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Projects of National and Regional Significance Program.

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Presentation on theme: "Projects of National and Regional Significance Program."— Presentation transcript:

1 Projects of National and Regional Significance Program

2 Federal Highway Administration U.S. Department of Transportation PNRS Background  SAFETEA-LU Section 1301 established a program to fund critical, national or regional freight or passenger transportation needs  Funded at $1.78 Billion over 5 years  Modeled after FTA “New Starts” Program  Projects are to be evaluated and rated as “highly recommended,” “recommended,” or “not recommended” based on selection criteria established in regulation  Required Annual Report to Congress – part of the legislation  All funds authorized by SAFETEA-LU for the PNRS program were fully designated to 25 projects

3 Federal Highway Administration U.S. Department of Transportation PNRS Rule Making  SAFETEA-LU required establishment of regulations for program implementation  Regulations do not apply to current SAFETEA- LU funding for 25 designated projects  FHWA looked for specific and detailed comments that would assist in defining grant criteria, project eligibility, project ratings, and the nature and form of full funding grant agreements.

4 Federal Highway Administration U.S. Department of Transportation PNRS Rule Making Read the preamble not just regulatory text. It is key to understanding and interpreting the regulations.

5 Federal Highway Administration U.S. Department of Transportation Key Points from NPRM Comments  Strong Support for:  Concept/Program  Transparency of Process and Selection  Bringing National Perspective to the Project Selection Process  Specific Concerns:  Degree of Multimodal focus  Use of Highway Trust Fund

6 Federal Highway Administration U.S. Department of Transportation PNRS Eligibility Applicant  States or multiple states  Support for strong local and regional coordination Project Cost Eligibility Threshold  Legislative requirement $500m/75% of apportionment – whichever is less  Allow multi-state projects and use largest state’s eligibility

7 Federal Highway Administration U.S. Department of Transportation PNRS Eligibility Eligible Project  Any transportation project (including multimodal/rail) that is Title 23 eligible (allowing maximum flexibility)  Project could be individual project or a group of projects that are integrated in function such as along a corridor (strong interest in seeing projects linked together along a corridor) Eligible Project Costs  NEPA/PE to construction  Bond financing

8 Federal Highway Administration U.S. Department of Transportation PNRS Evaluation, Rating & Funding Rating Process/Timing  Preliminary evaluation and rating any time after development of project concept plan – listed in PNRS report appendix  Official rating after PE complete – listed in PNRS report  If a project is not selected, projects must re- apply at the next solicitation (will be rated at that time)  Inform State of rating prior to listing in report to allow withdrawal To accommodate cost of PE

9 Federal Highway Administration U.S. Department of Transportation PNRS Evaluation, Rating & Funding Project Rating  Categories  Highly Recommended  Recommended  Not Recommended  Withdrawn  Will not rank (as opposed to rate)  Project selection authority with Secretary of USDOT Full Funding Grant Agreements  Only vehicle for this program  FHWA will coordinate with other FHWA/DOT funding sources and programs if project requires (TIFIA, SEP 15, Executive Order on Streamlining)

10 Federal Highway Administration U.S. Department of Transportation PNRS Selection Criteria General  Regulations  Expands the detail and specifics of the basic criteria presented in law  Specific criteria provide a firm framework and basis for which measurement will be made  Data and Methodology  FHWA chose not to dictate a specific methodology for making the measurement or specific weight for each of the criterion.  Requires use of data that can be made available to the public  Requires use of methodologies accepted by industry

11 Federal Highway Administration U.S. Department of Transportation PNRS Selection Criteria  Annual Solicitations  Program is designed for multiple solicitations (timing currently not known)  Solicitations would provide:  specific focus areas related to the current needs of the national transportation system  measures to rate enhancements to the system  points and weighting, as needed, for these identified criteria to best reflect the current dynamics of the nation’s transportation system  specific information on procedures

12 Federal Highway Administration U.S. Department of Transportation PNRS Selection Criteria Economic Benefits  Solving Current Transportation Problem v. Economic Development  Cost Benefit Analysis  Formal CBA v. other analytical measures  Consider Use of FHWA Freight CBA Tools  Level of Detail/Definitions  Ability to Compare Across Projects  The amount and importance of freight and passenger travel served  Volumes Served  Capacity  Type and Level  Impacts

13 Federal Highway Administration U.S. Department of Transportation PNRS Selection Criteria Congestion  Reduce congestion, including impacts in the State, Region, and Nation  Congestion levels, delay and consequences of delay  Efficiency and effectiveness of congestion mitigation Safety  Improve transportation safety, including reducing transportation injuries, accidents and fatalities  Number, rate and consequences of crashes, injuries and fatalities in the affected region and corridor National Transportation System Enhancements  Left flexible for States and allows DOT to address in solicitation

14 Federal Highway Administration U.S. Department of Transportation PNRS Selection Criteria Project Development  Based on the results of preliminary engineering  Political and institutional support - as evidenced by completing the project planning process Technology  Uses new technologies, including intelligent transportation systems, that enhance the efficiency of the project Environment  Helps maintain or protect the environment

15 Federal Highway Administration U.S. Department of Transportation PNRS Selection Criteria Funding  Supported by stable, reliable and available non-federal commitments  Leverages Federal investment (including public-private partnerships)  Ability to Guarantee non-Federal sources prior to implementation  Ability to attract funds beyond minimum  Allocation of public and private costs and the costs proportion to the share of public and private benefits and risks Need for Federal Support  Demonstrates that the proposed project cannot be readily and efficiently realized without Federal support and participation (gap funding)

16 Federal Highway Administration U.S. Department of Transportation Questions?


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