Minnesota Department of Transportation

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Sustainability and Public Health

Infrastructure Carbon Estimator

The FHWA Infrastructure Carbon Estimator (ICE) Version 2.1 is a planning and pre-engineering analysis tool. It provides lifecycle estimates of energy and GHG emissions based on national emission and energy use factors for materials and construction activities.

ICE is intended for the following applications:

  • Pre-engineering analysis when detailed project specifications are not available (e.g., construction material quantities)
  • Estimate energy/GHGs from on-road vehicle travel
  • “Footprint” analysis of individual facilities or transportation networks
  • Evaluate strategies to reduce energy and GHGs from construction and maintenance as a starting point for more detailed analysis

The ICE tool was updated by ICF International as part of FHWA Transportation Pooled Fund TPF-5(362) with FHWA and departments of transportation from Minnesota (lead), California, Colorado, Iowa, New York, Texas, and Washington State.

For more information about the ICE Tool, please view the Final Report and User's Guide.

Model Documentation and Resources

Download Infrastructure Carbon Estimator, Version 2.1.3

To download the ICE Tool, please fill out the online form. Your contact information will be confidential and only used to send announcements and updates to the tool. You can access a link to download the ICE tool after you complete the form.

This version fixes an error related to calculations for Heavy Rail only. Please download the latest version (2.1.3, dated 03/24/21) from the link above.

Note: When opening the tool, please ensure that macros is enabled for Microsoft Excel.

Minnesota Infrastructure Carbon Estimator

The Minnesota Infrastructure Carbon Estimator (MICE) is the Minnesota-specific version of ICE. It differs from ICE in the following ways:

  • Minnesota-specific motor vehicle emissions factors to calculate exhaust emissions from vehicles
  • Option to analyze Build/No-Build project alternatives
  • Minnesota-specific inputs for mitigation, lighting, lane width, and others

For more information about the MICE Tool, please view the User's Guide.

Model Documentation and Resources

The resources listed below are hosted on our Air Quality website. If you have any questions or issues related to MICE Tool, please contact MnDOT Modeling and Testing Unit Chief, Peter Wasko.