We provide proactive leadership, expertise, resources and information to continually improve the quality of our Nation’s Highway System and its intermodal connections. We undertake this mission in cooperation with all our partners to enhance the country’s economic vitality, quality of life and the environment.

The Partners We Work With and the Customers We Serve

• State and local transportation agencies and metropolitan planning organizations
• The transportation industry and the transportation research community
• Transportation system users and the general public

• Meet the public's need for improved access and for safe, comfortable, convenient, and economical movement of people and goods.

• Be an environmentally conscious organization that practices active leadership in working with our partners to protect and enhance the natural and human environment.

• Improve the delivery and quality of our transportation programs and products.

• Develop, transfer, and implement technology through alliances with our partners and the international community.

• Improve surface transportation safety through a coordinated effort to reduce fatalities, injuries, property damage, and hazardous materials incidents.

• Delivery of the Federal-aid Highway Program Investment in Transportation Infrastructure

  We carry out the legislative requirements of financial assistance programs aimed at improving the highway and related transportation facilities of the Nation. We administer these programs through a set of flexible regulations, policies, and guidelines to ensure that Federal funds are being used efficiently and to achieve the safety, economic development, and other goals of the Federal-aid Highway Program. In providing these Federal funds, we apply the most flexible and innovative financing techniques permissible under the law, and the most efficient administrative processes such as electronic signature.

• Advancement of State of the Art Quality in Transportation Systems

  We work cooperatively with our government, industry, and research community partners to develop, test, and implement the latest proven technological advancements in transportation system, including the Intelligent Transportation System. We promote and maintain a high level of engineering excellence in the delivery of transportation products. We deliver technical training and assistance to State and local transportation agency managers and staff. We foster nationwide uniformity of standards for signs, signals, designs, and safety features on major highway systems.

• Protection and Enhancement of Safety and the Environment

  We promote the use of the best available safety practices and technologies in all phases of highway design and operations. We work cooperatively with our partners to ensure that transportation system plans and improvements take full account of the impacts on the human and natural environment, and that the associated decision processes include the full and open participation of the public. We ensure that all persons and businesses affected by those decisions are treated equitably and in accordance with the law.

OUR PARTNERS

• We promise to inform you of all major changes in policies and regulations in a clear and timely manner. Except in unusual circumstances, you will have at least 60 days in which to offer your views on all proposed changes, and your views will be appropriately considered. The regulations will be clear, realistic, and impose only the minimum necessary requirements.
• We promise all of our partners and customers with whom we have a financial relationship that we will make timely and accurate payment of all funds due to you. For those State partners who use electronic signature, we will make reimbursement payment to you on the same day that you request it.
• We will provide you, either directly or through other sources, the best available training, technical assistance, and access to state-of-the-art transportation technology that will meet your needs.
• We promise an open and cooperative approach to considering and deciding on changes which may affect practices, materials or other aspects of transportation improvement activities.
• We promise integrity in our business processes, openness to innovation, and objectivity in our evaluations.

THE MOTORING AND GENERAL PUBLIC

• We promise that all persons and businesses affected by federally aided transportation improvements will have an opportunity to present their views during the decisionmaking process, and that they will receive all services and benefits to which they are entitled under the law.
• We promise you that all federally aided transportation improvements will be undertaken with the aim of minimizing delay and maximizing safety in and around construction activities.
• We promise you that we will work with our partners to address identified safety problems in a timely and prioritized manner.
• We promise to work closely with our partners to enhance the condition and performance of our Nation's major roads and bridges.
• We promise you that we will work with our partners to ensure quality and appropriate uniformity in signs, signals, and design standards on the Nation's major highways.
• We promise you that all federally aided transportation improvements will take full account of impacts on the human and social environment and on historical sites. We promise to minimize those impacts to the fullest reasonable extent, and to enhance the environment whenever possible.
• We promise all of our partners and customers that we will provide timely and accurate information whenever you request it. You will receive the requested information, or a specific commitment for future delivery, within 10 days of our receipt of your request.