Automated Driving Systems, 2719-2721 [2018-00784]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 12 / Thursday, January 18, 2018 / Notices DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Highway Administration Notice of Final Federal Agency Actions of Proposed Highway Improvement in California; Statute of Limitations on Claims Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT. ACTION: Notice of Limitation on Claims for Judicial Review of Actions by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), pursuant to 23 U.S.C. 327. AGENCY: The FHWA, on behalf of Caltrans, is issuing this notice to announce actions taken by Caltrans. The actions relate to the proposed widening project on State Route 138 (SR–138) between 5th Street East and 10th Street East from two lanes to three lanes in each direction, a distance of approximately 0.5 mile. Additionally, the project proposes to widen Sierra Highway from two lanes to three lanes in each direction between Avenue R and a point 500 feet south of Avenue Q, a distance of approximately 0.9 mil, in the City of Palmdale within the County of Los Angeles, State of California. Those actions grant licenses, permits, and approvals for the project. DATES: By this notice, the FHWA, on behalf of Caltrans, is advising the public of final agency actions subject to 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1). A claim seeking judicial review of the Federal Agency Actions on the highway project will be barred unless the claim is filed on or before June 18, 2018. If the Federal law that authorizes judicial review of a claim provides a time period of less than 150 days for filing such claim, then that shorter time period still applies. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For Caltrans: Lourdes Ortega, Branch Chief, Environmental Planning Division, California Department of Transportation—District 7, 100 South Main Street, Los Angeles, California, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., 213–897–9572, lourdes.ortega@dot.ca.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Effective July 1, 2007, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) assigned, and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) assumed, environmental responsibilities for this project pursuant to 23 U.S.C. 327. Notice is hereby given that Caltrans, has taken final agency actions subject to 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1) by issuing licenses, permits, and approvals for the following highway project in the State of California: Caltrans proposes to widen State Route (SR) 138 (Palmdale Boulevard) between 5th Street East and sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:27 Jan 17, 2018 Jkt 244001 10th Street East in downtown Palmdale from two lanes to three lanes in each direction. Additionally, Caltrans proposes to widen Sierra Highway from two lanes to three lanes in each direction between Avenue R and a point 500 feet south of Avenue Q, a distance of approximately 0.9 mile. Double leftturn lanes and a right-turn lane are proposed in the northbound and southbound directions of Sierra Highway and SR–138 (Palmdale Boulevard) intersection. The existing on-street parking along northbound Sierra Highway between SR–138 and Avenue Q6 would be maintained. Additionally, the project proposes to extend the existing Class I bicycle path, which runs along the west side of Sierra Highway, southerly to provide connectivity to Avenue R. The actions by the Federal agencies, and the laws under which such actions were taken, are described in the Final Initial Study (IS) with Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND)/Environmental Assessment (EA) with Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), approved on December 29, 2017, and in other documents in the FHWA project records. The Final IS/EA with MND/FONSI, and other project records are available by contacting Caltrans at the addresses provided above. The Caltrans Final IS/EA with MND/FONSI can be viewed and downloaded from the project website at: https://www.dot.ca.gov/d7/env-docs/ docs/, or viewed at public libraries in the project area. This notice applies to all Federal agency decisions as of the issuance date of this notice and all laws under which such actions were taken, including but not limited to: (1) Council on Environmental Quality regulations; (2) National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA); (3) Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP–21); (4) Department of Transportation Act of 1966; (5) Federal Aid Highway Act of 1970; (6) Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990; (7) Noise Control Act of 1970; (8) 23 CFR part 772 FHWA Noise Standards, Policies and Procedures; (9) Department of Transportation Act of 1966, Section 4(f); (10) Clean Water Act of 1977 and 1987; (11) Endangered Species Act of 1973; (12) Migratory Bird Treaty Act; (13) National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended; (14) Historic Sites Act of 1935; and, (15) Executive Order 13112, Invasive Species. (16) Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. PO 00000 Frm 00105 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 2719 (Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Number 20.205, Highway Planning and Construction. The regulations implementing Executive Order 12372 regarding intergovernmental consultation on Federal Programs