Skip to contentUnited States Department of Transportation - Federal Highway AdministrationSearch FHWAFeedback

Construction

Request

Action: Notice, request for comments.

Web posting date: 05/25/2010

Federal Register Notice of Finding Publication Date: 07/02/10

Effective Date of Federal Register: 07/06/10

Close of public comment period: 07/21/10

Summary: The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is seeking comments on whether a waiver of the Buy America requirements of 23 CFR 635.410 should be granted to permit the use of non-domestic Fall arrest system that is OSHA & ANSI compliant standards in 29 CFR 1926 subpart M; Arresting force 1,800lb, withstand impact energy of free fall distance of 6ft, Maximum deceleration distance 3 1/2 ft. in the state of New Jersey.

FHWA will only consider a Buy America waiver when the conditions of 23 CFR 635.410( c) have been met: (1) when the application of the provision would be inconsistent with the public interest; or (2) when steel and iron products are not produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities, which are of a satisfactory quality.

The FHWA will consider all comments received in the initial 15-day comment period during our evaluation of the waiver request. Comments received after this period, but before notice of our finding is published in the Federal Register, will be considered to the extent practical. Follow-up coordination on the comments received may result in a delay in the publication of our waiver finding in the Federal Register. Comments received during the 15-day comment period after notice of our finding is published in the Federal Register will be reviewed, but the finding will continue to remain valid. Comments received during the comment period after the effective date of the finding will be reviewed, and may influence the FHWA's decision to terminate or modify a finding.

NJDOT Contact: Eileen C. Sheehy 609-530-2307

Comments

John Papandrea 05/25/2010
I STRONGLY protest any waiver for fall arrest systems. I am a construction worker and I exercise my choice to BUY AMERICAN each and every time I purchase job materials personally & professionally. There is no reason whatsoever to further the bleeding of American jobs by waiving this provision.Each succesive waiver virtually assures that the product in question will forever cease to be made in USA. We must return to an economy that provides jobs at all levels for everyone seeking work. Our government must no longer be complicit in t

Jim Antenucci 05/26/2010
Miller Fall system/Sperian make prefectly good fall protections systems right here in the USA. To purchase equipment foreign made would injure the American workforce THAT in itself would be inconsistent with public interest.

mike schwartz 05/26/2010
There are many fall arrest systems made in the USA. If the domestic products are excluded because the specifications are written too norrowly, then the specifications should be changed.

Eileen Sheehy 05/26/2010
NJDOT is not installing a new fall protection system. The request for waiver is for the part to maintain and upgraded the current system which is a foreign source. We must use components compatible with the existing system which are only avaialbe from a foreign source.

Contact

Edwin Okonkwo
Office of Program Administration
202-366-1558
E-mail Edwin

 
 
PDF files can be viewed with the Acrobat® Reader®
Updated: 05/21/2013
 

FHWA
United States Department of Transportation - Federal Highway Administration