[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 27 (Friday, February 9, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6311-6313]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-578]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

[Docket No. FHWA-2006-23638]


Highway Performance Monitoring System--Reassessment

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The FHWA is currently conducting a reassessment of the Highway 
Performance Monitoring System (HPMS), which is a national highway 
transportation system database maintained and used primarily by the 
FHWA as a resource for information about the extent, condition, 
performance, use, and operating characteristics of the Nation's 
highways. This notice requests public comment on the draft HPMS 
Reassessment Recommendations Report, which is available in the docket 
and via the FHWA Web site at www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/ohpi/hpms/index.htm. This draft

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report documents in detail various issues and proposed changes to 
specific HPMS data items and the associated collecting and reporting 
procedures based in part upon customer and data provider needs. The 
FHWA requests public comments on this draft report. The report would 
enhance and improve HPMS procedures and incorporate changing data 
customer needs while building a stronger partnership with the HPMS data 
user and provider community.

DATES: Comments on the draft report must be received on or before June 
30, 2007. The docket however, will remain open until the reassessment 
is complete. We anticipate that the reassessment will be completed on 
September 30, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Mail or hand deliver comments to the U.S. Department of 
Transportation, Dockets Management Facility, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh 
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590, or submit electronically at http://dms.dot.gov/submit, or fax comments to (202) 493-2251. All comments 
should include the docket number that appears in the heading of this 
document. All comments received will be available for examination and 
copying at the above address from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., e.t., Monday 
through Friday, except Federal holidays. Those desiring notification of 
receipt of comments must include a self-addressed, stamped postcard or 
you may print the acknowledgement page that appears after submitting 
comments electronically. Anyone is able to search the electronic form 
of all comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the 
individual submitting the comments (or signing the comment, if 
submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). 
You may review DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal 
Register published on April 11, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 70, Pages 
19477-78) or you may visit http://dms.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. David Winter, Highway System 
Performance Division, Office of Highway Information, (202) 366-0175, 
[email protected]; or Janet Myers, Office of the Chief Counsel, 
(202) 366-2019, [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: 

    Electronic Access: You may submit or retrieve comments online 
through the Document Management System (DMS) at http://dms.dot.gov/submit. The DMS is available 24 hours each day, 365 days each year. 
Electronic submission and retrieval help and guidelines are available 
under the help section of the Web site.
    An electronic copy of this notice may be downloaded from the Office 
of the Federal Register's home page at http://www.archives.gov. and the 
Government Printing Office's Web site at http://www.access.gpo.gov.

Background

    On April 10, 2006, the FHWA published a notice in the Federal 
Register (71 FR 18134) announcing the initiation of a reassessment of 
the HPMS. The notice served as an announcement and requested public 
comment on issues related to the reassessment effort of the HPMS that 
the FHWA initiated. Public comments were solicited at that time on the 
described conceptual plan for the reassessment, in addition to comments 
on other issues that should be considered in planning and conducting 
the reassessment. During the reassessment, the FHWA developed working 
issue papers and placed them in the docket for review and comment. The 
working issue papers are still available for comment in the docket.
    The HPMS first was developed in 1978 as a national highway 
transportation system database. In its current configuration, the HPMS 
includes limited data on all public roads, more detailed data for a 
sample of the arterial and collector functional systems, and area-wide 
summary information for urbanized, small urban, and rural areas. Over 
its nearly 30 year life, the HPMS has evolved, adjusting to legislative 
and other changes in the focus of the highway program.

Draft HPMS Reassessment Recommendations Report

    The FHWA continues to take an open approach to completing the 
reassessment effort. Major emphasis is directed towards determining the 
data needs of FHWA's partners, stakeholders, and customers, the various 
uses of the existing HPMS, and the ability of data providers to support 
these data needs.
    There are three major categories of proposed changes discussed in 
the HPMS Reassessment Recommendations Report: (1) Structure of HPMS; 
(2) Data Items; and, (3) Data Quality Process Improvement. In each 
category, the report explores the potential impact of the recommended 
changes on the State data providers, the FHWA, and the data users. Each 
recommendations is accompanied by an explanation as to why certain 
decisions were made, along with feedback from HPMS data users and 
providers gathered through the outreach portion of the reassessment. 
The recommendation topic areas by category are:
     Structure of HPMS: Data Model, Sampling, Boundaries and 
Functional Classification, and Interchanges and Ramps;
     Data Items: Safety, Pavements, Interchanges and Ramps, 
Freight, and Capacity; and
     Data Quality and Process Improvement.
    The FHWA has prepared the draft version of the HPMS Reassessment 
Recommendations Report after taking into consideration comments made 
directly through the docket, raised at all workshops, and collected 
through other outreach efforts. Comments on the draft report should be 
submitted to the FHWA through the docket on or before June 30, 2007. 
The FHWA will respond to comments on the draft report generated by this 
notice and expects to complete its final recommendations report and 
publish it in the Federal Register for public review and comment by 
September 30, 2007.

Outreach

    As a part of the reassessment, the FHWA will conduct a second 
series of outreach meetings and workshops: On March 7-8 (8 a.m.-4 p.m., 
e.t.) in Baltimore, MD, on March 13-14 (8 a.m.-4 p.m., p.t.) in 
Sacramento, CA, and on March 27-28 (8 a.m.-4 p.m., c.t.) in Topeka, KS, 
at which interested parties are asked to provide input and help to 
refine a future HPMS direction based on the recommendations made in the 
draft report. The FHWA will post specific workshop information online 
at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/ohpi/hpms/index.htm. Soon after the 
outreach workshops take place, the FHWA will place the minutes and 
other supporting documents in the docket for review and comment. 
Interested parties should continue to check the docket for new 
material.

Conclusion

    The FHWA is soliciting public comments on the draft HPMS 
Reassessment Recommendations Report. Modifications to this draft report 
may be based on the comments received, if any. The draft report is 
available in the docket and via the FHWA Web site at: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/ohpi/hpms/index.htm. Additionally, the FHWA 
will hold several outreach sessions to further discuss the reassessment 
of the HPMS. As previously mentioned, the FHWA will

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post specific information about the outreach meetings on its Web site 
at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/ohpi/hpms/index.htm.

    Authority: 23 U.S.C. 502; 23 CFR 1.5.

    Issued on: February 2, 2007.

J. Richard Capka,
Federal Highway Administrator.
[FR Doc. 07-578 Filed 2-8-07; 8:45 am]
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