Federal Highway Administration January 7, 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Pursuant to section 658.11(e) of title 23, Code of Federal Regulations, the Washington, DC Department of Transportation (DDOT) has requested approval of a plan to temporarily close segments of the Interstate to all traffic except motor coaches and busesI-395 (from the 14th Street Bridge to New York Avenue), I-695 (from the 3rd Street Tunnel to the 11th Street Bridges), and I-295 (from I-695 to DC-295) on January 20, 2009, beginning at 12 a.m., for one consecutive 24-hour period, because of the Presidential Inauguration. I-395 would be closed to general purpose traffic at New York Avenue up to the 14th Street Bridge. I-695 would be closed to general purpose traffic at the 11th Street Bridges. I-295 would be closed to general purpose traffic at Pennsylvania Avenue. The request has been made for the purposes of safety and security in and around the Capitol Building as well as for the critically needed space to park a portion of the expected 10,000 buses bringing people into the Washington area on January 20th. The Interstate routes included in the request are part of the National Network of highways that can safely and efficiently accommodate the large vehicles authorized by provisions of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 (STAA), as amended, designated in accordance with 23 CFR Part 658 and listed in Appendix A. This regulation limits the authority of the States to restrict the access of these commercial motor vehicles to the designated National Routes, and requires the approval of the FHWA for additions, deletions, exceptions and restrictions in accordance with 23 CFR 658.11. The FHWA has decided to approve the request by the DDOT as an emergency deletion in accordance with section 658.11(e) due to the safety considerations discussed in this notice. The FHWA is requesting comments from the general public on this determination. Under title 23 of the Code of Federal Regulations, section 658.11 (Additions, deletions, exceptions, and restrictions), the FHWA can grant the closing of the Interstate system or other National Network route based upon specified justification criteria in section 658.11(d)(2). The FHWA is also authorized to delete any route from the National Network on an emergency basis based on safety considerations pursuant to section 658.11(e). These emergency deletions are published in the Federal Register for notice and comment.