U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
202-366-4000
The Federal-Aid Highway Program (FAHP) is transitioning to a more performance-based approach. Our partners are implementing multiple data-driven practices to support their investment decisionmaking. These include the implementation of asset and performance management programs and processes. In 2017, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) established national performance measures and a framework to carry out a performance-based Federal highway program. Absent future changes in legislation, monitoring program performance through the tracking of specific performance targets and measures is how the FAHP will be managed. Investments of Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) and National Highway Performance Program (NHPP) program funds result in safer, longer-lasting infrastructure. These funds can be used to improve the National Highway System (NHS), which handles approximately 55 percent of the Nation’s Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) and about 83 percent of truck travel, including most of the heavy truck movement across multiple State lines. Of the more than 145,000 bridges on the NHS, 4,842 were still classified in Poor Condition in 2017. Operational improvements provide real and proven impacts on congestion and travel time reliability in urban and rural areas, as well as system resiliency to disruptions. Operational strategies can increase capacity in certain environments at lower costs than other forms of new capacity. Improvements in rural highway operations, such as road weather management and incident management, can have significant impacts. Funding and technical assistance for freight movement is directed to State and local partners that manage much of the roadway infrastructure used by trucks, while other modal freight infrastructure (i.e., rail, ports, and some airports) is privately owned. While most freight moves by commercial truck, greater use of multiple freight modes and operators, including railroads, ports, and trucking companies, is likely to bring more attention to the condition and performance of multimodal and intermodal connectors. |
FHWA will continue to raise awareness of proven strategies, such as performance-based practical design, and the use of preservation techniques to cost-effectively extend the service life of transportation assets that could further improve investment decisionmaking.
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Strategic Objective #2: Improve program and project decisionmaking by using a data-driven approach, asset management principles, and a performance-based program that will lead to better conditions and more efficient operations.
Key Programs and InitiativesFHWA will encourage and help State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) implement the Transportation Performance and Asset Management approach to strengthen their investment decisionmaking, which will enhance program accountability to Congress and the public for the expenditure of tax dollars. Through this program, FHWA will:
Lead Officials: Associate Administrators (AAs) for Safety, Infrastructure, Operations, and Planning, Environment and Realty. |
Performance Measures: The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Agency Priority Goal (APG) measures are the percentage of NHS bridges in Poor Condition and the percentage of VMT on the NHS in Good Condition. Leading measures or indicators include:
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Strategic Objective #3: Increase freight and people mobility and reliability by building effective partnerships and encouraging targeted investments.
Key Programs and InitiativesBy continuing efforts to ensure that the public and private sectors are collaborating on planning and investment, FHWA will encourage solutions that are more relevant; and leverage the capabilities of the public and private sectors to improve the benefits of solving efficiency, reliability, and safety challenges.
Lead Officials: AAs for Operations and Planning, Environment and Realty. |
Performance Measures: There are no USDOT APG measures for this strategic objective; however, FHWA will measure Travel Time Index (TTI) in urban areas and/or on the interstate and non-interstate portions of the NHS and Truck Travel Time Reliability (TTTR) Index on the interstate portion of the NHS. Leading measures or indicators include:
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