Federal Highway Administration October 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The FHWA is issuing this final rule to address three new requirements established by the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21). First, as part of the National Highway Performance Program (NHPP), MAP-21 adopted a requirement for States to develop and implement risk-based asset management plans for the National Highway System (NHS) to improve or preserve the condition of the assets and the performance of the system. Second, for the purpose of carrying out the NHPP, MAP-21 requires FHWA to establish minimum standards for States to use in developing and operating bridge and pavement management systems. Third, to conserve Federal resources and protect public safety, MAP-21 mandates periodic evaluations to determine if reasonable alternatives exist to roads, highways, or bridges that repeatedly require repair and reconstruction activities. This rule establishes requirements applicable to States in each of these areas. The rule also reflects the passage of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, which added provisions on critical infrastructure to the asset management portion of the NHPP statute.

This notice announces actions taken by FWHA that are final within the meaning of 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1). The actions relate to the proposed Haines Highway Reconstruction in the Haines Borough in the State of Alaska. Those actions grant approvals for the project.

The FHWA, on behalf of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), is issuing this amended notice to advise the public that a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be prepared for proposed highway improvements on Interstate 605 (I-605). The I-605 Corridor Improvement Project (Project) will consist of improvements on the I-605 corridor from the Interstate 10 (I-10) Interchange to the Interstate 105 (I-105) Interchange. The proposed Project also includes improvements along State Route 60 (SR-60) from Santa Anita Avenue to east of Turnbull Canyon Road, and on Interstate 5 (I-5) from Florence Avenue to Paramount Boulevard in the cities of Baldwin Park, El Monte, City of Industry, Pico Rivera, South El Monte, Whittier, Downey, Norwalk, Santa Fe Springs, and unincorporated Los Angeles County. The Project limits include the I-605/I-5 and I-605/SR- 60 corridors. These corridors were previously analyzed as separate projects; however, the Project limits along these corridors are being combined to connect logical termini. A Project Study Report-Project Development Support Study (PSR-PDS) for the I-605/I-5 corridor was approved in July 2014, and a PSR-PDS for the I-605/SR-60 corridor was approved in December 2015 (not attached).

This notice corrects information in the September 1, 2016, Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) at 81 FR 60403 in reference to the amount of time by which a project must be authorized after applying for Accelerated Innovation Deployment (AID) Demonstration funding.

This notice announces actions taken by FHWA that are final within the meaning of 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1). The actions relate to a proposed highway project, Interstate 94 (I-94) East-West Corridor, 70th Street to 16th Street, in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. Those actions grant approvals for the project.

A NOI to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was published in the Federal Register on September 20, 2010. The FHWA is issuing this notice to advise the public of a change to the environmental review process for the proposed North-South Corridor. The FHWA and the project sponsor, the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT), intend to use a tiered process in which a Tier 1 EIS will be prepared to evaluate potential corridor alternatives, along with a No- Action alternative, for a future project-specific alignment. The proposed tiering approach will allow FHWA and ADOT to evaluate a range of potential corridors within the North-South Corridor Study (NSCS) area boundaries and to broadly evaluate social, economic, and environmental impacts and mitigation approaches in the Tier 1 EIS. In addition, the NSCS area will be expanded to include an adjacent State Route 24 (SR 24) corridor study resulting in an updated study area encompassing the original study area between Interstate 10 (I-10) and U.S. Highway 60 (U.S. 60) and adding the extension of SR 24 from Ironwood Drive to the North-South Corridor in Pinal County, Arizona. The Tier 1 analysis will utilize technical data obtained thus far in the environmental review process and collect other information as required. If the Record of Decision identifies an Action (Build) corridor alternative, subsequent projects will complete a Tier 2 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review where the agencies will evaluate project-level, site-specific impacts, and required mitigation and commitments.