View the August 17 seminar recording.
"National Multimodal Freight Network" by Ryan Endorf (41 KB)
Nicole Coene
Good afternoon or good morning to those of you in the West. Welcome to the Talking Freight Seminar Series. My name is Nicole Coene and I will moderate today's seminar. Today's topic is: National Multimodal Freight Network.
Before I go any further, I want mention that we have been experiencing connectivity issues with Adobe Connect. DOT is working to resolve this issue; however, a permanent fix is not yet in place. If you begin to experience poor audio quality while listening to this webinar via your computer please private message me in the chat pod. Currently the most consistent sound is via the teleconference line.
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Today we'll have one presentation, given by:
Ryan Endorf has been with USDOT for 3 years working as an economist under the Under Secretary for Transportation for Policy. His responsibilities include helping to implement the freight provisions of the FAST Act (and previously MAP-21 too), as well as maritime policy, Department rulemakings, Buy America, and USDOT's discretionary grant programs.
Today's seminar will last 90 minutes, with 60 minutes allocated for the speakers, and the final 30 minutes for audience Question and Answer. If during the presentations you think of a question, you can type it into the chat area. Please make sure you send your question to "Everyone" and indicate which presenter your question is for. Presenters will be unable to answer your questions during their presentations, but I will start off the question and answer session with the questions typed into the chat box. If time allows, we will open up the phone lines for questions as well. If we run out of time and are unable to address all questions we will attempt to get written responses from the presenters to the unanswered questions.
The PowerPoint presentations used during the seminar are available for download from the file download box in the lower right corner of your screen. The presentations will also be available online within the next few weeks, along with a recording and a transcript. I will notify all attendees once these materials are posted online.
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I'm now going to turn it over to Ryan Endorf of the Office of Transportation Policy, U.S. Office of the Secretary to get us started.
Ryan Endorf
Thank you, Nicole. I want to thank everyone for joining today to talk about the National Multimodal Freight Network. As a department we really appreciate all the time and effort that you and your organizations spend looking at these freight topics and we look forward to your continued help as we continue to implement the FAST Act provisions specifically relating to freight. I want to apologize at the outset, for an error in the Federal Register notice. The statutory due date of the final National Multimodal Freight Network is December 4, 2016. It is one year after the enactment of FAST Act. So it is December 2016, not 2017. I apologize for that error. I wanted to clarify that because I think it's something that we've been hearing about that has been causing confusion.
Moving to the first slide, the National Multimodal Freight Network was established by the FAST Act under 49 U.S.C. 70103. There are four purposes identified in the statue. One: to assist states in strategically directing resources toward improved system performance for the efficient movement of freight on the Network. Two: to inform freight transportation planning. Three: to assist in the prioritization of Federal investment. And four: to assess and support Federal investments to achieve the national highway freight policy goals described in 49 U.S.C 70101(b) and the National Highway Freight Program goals described in 23 U.S.C 167.
As required by the FAST Act, we were required to designate an Interim National Multimodal Freight Network within six months of the enactment of the FAST Act. We established this network on May 27, 2016. From the link in the slide you can go to the Department's website which contains all the information on the Interim National Multimodal Freight Network. It also includes the notice and links to an interactive map as well as tables of data that can be downloaded as shape-files and physical maps both at the national and state level. The link is: https://www.transportation.gov/freight/InterimNMFN. The Interim National Multimodal Freight Network was very specific in terms of what it includes. It consists of the following network elements:
With the exception of the last bullet there, the other bullets were classified exactly by Congress and we followed that faithfully. The final bullet gives you an example of some of the strategic trade assets that we included in the Interim National Multimodal Freight Network. We included any rail connections to ports that were on the Interim National Multimodal Freight Network. We included rail routes on the US Department of Defense's Strategic Rail Corridor Network. We added about 9,100 miles of Class II and Class III railroads. We included three strategic ports that have been designated by the US Department of Defense as strategic ports as of April 1, 2016. We included six additional airports.
