Projects of National and Regional Significance Program

Projects of National and Regional SignificanceProgram

Federal Highway AdministrationU.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


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.


PNRS Rule Making

Read the preamble not just regulatory text.

It is key to understanding and interpreting the regulations.


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


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


PNRS EligibilityEligible 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


PNRS Evaluation, Rating & Funding

Rating Process/TimingPreliminary 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


PNRS Evaluation, Rating & FundingProject Rating

CategoriesHighly RecommendedRecommendedNot 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)


PNRS Selection CriteriaGeneral 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


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



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



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



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


PNRS Selection CriteriaFunding

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)


Questions?

Documents

Projects of National and Regional Significance Program