FHWA Proposes Highway Regulation Changes Focused on Performance
On Friday, April 22, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) published in the Federal Register a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to propose national performance management measure regulations to assess the performance of the National Highway System, Freight Movement on the Interstate System, and the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program, as required by the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) and the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (“FAST Act”).
This NPRM proposes regulations that would make progress towards the following national goals:
- Congestion reduction – To achieve a significant reduction in congestion on the NHS.
- System reliability – To improve the efficiency of the surface transportation system.
- Freight movement and economic vitality – To improve the national freight network, strengthen the ability of rural communities to access national and international trade markets, and support regional economic development.
- Environmental sustainability – To enhance the performance of the transportation system while protecting and enhancing the natural environment.
In addition, this NPRM:
- Provides for greater consistency in the reporting of condition/performance;
- Proposes requirements for the establishment of targets that can be aggregated at the national level;
- Proposes reporting in a consistent manner on progress achievement; and
- Proposes a process for determining a State DOT’s significant progress.
State DOTs would be expected to use the information and data generated as a result of the new regulations to make better-informed transportation planning and programming decisions. The new performance aspects of the Federal-aid program would allow FHWA to better communicate a national performance story and more reliably assess the impacts of Federal funding investments.
- System Performance/Freight Movement on the Interstate/CMAQ Program Performance Measures NPRM
- Rulemaking Docket
Source: FHWA