and activities apply to this program.) Authority: 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1) Omar Elkassed, Senior Transportation Engineer, Federal Highway Administration, California Division. [FR Doc. 2018–00775 Filed 1–17–18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910–RY–P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Highway Administration [Docket no. FHWA–2017–0049] Automated Driving Systems Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT. ACTION: Request for Information (RFI). AGENCY: Automated Driving Systems (ADS) are increasingly being tested and introduced onto the public roadways. The FHWA is interested in hearing from the public, including stakeholders (e.g., State and local agencies, vehicle manufacturing industry, road hardware and intelligent transportation systems industry, related associations, transportation advocates, ADS hardware and software platform developers, etc.), on a range of issues related to assessing the infrastructure requirements and standards that may be necessary for enabling safe and efficient operations of ADS. DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 5, 2018. ADDRESSES: To ensure that you do not duplicate your docket submissions, please submit all comments by only one of the following means: • Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and follow the online instructions for submitting comments. • Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, W12–140, Washington, DC 20590–0001. • Hand Delivery: West Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone number is (202) 366–9329. • Instructions: You must include the agency name and docket number at the beginning of your comments. All comments received will be posted without change to https:// SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\18JAN1.SGM 18JAN1 2720 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 12 / Thursday, January 18, 2018 / Notices www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions about this notice, contact Martin C. Knopp, Associate Administrator for Operations, Federal Highway Administration, (202) 366– 9210, or via email at Martin.Knopp@ dot.gov; for legal questions: Mr. William Winne, Office of the Chief Counsel, (202) 366–1397, or via email at William.Winne@dot.gov; 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20590. Business hours for FHWA are from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Electronic Access and Filing A copy of this document is available for download and public inspection under the docket number noted above at the Federal eRulemaking portal at: https://www.regulations.gov. You may also submit or retrieve comments online through the Federal eRulemaking portal. The website is available 24 hours each day, 365 days each year. Electronic submission and retrieval help and guidelines are available under the help section of the website. An electronic copy of this document may also be downloaded from Office of the Federal Register’s home page at: https://www.archives.gov/federal_register and the Government Publishing Office’s web page at: https://www.gpo.gov/ fdsys/. Late comments will be considered to the extent practicable. sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES Background Automated Driving Systems are increasingly being tested and introduced onto the public roadways. Many road owners and operators are trying to determine whether, and which, modifications or enhancements to the infrastructure are needed to eliminate barriers to ADS technology or to further accelerate its adoption, as well as to ensure highway safety. Some vehicle manufacturers have expressed an interest in greater uniformity of lane markings, signage, and other traffic control devices as being helpful for ADS operation. Infrastructure providers have expressed an interest in understanding which traffic control device materials and other characteristics present challenges for ADS, specifically the machine vision technologies’ ability to interpret some roadway markings over others. The FHWA is interested in hearing from the public, including stakeholders (e.g., State and local agencies, vehicle manufacturing industry, road hardware and intelligent transportation systems VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:27 Jan 17, 2018 Jkt 244001 industry, related associations, transportation advocates, ADS hardware and software platform developers, etc.), on a range of issues related to assessing the infrastructure requirements, ADSinfrastructure interface standards and operating practices that may be necessary for enabling safe and efficient operations of ADS. The FHWA invites the public to provide comments to inform the development of an agency strategy on ADS. