Projects of National and Regional Significance Program

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Projects of National and Regional
SignificanceProgram

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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

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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.

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PNRS Rule Making

• Read the preamble
• not just regulatory text.
• It is key to understanding and interpreting the
  regulations.

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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

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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
  states eligibility

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PNRS Eligibility

• Eligible 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

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PNRS Evaluation, Rating Funding

• Rating Process/Timing
• Preliminary 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
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PNRS Evaluation, Rating Funding

• Project Rating
• Categories
• Highly Recommended
• Recommended
• Not 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)

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PNRS Selection Criteria

• General
• 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

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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 nations transportation system
• specific information on procedures

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PNRS Selection Criteria

• 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

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PNRS Selection Criteria

• 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

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PNRS Selection Criteria

• 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

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PNRS Selection Criteria

• Funding
• 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)

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• Questions?