Current through August 30, 2024
(a) Projects
nominated for a project needs list under
17 AAC 05.160 may, after public
review and comment, be incorporated in the STIP. Except for projects classified
in the National Highway System, classified under
17 AAC 05.170(c)
in the Alaska Highway System, or exempt under
17 AAC 05.200, the department will
evaluate and score projects regionally and statewide according to criteria
applicable to each transportation program.
(b) For rural and urban streets projects
classified under
17 AAC 05.170(d)
(Community Transportation Program), the evaluation criteria are
(1) economic benefits resulting from the
project;
(2) the project's effect
upon health and quality of life;
(3) whether the project enhances the safety
of the traveling public;
(4)
whether the project improves intermodal transportation or lessens redundant
facilities;
(5) whether a
municipality, another state agency, or a federal agency has made a contribution
to finance capital costs;
(6)
whether a municipality, another state agency, or a federal agency has made a
commitment to assume ownership or to finance maintenance and operations
costs;
(7) whether the project will
lower state maintenance and operation costs;
(8) environmental approval
readiness;
(9) whether the project
involves only surface rehabilitation;
(10) evaluation of cost, length, and the
existing roadway's average annual daily traffic count;
(11) whether the project replaces deficient
bridges;
(12) whether the project
corrects deficient roadway width, grade, or alignment;
(13) the functional classification of the
project;
(14) the degree to which
the project exhibits innovation in the manner in which it addresses the
project's challenges; and
(15) the
degree of public support.
(c) For remote roads and trails projects
classified under
17 AAC 05.170(d)
(Community Transportation Program), in communities not connected to the
continental road network by road or ferry, the evaluation criteria are
(1) economic benefits resulting from the
project;
(2) the project's effect
upon health and quality of life;
(3) whether the project enhances the safety
of the traveling public;
(4)
whether the project improves intermodal transportation or lessens redundant
facilities;
(5) whether a
municipality, another state agency, or a federal agency has made a contribution
to finance capital costs;
(6)
whether a municipality, another state agency, or a federal agency has made a
commitment to assume ownership or to finance maintenance and operations
costs;
(7) whether the project
lowers state maintenance and operations costs;
(8) environmental approval
readiness;
(9) whether the project
improves access to water sources, landfills, sewage lagoons, sanitary waste
disposal sites, health care, airports, subsistence harvest sites, or a river or
ocean;
(10) whether the project
preserves an existing facility;
(11) whether the project is a joint project
with
(A) the Department of Environmental
Conservation;
(B) the United States
Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs;
(C) the United States Department of Health
and Human Services, Indian Health Service;
(D) a tribal entity;
(E) a federal or state agency other than one
identified in (A) - (C) of this paragraph;
(12) the degree to which the project exhibits
innovation in the manner in which it addresses the project's challenges;
and
(13) the degree of public
support.
(d) For transit
projects classified under
17 AAC 05.170(d)
(Community Transportation Program), the evaluation criteria are
(1) economic benefits resulting from the
project;
(2) the project's effect
upon health and quality of life;
(3) whether the project enhances the safety
of the traveling public;
(4)
whether the project improves intermodal transportation or lessens redundant
facilities;
(5) whether a
municipality, another state agency, or a federal agency has made a contribution
to finance capital costs;
(6)
whether a municipality, another state agency, or a federal agency has made a
commitment to assume ownership or to finance maintenance and operations
costs;
(7) environmental approval
readiness;
(8) whether the project
is necessary for system continuity;
(9) whether the project increases the level
of service or capacity;
(10)
whether the project is listed in the state air quality control plan, as adopted
by reference in
18 AAC 50.030;
(11) whether the local transit agency has
exhausted financing sources from the United States Department of
Transportation, Federal Transit Administration;
(12) whether the project supports coordinated
service or brokerage, involving the cooperation of two or more transportation
providers, including transit organizations and non-governmental agencies, to
provide transportation for the elderly and disabled;
(13) whether the project increases mobility
for the disadvantaged; and
(14) the
degree to which the project exhibits innovation in the manner in which it
addresses the project's challenges.
(e) For intelligent transportation systems
(ITS) classified under
17 AAC 05.170(d)
(Community Transportation Program), the evaluation criteria are
(1) the degree to which the project furthers
the goals of efficiency with reliability, safety and security, improvement of
the quality of life, and the facilitation of transitions between modes of
transportation;
(2) whether the
project furthers the department's operations and efficiency;
(3) whether the project furthers integration
between activities within the department or other ITS activities;
(4) whether the project furthers integration
with activities external to the department conducted by state and federal
agencies, municipalities, or private sector organizations;
(5) whether a municipality, another state
agency, a federal agency, or a private sector organization has made a
contribution to finance project development;
(6) whether a municipality, another state
agency, a federal agency, or a private sector organization has made a
commitment to finance maintenance and operations costs;
(7) the total amount of the project's capital
cost and operating costs for five years of operations;
(8) the degree to which the project is
consistent with state and national standards for system architecture;
(9) the degree to which the project is
consistent with national standards for ITS hardware;
(10) the degree to which the project uses
technology that has proven in past projects to be sustainable in an environment
comparable to the environment in the state;
(11) whether the project has a clear and
complete implementation and operational plan;
(12) whether the project technology expands
ITS potential beyond the project's parameters;