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently released the ‘‘Automated Driving Systems 2.0: A Vision for Safety’’ document. It replaces the 2016 Federal Automated Vehicles Policy. This new document focuses on two sections: Voluntary guidance for ADS and technical assistance to States. The FHWA aims to complement NHTSA’s guidance and will continue to coordinate across the U.S. Department of Transportation in its automation activities. For information about the recent guidance, please visit the Department’s website at: www.transportation.gov/av. The FHWA seeks information directly from the public and stakeholders to better understand FHWA’s role in automation and inform future Agency research and activities. In addition, FHWA seeks comments more broadly on planning, development, maintenance, and operations of the roadway infrastructure necessary for supporting ADS, including any information detailing the costs associated with implementation. Comments are requested on the following questions: 1. What roadway characteristics are important for influencing the safety, efficiency, and performance of ADS? Are there certain physical infrastructure elements (e.g., lane markings, signage, signals, etc.) that are necessary for ADS? If so, what current challenges exist for ADS to interpret them? Are these characteristics important for all levels of automation, or only specific levels? (For levels of automation, see https:// www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.dot.gov/files/ documents/13069a-ads2.0_090617_v9a_ tag.pdf, page #4) 2. What challenges do non-uniform traffic control devices present for ADS technologies and how does this affect the costs of ADS systems? 3. How does the state of good repair (e.g., pavement and road markings quality) impact ADS, including technology or safety costs, if at all? 4. How should FHWA engage with industry and automation technology developers to understand potential infrastructure requirements? Are there PO 00000 Frm 00106 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 specific issues that FHWA should engage with industry directly? 5. What is the role of digital infrastructure and data in enabling needed information exchange between ADS and roadside infrastructure? What types of data transmission between ADS and roadside infrastructure could enhance safe and efficient ADS operations? What type of infrastructure and operations data, if available, would help accelerate safe and efficient deployment of the ADS on our Nation’s public roadways? How might the interface between ADS and digital infrastructure best be defined to facilitate nationwide interoperability while still maximizing flexibility and cost effectiveness for ADS technology developers and transportation agencies and minimizing threats to cybersecurity or privacy? 6. What concerns do State and local agencies have regarding infrastructure investment and planning for ADS, given the level of uncertainty around the timing and development of this technology? How should FHWA engage with its State and local partners as they consider impacts on infrastructure, transportation funding, finance, and revenue? Are changes to any of the programs that comprise the Federal-aid Highway Program needed to enable State and local agencies to more effectively make infrastructure investments to support deployment of ADS? 7. Are there existing activities and research in the area of assessing infrastructure-ADS interface needs and/ or associated standards? What is the current thinking on where potential revisions may be necessary? How should FHWA work with existing research partners (e.g., American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Transportation Research Board, etc.) in sharing research results and information? 8. What are the priority issues that road owners and operators need to consider in terms of infrastructure requirements, modifications, investment, and planning, to accommodate integration of ADS and to derive maximum system efficiency benefits from ADS additional capabilities? 9. What variable information or data would ADS benefit from obtaining and how should that data be best obtained? Examples might include information about zone locations, incidents, special event routing, bottleneck locations, weather conditions, and speed recommendations. 10. What issues do road owners and operators need to consider in terms of E:\FR\FM\18JAN1.SGM 18JAN1 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 12 / Thursday, January 18, 2018 / Notices infrastructure modifications and traffic operations as they encounter a mixed vehicle fleet (e.g., fully-automated, partially-automated, and nonautomated; cooperative and unconnected) during the transition period to a potentially fully automated fleet? What are likely the most significant impacts of ADS on other motorized and non-motorized users of public roadways? What plans do stakeholders have to address these impacts, and are there possible roles for road owners and operators to support the interaction of ADS with those users through infrastructure changes or operational strategies? Issued: January 10, 2018. Brandye L. Hendrickson, Acting Administrator, Federal Highway Administration. [FR Doc. 2018–00784 Filed 1–17–18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910–22–P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Highway Administration Environmental Impact Statement: Strafford and Rockingham County, New Hampshire Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT. ACTION: Notice of intent. AGENCY: The FHWA is issuing this notice to advise the public that a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) will be prepared to reevaluate a reasonable range of transportation alternatives associated with the General Sullivan Bridge (GSB) for maintaining access for pedestrians and bicyclists across Little Bay in Newington and Dover, New Hampshire, thereby retaining this regional connectivity in northern coastal New Hampshire. