Productive and Timely Expenditure of Funds

Brandye L. Hendrickson
Federal Highway Administration
19 December 2017

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 242 (Tuesday, December 19, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Page 60269]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-27270]



[[Page 60269]]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

[FHWA Docket No. FHWA-2016-0020]


Productive and Timely Expenditure of Funds

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), U.S. Department of 
Transportation.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the FHWA website, ``FAST Act Section 
1421--Programmatic Approaches to Project Delivery,'' where information 
and guidance on improving project delivery is consolidated to encourage 
implementation of approaches, techniques, and best practices to 
facilitate the productive, effective, and timely expenditure of title 
23, United States Code, funds. Consistent implementation of the 
information and guidance provided on the website will serve to assist 
Federal-aid recipients in effectively using Federal funds by avoiding 
unnecessary, costly project delays and minimizing project cost 
overruns.

DATES: The date of this notice is December 19, 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Gerald Yakowenko, FHWA Office of 
Program Administration, 202-366-1562, or via email at 
gerald.yakowenko@dot.gov. For legal questions, please contact Mr. Jomar 
Maldonado, FHWA Office of the Chief Counsel, 202-366-1373, or via email 
at jomar.maldonado@dot.gov. Office hours for the FHWA are from 8:00 
a.m. to 4:30 p.m., ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Electronic Access

    An electronic copy of this document may be downloaded from the 
Federal Register's home page at: http://www.archives.gov and the 
Government Publishing Office's Federal Digital System at: http://www.fdsys.gov.

Background

    On August 30, 2016, at 81 FR 59717, FHWA published a notice and 
request for comments to identify any readily available information 
resources on programmatic approaches to improve project delivery 
through avoidance of unnecessary delays, and minimizing of cost 
overruns in compliance with the Section 1421 of the Fixing America's 
Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. To comply with Section 1421, 
``Productive and Timely Expenditure of Funds,'' FHWA developed a test 
website where sample information resources on programmatic agreements, 
approaches, techniques, and best practices were consolidated for ease 
of access, and to encourage and ensure consistent implementation. The 
test website was used for illustrative purpose to obtain input from 
commenters on the content to be included on the final website.

Discussion of Comments

I. Summary

    All comments received in response to the initial notice and request 
for comments have been considered in adopting this final notice. 
Comments were received from one representative of the Maryland 
Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA). 
The following discussion identifies and summarizes the comments 
submitted by the commenter in response to the August 30, 2016, notice, 
as well as FHWA's response to those comments.

II. Analysis of and Response to Comments on the Test Website

    Comment 1: A representative of MDOT SHA recommended adding a number 
of Maryland-specific information on programmatic agreements, 
procedures, and memorandum of agreements to the FAST Act Section 1421 
website.
    FHWA's Response 1: The comments provided by MDOT SHA were State-
specific, not national; therefore, FHWA did not incorporate those 
comments into the final FAST Act Section 1421 website. Since the August 
30, 2016, notice, FHWA has developed an Environmental Review Toolkit 
website that included information on programmatic agreements and 
approaches to accelerate project delivery. State-specific resources 
could be provided on the FHWA State Practice Database accessed from the 
Environmental Review Toolkit website, or directly at: https://www.environment.fhwa.dot.gov/strmlng/es3stateprac.asp.
    Comment 2: The MDOT SHA recommended including the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service planning tool, ``IPaC Information for Planning and 
Consultation,'' for streamlining the environmental review process.
    FHWA's Response 2: The FHWA agrees with the commenter and will add 
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service planning tool to the final FAST Act 
Section 1421 website.

Final FAST Act Section 1421 Website

    The FHWA established the test FHWA website, ``FAST Act Section 
1421--Programmatic Approaches to Project Delivery,'' for notice and 
public comment on August 30, 2016. After considering all the comments, 
FHWA has incorporated appropriate revisions into the final FAST Act 
Section 1421 website. As such, the final FHWA FAST Act Section 1421 
website can be found at: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/construction/contracts/section1421.cfm.

    Issued on: December 12, 2017.
Brandye L. Hendrickson,
Acting Administrator, Federal Highway Administration.
[FR Doc. 2017-27270 Filed 12-18-17; 8:45 am]
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