So one area that I think that has created some confusion is with respect to the National Highway Freight Network (NHFN). As I mentioned on the last slide, the Interim National Multimodal Freight Network, the highway network of that is the National Highway Freight Network. The National Highway Freight Network is separately defined in 23 U.S.C. 167 and includes a 41,518 mile Primary Highway Freight System (PHFS) that has been designated by the Federal Highway Administration last fall. It includes other portions of the interstate system that are not included in that 41,518 mile map. It also includes Critical Rural and Critical Urban Freight Corridors that will be identified on a rolling basis by the states for the rural and in consultation with the States and MPOs or vice versa for the urban. The National Highway Freight Network under Title 23 is separate and we want to emphasize that. The main difference, if you're looking at it in terms of funding, funding is tied to the National Highway Freight Network under Title 23. The National Multimodal Freight Network is not directly tied to any funding. If you're interested in FASTLANE, and eligibilities for FASTLANE or the National Highway Freight Program formula funding, it is the National Highway Freight Network under Title 23 that matters. In terms of if you're going to designate, if you were to submit a comment to the docket for the National Multimodal Freight Network, specifically for the highway network, submitting to that docket does not necessarily go back and update the National Highway Freight Network under Title 23. You will need to separately submit to FHWA particularly the Division offices, any designations for your Critical Rural Freight Corridors under the NHFN for Title 23.
I anticipate that there will be a number of questions on this. I have members of the Federal Highway Administration that are part of this presentation and we will be happy to take any questions on that during the Q&A session.
Going forward, the Final National Multimodal Freight Network is due statutorily by December 4, 2016. It is our target to try and meet that deadline. There are several considerations as the Under Secretary goes about designating this. First, we are to use to the extent practicable, measurable data to assess the significance of goods movement. We are also required to consider the factors described in 49 U.S.C 70103(c)(2). There are twelve factors there that we are required to consider as well as any changes in the economy that affect freight transportation demand. And finally we are required to provide the states with an opportunity to submit proposed designations as well as other stakeholder opportunities. Finally, after we designate in December of this year, we are to redesignate the network not later than five years after the initial designation. We are not certain when we would redesignate at this point, but it will be sooner than December 4, 2021 or no later than December 4, 2021. But if you want to comment on what our timeline should be, we would certainly accept any comments on the docket as well.
Finally, I just quickly wanted to talk about how this network interacts with some of the other FAST Act Freight Provisions. First, the National Freight Strategic Plan. As many of you are aware, the Department released the Draft National Freight Strategic Plan in October of 2015. The comment period closed at the end of April of this year. We are currently looking over those comments and working to update the National Freight Strategic Plan in light of those comments. The interaction between the National Multimodal Freight Network and the National Freight Strategic Plan, the National Freight Strategic Plan context or language contains the conditions of performance, an identification of bottlenecks on the freight network, and finally best practices for improving performance of the National Multimodal Freight Network. These two provisions are linked. The National Freight Strategic Plan is supposed to report out on some aspects of the National Multimodal Freight Network. I just wanted to reiterate that.
Second on the list are State Freight Plans and State Freight Advisory Committees. As many of you are aware under the National Highway Freight Program, State Freight Plans will be required in order to obligate freight formula funding under the National Highway Freight Program after December 4, 2017. Every state will be required to have a FAST Act compliant State Freight Plan by December 4, 2017.
We think that the National Multimodal Freight Network can help states work on their State Freight Plans in terms of identifying freight corridors with national and regional importance. I think that the designation of the National Multimodal Freight Network will be useful to states as they work on their State Freight Plans. And then finally the National Highway Freight Program, I touched on this earlier. The National Highway Freight Program is related to all the efforts we are doing in terms of multimodal freight policy and of course there is a highway component to the National Multimodal Freight Network.
Here's my last slide. Next steps. The comment period for the National Multimodal Freight Network ends on September 6, 2016. The docket is located on regulations.gov. The second bullet here (https://www.transportation.gov/freight/InterimNMFN) is the website that houses all of the Departments information and documents related to the Interim National Multimodal Freight Network. If you're developing comments, the Final National Multimodal Freight Network is due by December 4, 2016 and that is required by statute. Certainly we at the Department are always happy to take calls and questions. I put my email address here so please feel free to reach out (ryan.endorf@dot.gov) and I will be sure to follow up. Other than that I will be happy to take any questions.
Nicole Coene
We have a few questions in the chat pod. We will also open up the phone lines. If you would like to ask a question over the phone, to be placed in the queue, press * 1. That will place you in the queue. The operator will open your phone line when we are ready to take your question.
The first question is: how do you plan to do the rolling basis? How will it ensure that the most critical corridors will be chosen?
Chandra Bondzie
This is Chandra Bondzie. I am with the Federal Highway Office of Freight Management and Operations. How do you plan to do the rolling basis? The rolling basis of submissions is for the critical urban and critical rural corridors of the National Highway Freight Network, and that portion will be up to the states. That rolling basis is partly to accommodate the coordination that needs to take place with the MPOs in the urban areas regarding the urban designations. Additionally, that rolling basis can be accomplished in the next several months or over time, they can also change. I believe the HOFM office is also working with specific steps on that. The format for submission is currently laid out in the Section 1116 National Highway Freight Program guidance designating and certifying critical rural and critical urban freight corridors. It also comes with a Q&A that details of how the designations should take place, as well as the submission process for the Division office for the state, and the approval process following that as well as the documentation that should be submitted with the certification of the critical rural urban freight facilities. I can leave that link as well.