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Jamie Sikora, New Hampshire Division, Federal Highway Administration, 53 Pleasant Street, Suite 2200, Concord, New Hampshire 03301, Telephone: (603) 410–4870. Mr. Kevin Nyhan, Administrator, Bureau of Environment, New Hampshire Department of Transportation, 7 Hazen Drive, JOM Building Room 160, Concord, New Hampshire 03302–0483, Telephone: (603) 271–3226. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: FHWA, in cooperation with the New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT), prepared a Draft EIS and Final EIS [NHS–027–1(37), 11238, December 2007] for proposed improvements to a 3.5-mile section of the Spaulding sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:27 Jan 17, 2018 Jkt 244001 Turnpike extending north from the Gosling Road/Pease Boulevard Interchange (Exit 1) in the Town of Newington, across the Little Bay Bridges, to a point just south of the existing Toll Plaza in the City of Dover. Consistent with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Coast Guard, Federal Aviation Administration, N.H. Department of Environmental Services, N.H. Fish and Game Department, N.H. Office of Energy and Planning, and N.H. Division of Historical Resources were cooperating agencies in preparing the Draft EIS and Final EIS. In October 2008, FHWA issued a Record of Decision (ROD) (FHWA–NH– EIS–06–01–F) following the Final EIS for the Spaulding Turnpike Improvements Project (known as Newington-Dover Project). The ROD proposed to rehabilitate the GSB so that it could continue to serve as a connection for pedestrians and bicyclists across Little Bay and to provide recreational access for fishing. Following the ROD, NHDOT prepared a Type, Size and Location Study which, in part, provided additional information on the condition of the GSB and evaluated the feasibility of rehabilitating the bridge. Based upon the results of the study, NHDOT determined that it was necessary and reasonable to consider alternatives to the proposed rehabilitation. On August 17, 2017, NHDOT requested that FHWA reopen the FEIS for a specific review of alternatives for the GSB and, on September 5, 2017, FHWA responded in support of NHDOT’s request to re-evaluate the reasonable range of transportation alternatives associated with the GSB for maintaining access for pedestrians and bicyclists across Little Bay. FHWA is initiating a limited scope SEIS pursuant to 23 CFR 771.130 and 40 CFR 1502.9 to evaluate additional alternatives for the Newington-Dover Project; specifically, evaluating the social, economic and environmental effects of reasonable transportation alternatives for maintaining access for pedestrians and bicyclists across the Little Bay in Newington and Dover, New Hampshire, thereby retaining a regional connection in northeastern coastal New Hampshire. Since issues and concerns related to the broader Newington-Dover Project are well known and reported in the Draft and Final EIS, formal scoping will not be conducted. PO 00000 Frm 00107 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 2721 FHWA will be inviting agencies to become cooperating or participating agencies for the SEIS, including agencies that may have not been cooperating or participating agencies for the Draft and Final EIS. In addition, FHWA and NHDOT will invite participation from tribes, organizations and individuals on the SEIS. Written and verbal comments on the Draft SEIS will be taken by email, through the project website https://www.newingtondover.com/gsb_subsite/, at public informational meetings and hearing. Public notice will be given on the time and location of these meetings. (Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Number 20.205, Highway Planning and Construction. The regulations implementing Executive Order 12372 regarding intergovernmental consultation on Federal programs and activities apply to this program.) Issued on: January 8, 2018. Cynthia Vigue, Assistant Division Administrator, Federal Highway Administration, Concord, New Hampshire. [FR Doc. 2018–00785 Filed 1–17–18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910–22–P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration Hazardous Materials: Notice of Applications for Special Permits Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), DOT. ACTION: Notice of actions on special permit applications. AGENCY: In accordance with the procedures governing the application for, and the processing of, special permits from the Department of Transportation’s Hazardous Material Regulations, notice is hereby given that the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety has received the application described herein. DATES: Comments must be received on or before February 20, 2018. ADDRESSES: Record Center, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration U.S. Department of Transportation Washington, DC 20590. Comments should refer to the application number and be submitted in triplicate. If confirmation of receipt of comments is desired, include a selfaddressed stamped postcard showing the special permit number. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ryan Paquet, Director, Office of SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\18JAN1.SGM 18JAN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 12 (Thursday, January 18, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2719-2721]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-00784]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

