Federal Highway Administration 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice announces three meetings of the Emergency Route Working Group (ERWG). The Federal Advisory Committee Act requires that notice of these meetings be published in the Federal Register.

This notice announces the final environmental action taken by the FHWA that is final within the meaning of 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1). The action relates to a proposed highway project, Franklin Boulevard: I-5 McVay Highway in the City of Springfield, Lane County, Oregon. The final environmental action taken by FHWA grants approval for the project.

This notice provides information regarding FHWA's finding that a Buy America waiver is appropriate for the use of non-domestic iron and steel components of trunnion bearings for emergency repair of Willow Avenue Lift Bridge in Cleveland, Ohio.

This notice announces actions taken by the FHWA that are final within the meaning of Section 1308 of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act. The action relates to design refinements to West Approach Bridge South, the Montlake Lid, and other elements of the Montlake Interchange on State Route (SR) 520 in the City of Seattle, King County, State of Washington.

Section 1303 of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) authorizes the use of the Construction Manager/ General Contractor (CM/GC) contracting method. This final rule implements the new provisions in the statute, including requirements for FHWA approvals relating to the CM/GC method of contracting for projects receiving Federal-aid Highway Program funding.

This notice provides information regarding FHWA's finding that a Buy America waiver is appropriate for procurement of two non-domestic Ship-to-Shore Container Gantry Cranes to accommodate Ultra Large Container Vessels at the Port of Newark Container Terminal in the State of New Jersey.

The FHWA and the State of California acting by and through its Department of Transportation (Caltrans), propose an amendment to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) authorizing the State's participation in the 23 U.S.C. 326 program. This program allows FHWA to assign to States its authority and responsibility for determining whether certain designated activities within the geographic boundaries of the State are categorically excluded from preparation of an Environmental Assessment or an Environmental Impact Statement under the National Environmental Policy Act. The parties propose to amend the MOU to make the litigation provisions consistent with the 23 U.S.C. 327 program MOU and to allow a 90 day suspension of the program, giving the State an opportunity to renew its waiver of sovereign immunity and acceptance of Federal court jurisdiction. The program will resume upon the State's recertification that the sovereign immunity waiver and acceptance of Federal court jurisdiction is in place.

The Surface Transportation Project Delivery Program allows a State to assume FHWA's environmental responsibilities for review, consultation, and compliance for Federal highway projects. When a State assumes these Federal responsibilities, the State becomes solely responsible and liable for carrying out the responsibilities it has assumed, in lieu of FHWA. Prior to the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act of 2015, the Program required semiannual audits during each of the first 2 years of State participation to ensure compliance by each State participating in the Program. This notice announces and solicits comments on the third audit report for the Texas Department of Transportation's (TxDOT) participation in accordance to these pre-FAST Act requirements.

This notice provides information regarding FHWA's finding that a Buy America waiver is appropriate for the use of non-domestic iron and steel components in four rolling elements of bearing units with 17.3'' inner diameter and radial load capacity of 816,000 lb. each for I-5 trunnion shaft replacement project in the State of Oregon.

Section 1422 of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act directs the Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to commission the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a study on the performance of bridges that received funding under the Innovative Bridge Research and Construction program in meeting the goals of that program. Section 1422 also directs the Administrator of FHWA to provide an opportunity for public comment on the study proposal before commissioning the study. This notice provides the study proposal and the opportunity for public comment.

This document announces meetings four and five of the Tribal Transportation Self-Governance Program (TTSPG) Negotiated Rulemaking Committee. Dates and Addresses: All meetings are scheduled to take place from 8:00 a.m. until 5 p.m. on the following dates and locations:

This notice announces actions taken by the FHWA that are final within the meaning of 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1). The actions relate to the widening of Interstate 64 for approximately eight miles between the I- 464 Interchange and the I-664/I-264 Interchange in the City of Chesapeake, Virginia. The widening project includes the replacement of the High Rise Bridge over the Elizabeth River. Those actions grant licenses, permits, and approvals for the project.

This notice announces that FHWA has received and reviewed an application from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) requesting participation in the Surface Transportation Project Delivery Program (Program). This Program allows for FHWA to assign, and States to assume, responsibilities under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), and all or part of FHWA's responsibilities for environmental review, consultation, or other actions required under any Federal environmental law with respect to one or more Federal-aid highway projects within the State. The FHWA has determined that the application is complete, and developed a draft MOU with FDOT outlining how the State would implement the program with FHWA oversight. The FHWA invites the public to comment on FDOT's request, including its application, and the proposed MOU, which includes the proposed assignments and assumptions of environmental review, consultation, and other activities.

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.

The FHWA, on behalf of Caltrans, is issuing this notice to announce actions taken by Caltrans, that are final within the meaning of 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1). The actions relate to a proposed highway project, located on Interstate 80 between post miles 1.9 to 6.1 and on State Route 65 between post miles R4.8 to R7.3 in the County of Placer, State of California. Those actions grant licenses, permits, and approvals for the project.

The FHWA is interested in gathering public comments on how certain provisions of the current law surrounding commercial activities in rest areas should be interpreted and applied in consideration of advancements in technology and the interests of the States.

The FHWA and FTA are reopening the comment period for the NPRM that was published on June 27, 2016, at 81 FR 41473, in order to receive additional public comment on targeted issues. The NPRM proposes revisions to the transportation planning regulations to promote more effective regional planning by States and metropolitan planning organizations (MPO). The original comment period closed on August 26, 2016. The FHWA and FTA received a number of requests to extend the comment period. The FHWA and FTA recognize that those interested in commenting on this important program may not have had the opportunity to provide comments and that the comment period should be reopened. Therefore, the comment period is being reopened.

The FHWA is issuing this notice to advise the public that the Record of Decision (ROD) and the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the proposed Interstate 495 (Long Island Expressway) Rest Area Upgrade Project between Exits 51 & 52 (eastbound) in the Town of Huntington, Suffolk County, New York (NYSDOT Project Identification Number: 0229.14) are being rescinded.

This notice provides information regarding FHWA's finding that a Buy America waiver is appropriate for the obligation of Federal-aid funds for 21 State projects involving the acquisition of vehicles and equipment on the condition that they be assembled in the U.S.

This notice announces actions taken by TxDOT and Federal agencies that are final within the meaning of 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1). The environmental review, consultation, and other actions required by applicable Federal environmental laws for this project are being, or have been, carried-out by TxDOT pursuant to 23 U.S.C. 327 and a Memorandum of Understanding dated December 16, 2014 and executed by FHWA and TxDOT. The actions relate to a proposed highway project, I-35 Improvements from Rundberg Lane to US 290 East in Austin, Travis County, in the State of Texas. Those actions grant licenses, permits, and approvals for the project. Under MAP-21 section 1319, TxDOT has issued a Finding of No Significant Impact for this action.