[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 164 (Thursday, August 24, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50114-50115]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-14068]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

[Docket No. FHWA-2006-25676]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Request for Comments 
for New Information Collection

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The FHWA has forwarded the information collection request 
described in this notice to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for approval of a new information collection. We published a Federal 
Register Notice with a 60-day public comment period on this information 
collection on June 19, 2006. We are required to publish this notice in 
the Federal Register by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: Please submit comments by September 25, 2006.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments within 30 days to the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 
725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503, Attention DOT Desk Officer. 
You are asked to comment on any aspect of this information collection, 
including: (1) Whether the proposed collection is necessary for the 
FHWA's performance; (2) the accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways 
for the FHWA to enhance the quality, usefulness, and clarity of the 
collected information; and (4) ways that the burden could be minimized, 
including the use of electronic technology, without reducing the 
quality of the collected information. All comments should include the 
Docket number FHWA-2006-25676.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Chien-Tan Chang, Office of Bridge 
Technology, HIBT-1, (202) 366-6749, Fax (202) 366-3077, or e-mail 
[email protected]. For legal questions, please contact Mr. Robert 
Black, Office of the Chief Counsel, (202) 366-1359, 
[email protected]; Federal Highway Administration, Department 
of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. 
Office hours are from 7:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., e.t. Monday through 
Friday, except Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Innovative Bridge Research and Deployment (IBRD) program.

Background

    Congress established the Innovative Bridge Research and 
Construction (IBRC) program, the predecessor of the IBRD program, in 
the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) (Pub. L. 
105-178). The IBRC program was continued in SAFETEA-LU, but was renamed 
as the IBRD program. Funds are provided to the States under the IBRD 
program to pay the Federal share of the cost of projects that 
demonstrate innovative accelerated bridge design and construction 
technology and the application of innovative material technology in the 
repair, rehabilitation, replacement, or new construction of bridges and 
other highway structures. For each of the fiscal years 2005 through 
2009, approximately $13.1 million will be available. For FY 2006, 
approximately $2.2 million is available for the IBRC program, and 
approximately $5.1 million for the IBRD program after reduction of 
funds pursuant to the Departments of Transportation, Treasury, Housing 
and Urban Development, the Judiciary, and the District of Colombia, 
independent Agencies Appropriations Act 2006 (Pub. L. 109-115, Nov 30, 
2005) the Department of Defense, Appropriations Act 2006, (Pub. L. 109-
148, Dec. 30, 2005), and Sec. 5202(b)(3)(B) of the Safe, Accountable, 
Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: Legacy for Users 
(SAFETEA-LU). The IBRD activities include identification and selection 
of candidate projects from 50 State DOTs, Puerto Rico and the District 
of Columbia, which meet one or more goals of the program as established 
by the Congress. Approximately 25 projects will be selected that meet 
one or more program goals as follows:
    A. The development of new, cost-effective, innovative highway 
bridge applications;
    B. The development of construction techniques to increase safety 
and reduce construction time and traffic congestion;
    C. The development of engineering design criteria for innovative 
products, materials, and structural systems for use in highway bridges 
and structures;
    D. The reduction of maintenance costs and life-cycle costs of 
bridges, including costs of new construction, replacement or 
rehabilitation of deficient bridges;

[[Page 50115]]

    E. The development of highway bridges and structures that will 
withstand natural disasters;
    F. The documentation and wide dissemination of objective 
evaluations of the performance and benefits of these innovative 
designs, materials, and construction methods;
    G. The effective transfer of resulting information and technology; 
and,
    H. The development of improved methods to detect bridge scour and 
economical bridge foundation designs that will withstand bridge scour.
    Additional activities include collection of project information, 
documentation, promotion and wide dissemination of objective 
evaluations of the performance and benefits of these innovative 
designs, materials, and construction methods resulting from the project 
studies.
    Respondents: 50 State Departments of Transportation, the District 
of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
    Frequency: Annual.
    Estimated Average Burden per Response: 1 hour.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: It is estimated that a total 
of 100 responses will be received to give us a total annual burden of 
100 hours.
    Electronic Access: Internet users may access all comments received 
by the U.S. DOT Dockets, Room PL-401, by using the universal resource 
locator (URL): http://dms.dot.gov, 24 hours each day, 365 days each 
year. Please follow the instructions online for more information and 
help.

    Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. 
Chapter 35, as amended; and 49 CFR 1.48.

    Issued on: August 18, 2006.
James R. Kabel,
Chief, Management Programs and Analysis Division.
[FR Doc. E6-14068 Filed 8-23-06; 8:45 am]
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