Nicole Coene
We can put the link in the chat pod (http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/fastact/crfc/sec_1116_gdnce.htm). Thank you very much.
I'm going to jump down to a question from Sandra; you'd like to get a copy of the PowerPoint presentation. It is available for download in the file share box which is in the lower right corner of your screen.
Our next question, is there a definition for "corridor"? Does it include parallel facilities either of the same mode or multi-modal options? The follow-up with that is do you see any value in suggesting new highway/ road corridors or route segments as comments to the NMFN?
Ryan Endorf
This is Ryan. I don't think we defined corridor in the Federal Registry notice. Certainly we will take any comments on it. I think the example you give here about the parallel facilities certainly could be within the definition of a corridor. We certainly will take comments on that. Your second question about the value in suggesting new highway road corridors, I would say we are happy to take any comments suggesting any road segments or rail segments or any segments or facilities you feel ought to be on the map. I think that when submitting any proposed designations it will be most helpful for us if you can connect it to one or more of the twelve factors listed in 49 U.S.C 70103(c)(2). Where possible, if you have data to back that up to show that. I think that will be most helpful for us in terms of evaluating how the segment impacts the National Multimodal Freight Network.
Nicole Coene
Next question: how is NHS new facilities designation related to this effort?
Ryan Endorf
I would say that, and I will look to Chandra for some help on this as well. I would say the NHS new facilities designation is a separate process. I think that could be related. Chandra you want to jump in?
Chandra Bondzie
I'm not sure to which network. I will address the previous question being asked. The National Multimodal Freight Network, specifically has some deadlines regarding new NHS and/or unbuilt land facilities and explicitly details that the intention, not as an individual organization but at the state, to submit a new NHS facility for consideration to the National Multimodal Freight Network is to have your designation in by the September 6, 2016 deadline with the intention that it will be completely designated by December 4, 2016. Of course as individual or an organization, you may submit any facilities for consideration that are not on the NHS or otherwise.
Nicole Coene
Thank you, Chandra. Will there be any consideration or evaluation of freight volume that moves on parallel facilities, road/rail, within a corridor to see a true picture of freight volumes?
Ryan Endorf
I would say yes and that information would be very useful to submit with a proposed designation to give us idea of why that designation is important to the movement of freight in this country. I think volume at least and the factors described in the statute are broad and are not necessarily specific to one route but to include surrounding routes in the nearby area.
Nicole Coene
Chandra, I have another question for you. What is the CUFC/CRFC "rolling" designation? Is it an annual rolling basis, every 5 years, etc.?
Chandra Bondzie
That is going to be on the "or something else." On those CUFC/CRFC the rolling deadline as stated in the law does not come with a specific timeline as annual or every 5 years. So for now a rolling basis is truly on the rolling cycle, it means different things; some states may like to renew on an annual basis but for others it may mean less or more frequently. Again, we will post the link after. Nicole, please put that in the chat for everyone.
Nicole Coene
I put that in the chat for everyone so people can now access it there.
Is there a mileage cap on the NMFN as it was on the PFN?
Ryan Endorf
That's a great question. It does not list out a mileage cap for the network. There is a cap in terms of what states can impose as additional designation. In terms of what the Department comes up with as a map we are not limited to a 27,000 mile map or anything like that.
Nicole Coene
Since the NMFN designations are not tied to funding can you explain again why the designation matters?
Ryan Endorf
Sure. Congress gives us four purposes. And even though there is not necessarily any specific funding tied to it, a map can help inform both federal and state investments going forward. It is certainly a planning tool going forward and we don't presume to know how Congress will use that going forward. Right now while there isn't specific funding tied to it, it is certain in the future there could be, so right now we're trying to show where freight is moving in the country.
Nicole Coene
Washington State and Seattle's MPO will be certifying all of our eligible critical urban and rural freight corridor mileage onto the National Highway Freight Network this month. Can we assumed these corridors also be included as part of the NMFN by December?
Ryan Endorf
I would encourage you to submit that as a comment to this docket just to be sure. Make sure that it is there on the docket as a comment specifying which critical urban and rural freight corridor mileage you have designated to FHWA.
Nicole Coene
Will requested additions to the NMFN be considered CUFC/CRFC to the NHFN as the guidance on CUFC/CRFC has already been provided? Or is it a separate designation process?
