Federal Highway Administration December 22, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice invites State and local governments and other public authorities to apply to participate in the Value Pricing Pilot (VPP) program and presents guidelines for program applications. This notice supersedes two previous notices about the VPP program under the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) published in the Federal Register on January 6, 2006 (71 FR 970), and July 17, 2006 (71 FR 40578). The primary purpose of superseding the previous notices with this new notice is to shift the focus on the types of VPP program projects being solicited to achieve consistency with the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) National Strategy to Reduce Congestion on America's Transportation Network (DOT Congestion Initiative), announced on May 16, 2006.\1\ This national strategy contains a number of elements that involve pricing, thus warranting a reconsideration of the types of projects solicited for VPP program participation. This solicitation aligns the VPP program with the DOT Congestion Initiative by together seeking to support metropolitan areas in systemically progressing toward implementation of broad congestion pricing strategies in the near term. This notice also describes the statutory basis for the VPP program and specifies all of the steps necessary to apply for funding and, where applicable, tolling authority under the program. A new application deadline is also provided.