(13) whether benefits from the project accrue
to more than one of the department's regions; and
(14) the degree to which the project is
consistent with and furthers goals and objectives of the statewide
transportation plan adopted under
AS
19.10.140 and
17 AAC 05.120.
(f) For projects classified under
17 AAC 05.170(e)
(Trails and Recreational Access for Alaska (TRAAK) Program), the evaluation
criteria are
(1) the project's effect upon
health and quality of life;
(2)
whether the project enhances the safety of a user of a trail;
(3) whether a municipality, another state
agency, or a federal agency has made a contribution to finance capital costs in
the form of money or material contributions; for purposes of this paragraph,
material contributions include land and building materials;
(4) whether a municipality, another state
agency, or a federal agency has made a commitment to assume ownership or to
finance maintenance and operations costs;
(5) departmental maintenance and operations
costs and priority;
(6) whether the
project bridges gaps or removes barriers between existing trail systems or
provides interpretive or rest area continuity;
(7) whether the project is tied to a
recreational, educational, or tourism event or activity, and the public's
support of that event;
(8) whether
the project has significance because of historical, cultural, natural,
archaeological, or recreational considerations;
(9) whether the project stabilizes or
renovates an historic transportation property;
(10) capital cost; and
(11) the degree to which the project exhibits
innovation in the manner in which it addresses the project's
challenges.
(g) Under
the criteria set out in this section, and using the methodology set out in (j)
of this section, members of each regional transportation planning staff shall
evaluate and establish preliminary scores for projects nominated from that
office's region for the project needs list. The department will establish
minimum scores for each project category established under this section, that
entitles the projects that score more than the applicable minimum score to be
considered in the statewide evaluation of projects under this
section.
(h) A project evaluation
board (PEB), appointed by the commissioner, shall evaluate and score the
projects, nominated and prioritized by each region, for the draft STIP using
the methodology set out in (i) of this section. The PEB consists of
(1) a deputy commissioner from the
department, or the deputy commissioner's designee;
(2) the director of the department's division
of statewide design and engineering services, or the director's
designee;
(3) the director of the
department's division of program development, or the director's designee;
and
(4) the directors of the
department's regional offices, or their designees;
(5) repealed 5/7/2005.
(i) To arrive at the final statewide list of
projects for inclusion in the STIP, the department will select the projects
with the highest scores in each program for inclusion in the STIP, based upon
fiscal constraints, score, project development considerations, and the state's
best interests.
(j) During an
evaluation under (g) and (h) of this section, and
17 AAC 05.180, each evaluator
shall score each project using the evaluation criteria applicable to each
category of project. Each evaluator shall then determine the total project
score by multiplying the individual scores by the weight of each criterion, and
then adding the total for all criteria. The final project scores for each
evaluator will be averaged to provide a mathematical score for all scorers. The
average score for each project will be used for the purposes of evaluating
projects for each category. The relative weight assigned the evaluation
criteria for each category of projects and the mathematical techniques used to
differentiate the projects, will be included in the project criteria notice
issued under
17 AAC 05.160, and may be
discussed during any public meeting on the project needs list and draft
STIP.
(k) A meeting of the PEB
under (h) of this section is a public meeting under
AS
44.62.310. Notice satisfying the requirements
of AS
44.62.310 will be given to interested persons
not less than 14 days before the meeting. The department will make available at
a meeting under (h) of this section, for inspection by the public and
interested persons, one set of the briefing materials provided to the PEB
members.
(l) Before the department
will consider a municipality's commitment to provide financing for construction
or maintenance, or assumption of ownership, in the evaluation of a particular
project under (g) and (h) of this section, or
17 AAC 05.180, the municipality
shall authorize, by resolution or ordinance, the execution of an agreement with
the state promising to perform the specified act. If the municipality breaches
its obligation under that agreement before the advertisement of a project for
construction, the department will reevaluate each project nominated by the
municipality without consideration of the local contribution of money, or local
ownership, with possible removal of the project from the STIP upon
reevaluation. If the municipality breaches its obligation under that agreement
after the advertisement of a project for bid, the department may proceed
forward with construction to completion of the project. In the evaluation of
other projects in the municipality in the succeeding six years after the
breach, the department will not include any consideration of a local
contribution toward the cost of construction, the cost of maintenance and
operation of a facility, or ownership of a facility upon completion, until the
municipality cures its earlier breach of an agreement executed under this
subsection, to the department's satisfaction.
(m) In addition to the criteria listed in (b)
- (f) of this section, when evaluating projects under (a) of this section, the
department will use a simplified cost effectiveness methodology to consider the
relative cost of projects. Cost effectiveness will be determined by subtracting
the estimated transportation-related savings from the project's estimated cost
and dividing the result by the latest population estimate available for the
area served by the project.
Authority:AS
19.05.020
AS 19.05.030
AS 19.10.140
AS 44.42.030
AS
44.42.050