Ryan Endorf
I would say it's a separate designation process. If you submit in addition to the National Multimodal Freight Network, you would need to submit separately to your FHWA Division office for your CUFC/CRFC for designation on the National Highway Freight Network.
Nicole Coene
There are discrepancies between the Federal Register notices that NMFN and state PDF maps and NMFN state PDF tables. For instance, rail connectors are displayed on the map but not mentioned at all in the Federal Register notice or listed in the table. Can you please explain?
Ryan Endorf
We apologize for the discrepancy and we will make sure to try to correct that in the final Federal Register notice and the final documents that we will release.
Nicole Coene
Ryan, Diane Lackey would like to know if you could restate your comment related to slide number four. If a state believes that the Interim NMFN Primary Highway Freight System listing has gaps, is it possible that the National Highway Freight Network map would be updated?
Ryan Endorf
The National Highway Freight Network is specifically defined in Title 23. The 41,518 mile network is not due to be changed for I believe five years and the other portions of the interstate system go along with that. The area where the National Highway Freight Network under Title 23 can be updated on a rolling basis as Chandra has explained is through the designation of critical and rural urban freight corridors. If there are gaps that the state or MPO has identified, that would be the way to update the National Highway Freight Network. With respect to the NMFN certainly if you feel that there are gaps we strongly encourage you to submit a comment and that can be addressed as we designate the final NMFN.
Nicole Coene
Please confirm for the benefit for all viewers that CUFC and CRFC are NOT related to the September 6, 2016 deadline (which is for NMFN).
Ryan Endorf
That is correct. The CUFC and CRFC can be designated on a rolling basis and do not have to be done by September 6, 2016. The September 6 deadline is only for that comment period on the National Multimodal Freight Network.
Nicole Coene
If you're not limited to a mileage cap, what is the difference between "establishment" and "designation?"
Ryan Endorf
The statute language says established probably because we haven't statutorily done one before. For the final network we are designating based off that initial establishment. That is how I interpret that.
Nicole Coene
Are there any limitations or restrictions regarding the data sources that DOT would consider for inclusion in the NMFN? For example the data sources currently used for air cargo are DOTs, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, and the FAA's Air Carrier Activity Information System (ACAIS). Does the data source need to be a government source, or could it be from an organization such as the Airports Council International - North America (ACI-NA)?
Ryan Endorf
We are willing to consider data sources or non-government sources as well. It's important that the data source you use is clear and cited if possible or where you can find more information. We certainly wouldn't rule out data from additional non-government sources.
Nicole Coene
Are there any criteria to drop out some of the highway segments from the Draft NMFN?
Ryan Endorf
For the final network we are simply required to consider the factors. If you think that there are segments on the National Multimodal Freight Network or facilities that don't meet the factors relative to what else is on the map, you're certainly able to comment on that. We would appreciate any feedback.
Nicole Coene
On the website you have provided to download spatial data for the NMFN, you have a shape- file for rail connectors. What is the source of this information? There is only one point in the state of Washington and it appears to be in the middle of downtown Seattle which doesn't actually correspond to any form of rail connection. What is the intent of including this data and what role do designated rail connectors play in the designated NMFN? Please explain.
Ryan Endorf
I'm not sure if Stephanie Lawrence from FRA is on the call and maybe wants to chime in. But I would say that the rail connector is an area that the Department in doing Interim work is in the middle of development and is working on developing further as we make the final network. To the extent you have comments, that is a comment we would like to have submitted to the docket and we can follow it up further as well.
Stephanie Lawrence
FRA uses data on the freight flows to improve traffic connections. It may not necessarily line up exactly. Some of the information is proprietary and comes from areas where there may be some difficulties in terms of getting the exact coordinates for location. That may be part of the issue but we will look into that and touch base and follow-up as well.
Nicole Coene
If a state is above the two percent threshold can a state or MPO make a CRFC or CUFC designation that is on the rest of the interstate, not on the PFN? Chandra would you like to answer that?
Chandra Bondzie
Yes, on the rest of the interstate designation it is already included automatically as part of the National Highway Freight Network. So you probably could use your critical rural or critical urban to designate some of that but it wouldn't be necessary to include it as part of the National Highway Freight Network which consists of four pieces. The first piece is the designated Primary Highway Freight System of the 41,518 miles. That designation means that it cannot be adjusted. That is only one quarter of the National Highway Freight Network in terms of its four parts? The second part is all other non- PHFS interstate and the critical urban and critical rural so all four pieces work together to make the National Highway Freight Network.
Nicole Coene
Eric followed up with a comment: yes included but not fundable for states over 2%.