[Docket no. FHWA-2017-0049]


Automated Driving Systems

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Request for Information (RFI).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Automated Driving Systems (ADS) are increasingly being tested 
and introduced onto the public roadways. The FHWA is interested in 
hearing from the public, including stakeholders (e.g., State and local 
agencies, vehicle manufacturing industry, road hardware and intelligent 
transportation systems industry, related associations, transportation 
advocates, ADS hardware and software platform developers, etc.), on a 
range of issues related to assessing the infrastructure requirements 
and standards that may be necessary for enabling safe and efficient 
operations of ADS.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 5, 2018.

ADDRESSES: 
    To ensure that you do not duplicate your docket submissions, please 
submit all comments by only one of the following means:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
     Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-
0001.
     Hand Delivery: West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 
1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone number is (202) 366-
9329.
     Instructions: You must include the agency name and docket 
number at the beginning of your comments. All comments received will be 
posted without change to https://

[[Page 2720]]

www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions about this notice, 
contact Martin C. Knopp, Associate Administrator for Operations, 
Federal Highway Administration, (202) 366-9210, or via email at 
[email protected]; for legal questions: Mr. William Winne, Office of 
the Chief Counsel, (202) 366-1397, or via email at 
[email protected]; 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20590. 
Business hours for FHWA are from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., e.t., Monday 
through Friday, except Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Electronic Access and Filing

    A copy of this document is available for download and public 
inspection under the docket number noted above at the Federal 
eRulemaking portal at: https://www.regulations.gov. You may also submit 
or retrieve comments online through the Federal eRulemaking portal. The 
website is available 24 hours each day, 365 days each year. Electronic 
submission and retrieval help and guidelines are available under the 
help section of the website.
    An electronic copy of this document may also be downloaded from 
Office of the Federal Register's home page at: https://www.archives.gov/federal_register and the Government Publishing Office's web page at: 
https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/ fdsys/. Late comments will be considered to the 
extent practicable.

