Federal Highway Administration 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The FHWA proposes to update the existing value engineering (VE) regulations to make the regulations consistent with the statutory changes in the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP- 21) and to make other non-substantive changes for clarity.

This notice announces actions taken by the FHWA and the USFWS that are final within the meaning of 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1). The actions relate to proposed highway projects for a 21 mile segment of I-69 in the Counties of Monroe and Morgan, State of Indiana, and grant licenses, permits, and approvals for the project.

The FHWA is issuing this notice to advise the public that we are rescinding the Notice of Intent (NOI) and Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for proposed freeway improvements along Interstate 17 (I-17) from the I-10/Maricopa Traffic Interchange to State Route (SR) 101L (Loop 101) within Maricopa County, Arizona. A NOI to prepare an EIS for the I-17 Corridor Improvement Study was published in the Federal Register on January 6, 2010.

The FHWA has approved a request from the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) to temporarily close a portion of I-395 (just south of Conway Street in Baltimore City) from approximately 7 p.m. on Wednesday, August 28, 2013, until approximately 6 a.m. on Tuesday, September 3, 2013. The closure is requested to accommodate the construction and operation of the Baltimore Grand Prix (BGP), which will use the streets of downtown Baltimore as a race course. The approval is granted in accordance with the provisions of 23 CFR 658.11 which authorizes the deletion of segments of the federally designated routes that make up the National Network designated in Appendix A of 23 CFR Part 658. The FHWA published a Notice and Request for Comment on May 13, 2013, seeking comments from the general public on this request submitted by the MDTA for a deletion in accordance with 23 CFR 658.11(d). No comments were received.

This notice announces the availability of funding and requests grant applications for FHWA's Tribal Transportation Program Safety Funds (TTPSF). In addition, this notice addresses comments received on the interim notice of funding availability (Docket No. FHWA-2013-0012), announces selection criteria, application requirements, and technical assistance during the grant solicitation period for the TTPSF. The TTPSF is authorized within the Tribal Transportation Program (TTP) under the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP- 21). The FHWA will distribute these funds as described in this final notice on a competitive basis in a manner consistent with the selection criteria. On April 30, 2013, FHWA published an interim notice that announced funding availability. Because this is a new program, the interim notice also requested comments on the proposed selection and evaluation criteria. The FHWA considered the comments that were submitted in accordance with the interim notice. The FHWA's response to the comments and revisions made in this final notice are described below in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section. In the event that this solicitation does not result in the award and obligation of all available funds, FHWA may decide to publish an additional solicitation.

The FHWA, on behalf of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), is issuing this Revised Notice of Intent to inform the public of changes to the proposed High Desert Corridor project in Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties, California. The Federal Railroad Administration has also been added as a Cooperating Agency.

The FHWA invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval for a new information collection, which is summarized below under Supplementary Information. We are required to publish this notice in the Federal Register by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The FHWA invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval for a new information collection, which is summarized below under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. We are required to publish this notice in the Federal Register by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The FHWA is proposing the National Tunnel Inspection Standards (NTIS) for highway tunnels. The FHWA previously proposed the NTIS in a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) published in the Federal Register on July 22, 2010. On July 6, 2012, the President signed the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), which requires the Secretary to establish national standards for tunnel inspections. The MAP-21 requires that NTIS contain a number of provisions that were not included in the proposal set forth in the earlier NPRM. As a result, FHWA is issuing this SNPRM to request comment on a revised NTIS proposal that incorporates the provisions required by MAP-21. This SNPRM proposes requirements for tunnel owners, including the establishment of a program for the inspection of highway tunnels, maintenance of a tunnel inventory, reporting of the inspection findings to FHWA, and correction of any critical findings identified during these inspections.

This notice announces actions taken by the FHWA and other Federal agencies that are final within the meaning of 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1). The actions relate to the Goethals Bridge Replacement Project located in Staten Island, New York, and Elizabeth, New Jersey. Those actions grant approvals for the project.

This notice announces actions taken by FHWA and other Federal agencies that are final within the meaning of 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1). The I-75 Express Lanes Project will design a managed lane system along I-75 from the SR 155 (Zack Hinton Parkway, South) interchange in Henry County north to the SR 138 (Stockbridge Highway) interchange in Clayton counties, a distance of approximately 17.94 miles. Those actions grant licenses, permits and approvals for the project.

The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) has requested FHWA approval of INDOT's proposed plan to close a 2-mile portion of I- 65 in Indiana (from I-70/I-65 south split interchange to I-70/I-65 north split interchange) for a period of 93 days, from Wednesday, August 21, 2013, to Thursday, November 21, 2013. The closure is requested to accommodate the reconstruction on the Virginia Avenue Bridge, which consists of replacing the northbound and southbound bridge girders and lowering the pavement section from south of Morris Street to north of Fletcher Avenue. The request is based on the provisions in 23 CFR 658.11 which authorizes the deletion of segments of the federally designated routes that make up the National Network designated in Appendix A of 23 CFR Part 658 upon approval by the FHWA. The FHWA seeks comments from the general public on this request submitted by INDOT for a deletion in accordance with 23 CFR 658.11(d) for the considerations discussed in this notice.

