting a five-step approach from Kittelson & Associates. This framework includes scoping traffic impact analyses differently to account for significant, temporary construction traffic, building accurate construction traffic profiles with developer input, identifying real system constraints, implementing measures to prevent overbuilding (like temporary signals and shuttle systems), and acknowledging ongoing traffic spikes post-construction due to equipment refresh cycles. The author emphasizes that without an overhaul of how construction traffic is evaluated, communities will continue to bear unaddressed impacts.