Background

    Automated Driving Systems are increasingly being tested and 
introduced onto the public roadways. Many road owners and operators are 
trying to determine whether, and which, modifications or enhancements 
to the infrastructure are needed to eliminate barriers to ADS 
technology or to further accelerate its adoption, as well as to ensure 
highway safety. Some vehicle manufacturers have expressed an interest 
in greater uniformity of lane markings, signage, and other traffic 
control devices as being helpful for ADS operation. Infrastructure 
providers have expressed an interest in understanding which traffic 
control device materials and other characteristics present challenges 
for ADS, specifically the machine vision technologies' ability to 
interpret some roadway markings over others.
    The FHWA is interested in hearing from the public, including 
stakeholders (e.g., State and local agencies, vehicle manufacturing 
industry, road hardware and intelligent transportation systems 
industry, related associations, transportation advocates, ADS hardware 
and software platform developers, etc.), on a range of issues related 
to assessing the infrastructure requirements, ADS-infrastructure 
interface standards and operating practices that may be necessary for 
enabling safe and efficient operations of ADS. The FHWA invites the 
public to provide comments to inform the development of an agency 
strategy on ADS.
    The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently 
released the ``Automated Driving Systems 2.0: A Vision for Safety'' 
document. It replaces the 2016 Federal Automated Vehicles Policy. This 
new document focuses on two sections: Voluntary guidance for ADS and 
technical assistance to States. The FHWA aims to complement NHTSA's 
guidance and will continue to coordinate across the U.S. Department of 
Transportation in its automation activities. For information about the 
recent guidance, please visit the Department's website at: 
www.transportation.gov/av.
    The FHWA seeks information directly from the public and 
stakeholders to better understand FHWA's role in automation and inform 
future Agency research and activities. In addition, FHWA seeks comments 
more broadly on planning, development, maintenance, and operations of 
the roadway infrastructure necessary for supporting ADS, including any 
information detailing the costs associated with implementation.
    Comments are requested on the following questions:
    1. What roadway characteristics are important for influencing the 
safety, efficiency, and performance of ADS? Are there certain physical 
infrastructure elements (e.g., lane markings, signage, signals, etc.) 
that are necessary for ADS? If so, what current challenges exist for 
ADS to interpret them? Are these characteristics important for all 
levels of automation, or only specific levels? (For levels of 
automation, see https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.dot.gov/files/documents/13069a-ads2.0_090617_v9a_tag.pdf, page #4)
    2. What challenges do non-uniform traffic control devices present 
for ADS technologies and how does this affect the costs of ADS systems?
    3. How does the state of good repair (e.g., pavement and road 
markings quality) impact ADS, including technology or safety costs, if 
at all?
    4. How should FHWA engage with industry and automation technology 
developers to understand potential infrastructure requirements? Are 
there specific issues that FHWA should engage with industry directly?
    5. What is the role of digital infrastructure and data in enabling 
needed information exchange between ADS and roadside infrastructure? 
What types of data transmission between ADS and roadside infrastructure 
could enhance safe and efficient ADS operations? What type of 
infrastructure and operations data, if available, would help accelerate 
safe and efficient deployment of the ADS on our Nation's public 
roadways? How might the interface between ADS and digital 
infrastructure best be defined to facilitate nationwide 
interoperability while still maximizing flexibility and cost 
effectiveness for ADS technology developers and transportation agencies 
and minimizing threats to cybersecurity or privacy?
    6. What concerns do State and local agencies have regarding 
infrastructure investment and planning for ADS, given the level of 
uncertainty around the timing and development of this technology? How 
should FHWA engage with its State and local partners as they consider 
impacts on infrastructure, transportation funding, finance, and 
revenue? Are changes to any of the programs that comprise the Federal-
aid Highway Program needed to enable State and local agencies to more 
effectively make infrastructure investments to support deployment of 
ADS?
    7. Are there existing activities and research in the area of 
assessing infrastructure-ADS interface needs and/or associated 
standards? What is the current thinking on where potential revisions 
may be necessary? How should FHWA work with existing research partners 
(e.g., American Association of State Highway and Transportation 
Officials, Transportation Research Board, etc.) in sharing research 
results and information?
    8. What are the priority issues that road owners and operators need 
to consider in terms of infrastructure requirements, modifications, 
investment, and planning, to accommodate integration of ADS and to 
derive maximum system efficiency benefits from ADS additional 
capabilities?
    9. What variable information or data would ADS benefit from 
obtaining and how should that data be best obtained? Examples might 
include information about zone locations, incidents, special event 
routing, bottleneck locations, weather conditions, and speed 
recommendations.
    10. What issues do road owners and operators need to consider in 
terms of

[[Page 2721]]

infrastructure modifications and traffic operations as they encounter a 
mixed vehicle fleet (e.g., fully-automated, partially-automated, and 
non-automated; cooperative and unconnected) during the transition 
period to a potentially fully automated fleet? What are likely the most 
significant impacts of ADS on other motorized and non-motorized users 
of public roadways? What plans do stakeholders have to address these 
impacts, and are there possible roles for road owners and operators to 
support the interaction of ADS with those users through infrastructure 
changes or operational strategies?

    Issued: January 10, 2018.
Brandye L. Hendrickson,
Acting Administrator, Federal Highway Administration.
[FR Doc. 2018-00784 Filed 1-17-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-22-P

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