FHWA invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval for a new information collection, which is summarized below under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. We published a Federal Register Notice with a 60-day public comment period on this information collection on February 15, 2013. We are required to publish this notice in the Federal Register by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The FHWA invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval for a new information collection, which is summarized below under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. We are required to publish this notice in the Federal Register by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The FHWA is issuing this notice to advise the public that five States have rescinded Notices of Intent (NOIs) to prepare nine Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) for proposed highway projects. The FHWA Division Offices, in consultation with the State departments of transportation (State DOT), determined that three projects were no longer viable and have formally cancelled the projects. No further Federal resources will be expended on these projects; the environmental review process has been terminated. Four projects are being reassessed and may be reconsidered in whole or in part, by the State DOT at a later time. One project is being rescoped and may not require an EIS. Finally, one project was rescinded without a specific reason for its rescission.

The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) is incorporated in our regulations, approved by the Federal Highway Administration, and recognized as the national standard for traffic control devices used on all streets, highways, bikeways, and private roads open to public travel. Consistent with Executive Order 13563, and in particular its emphasis on burden-reduction and on retrospective analysis of existing rules, a Request for Comments was published on January 11, 2013, to solicit input on potential formats for restructuring the MUTCD into two documents, one that would be subject to rulemaking and one that would contain supplemental information that is not subject to rulemaking. One hundred and sixty-nine unique letters were received and this document provides a summary of the input from these letters. Given the lack of support from the MUTCD user community, the FHWA will not proceed with restructuring the MUTCD into two documents at this time.

This notice provides information regarding the FHWA's finding that a conditional Buy America waiver is appropriate for the obligation of Federal-aid funds for 74 vehicle projects involving the purchase of approximately 3,500 vehicles (including sedans, vans, pickups, SUVs, trucks, buses, and equipment, such as backhoes, street sweepers, and tractors), including projects to retrofit vehicles with individual vehicle components, so long as they are assembled in the United States. The FHWA's Buy America requirements provide that 100 percent of all steel and iron that is permanently incorporated into a project must be domestically manufactured. With respect to vehicles, manufacturers typically assemble these products with many different components and subcomponents containing steel and iron. As a result, vehicles are typically referred to as being made where the final product rolls off the assembly line for delivery into the marketplace. The FHWA is unaware of any vehicle that is comprised of 100 percent domestically produced steel and iron, resulting in a need for a conditional Buy America waiver for these projects to proceed.

FHWA invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval for a new information collection, which is summarized below under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. We published a Federal Register Notice with a 60-day public comment period on this information collection on March 5, 2013. We are required to publish this notice in the Federal Register by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

This notice announces actions taken by FHWA and other Federal agencies that are final within the meaning of 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1). The action relates to the Northwest (I-75/I-575) Corridor (from Akers Mill Road to Hickory Grove Road on Interstate 75 (I-75) and from I-75 to Sixes Road on I-575) located in Cobb and Cherokee Counties, Georgia. The approximate length of is approximately 29.7 miles. Those actions grant licenses, permits and approvals for the project.

The FHWA is issuing this notice to advise the public that an environmental impact statement will be prepared for a proposed highway project in Grand Forks County, North Dakota and Polk County, Minnesota.

The FHWA, on behalf of Caltrans, is issuing this notice to announce actions taken by Caltrans, USACE and USFWS that are final within the meaning of 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1). The actions relate to a proposed State Route 41 Madera Passing Lanes project 0.3 miles north of Road 208 to 2.2 miles north of Road 208 in Madera County, in the State of California. Those actions grant licenses, permits, and approvals for the project.

This notice announces actions taken by the USACE and USCG that are final within the meaning of 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1). The actions relate to the Tappan Zee Hudson River Crossing (New NY Bridge) Project located in Rockland and Westchester Counties, New York. Those actions grant permits and approvals for the project.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), in cooperation with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and the Alamo Regional Mobility Authority (RMA), is issuing this notice to advise the public that the Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed improvements to Loop 1604 from I-35 to US 90 is rescinded. The NOI was originally published in the Federal Register on July 31, 2009 (Volume 74, No. 146, Page 38260) and an amended NOI was published on April 13, 2010 (Volume 75, No. 70, Page 18941) changing the limits of the project.

The FHWA is issuing this notice to advise the public that an environmental impact statement will be prepared for a proposed highway project in the City of Buffalo, Erie County, New York.

The FHWA, on behalf of Caltrans, is issuing this notice to announce actions taken by Caltrans, USACE, USFWS, EPA and NRCS that are final within the meaning of 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1). The actions relate to a proposed highway project, on State Route 156 from 0.18 mile east of the State Route 156/183 Separation to the U.S. Route 101/State Route 156 and on U.S. Route 101 from 0.1 mile north of Pesante Road to 0.2 mile north of Messick Road in Monterey County, State of California. Those actions grant licenses, permits, and approvals for the project.