FHWA MAKES IMPROVEMENTS TO HIGHWAY INFORMATION SYSTEM

Federal Highway Administration
February 25, 1999

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, February 25, 1999
Contact: Jim Pinkelman
Telephone: 202-366-0660
FHWA 13-99

Deputy Federal Highway Administrator Gloria Jeff today announced changes in the way the federal government obtains and compiles information on roads and highways that will significantly reduce reporting requirements for states, enhance the quality of information on the nation’s infrastructure, and make data easier to obtain.

"These revisions reflect President Clinton’s and Vice President Gore’s commitment to common sense government," U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater said. "By streamlining the process, we can focus more sharply on important information and thus provide better service to states, communities and the public."

The changes are to the Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS), a national database that provides critical information about the nation’s highways to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and states. The HPMS also provides important condition and performance information to the traveling public and to Congress, enabling equitable apportionments of federal-aid highway funds to the states.

"The improvements that we have made to this valuable data system reflect America’s business needs for the 21st century," Jeff said. "These changes will result in a reduction in the burden for data providers while still meeting the goals of the HPMS system and, most important, fulfilling the business needs of both the FHWA and those of our partners and customers."

The HPMS, established in 1978, replaced numerous uncoordinated annual state data reports and biennial special studies that each state conducted. Over the last two decades, HPMS has been modified several times to meet changing legislative and other requirements. The current changes reflect the results of a two-year study.

FHWA has eliminated 17 percent of the data items in the HPMS and reduced an additional 20 percent to help ease data reporting by the states. At the same time, the FHWA will provide states with PC-based data submittal software and is developing Internet access to the HPMS data.

The FHWA is holding workshops around the country to help implement the changes, including one in Denver on March 2-3 and another in Chicago on March 17-18.