Chandra Bondzie
I will have to check more directly into that. In terms of the two percent pertaining to the rest of the interstate, I believe the rest of interstate as a category wasn't something that was capped but rather the critical urban, critical rural portion. I will get back with you.
Nicole Coene
The guidance for the Interim NMFN says that the NHFN is a part of the Interim NMFN. How is it possible then to adjust the NMFN inside the Interim NMFN and not adjust the total in the NMHN?
Ryan Endorf
The National Multimodal Freight Network is very specific in terms of what we are to include. The statutory language in the Final did not appear to specifically tell us what each network is or what criteria we should use to establish that network. It's based on factors as well as public comment that we will receive. It's our understanding that the National Multimodal Freight Network can change relative to the Interim network and that could mean that the highway network could be larger or smaller depending on the comments we receive. So again, I realize this is a confusing topic and I apologize for that. The Interim National Multimodal Freight Network is separate from the National Highway Freight Network. One is in Title 23 and one is in Title 49.
Nicole Coene
Will rail connectors be part of the Final NMFN? They were part of the MAP-21 NMFN, and they appear on the Interim NMFN maps, but they are not mentioned in the Federal Register notice.
Ryan Endorf
It is our intent to include them on the Final National Multimodal Freight Network. I apologize for the lack of mention in the Federal Register. We will make sure to address that in the Final.
Nicole Coene
Can states propose additional designations more than 20 percent of the total mileage? The federal register also seeks inputs on both the size and composition of the highway portion of the NMFN. 20% additional designation plus the NHFN is insufficient to cover all the critical highway freight corridors in Washington State.
Ryan Endorf
I do want to clarify that the Department was not the reason why there is a twenty percent cap. That is in the statute, in 70103. If the state wants to propose more, we are happy to accept any comments that we receive and the substance of those comments it's up to those commenting. If you want to propose more I don't see why we would say no. I am not sure how we would deal with the state with more than 20 percent as their cap, but that we can follow up with you separately.
Nicole Coene
States and MPOs are allowed to designate the corridors on a rolling basis. As these corridors are defined by states/MPOs and eligible projects are posted to a freight plan and STIP, when would a corridor "roll off" so that another corridor could be identified and stay within the states corridor caps? As funds are OBLIGATED or as funds are EXPENDED? In other words, does an eligible corridor project need to be completed before it rolls off and another corridor identified?
Chandra Bondzie
On that question, I think that the interpretation "on the rolling basis" is that it will be up to the states and the Division offices to define their own process as to when they would roll things on or off. Expected guidance will be in the future on specifically how that process would work. But as of right now there is no timeline specifically laid out in the law so that would be something that the state could work internally on and submit that to their Federal Highway Division office for consideration.
Nicole Coene
Thank you, Chandra. How are water ports or airports located in the same metropolitan area that do not meet the tonnage or size rank threshold for inclusion in the NMFN but combined would meet the threshold handled?
Ryan Endorf
For the water ports I believe it's based for the Interim network. It's based on the foreign and domestic trade as identified by the Waterborne Commerce Statistics Center. It may be that they may include some smaller port terminals that maybe aren't part of the larger port. I believe that was true in the Port of New York and New Jersey. With the airport I believe it's based on the specific airport. In Interim you may have little airports in the same area. It would be whichever one; smaller ones that maybe would meet the threshold would be included. We are happy to take comments on that. What's important is to make sure there's no double counting. That is the most important.
Nicole Coene
I would like to remind everyone that we do have phone lines available for asking questions. If you would like to ask a question or have a comment, please press*1 on your phone's keypad.
Can you describe whether/how the NMFN designation process dovetails with the process to designate Alternative Fuel Corridors under FAST Act Section 1413? In at least some areas, the pending 1413 nominations seem to be heavily passenger- focused rather than inclusive of freight, and the initial emphasis on multimodal has evolved to focus almost completely on highway. It would be great to identify important intermodal freight locations/facilities as priorities for CNG fueling or electric shorepower for refrigerated containers, etc.
Ryan Endorf
Thank you for that. We will definitely reach out to them and make sure that we at the Department level are coordinating that designation as well. We appreciate the feedback.
Nicole Coene
Was consideration given to including the designated NHS Intermodal Connectors for freight?
Ryan Endorf
I believe they were included as part of the National Highway Freight Network and are on the Interim network already.
Chandra Bondzie
This is Chandra. That is correct.
Nicole Coene
We don't have any questions right now but I do see attendees typing in the chat. If you would like to ask a question over the phone please press*1. We have over a half-hour.
We are establishing multi-modal freight transfer terminals (transloads and warehouses) to link off-rail industries to rail transportation. Will they be considered part of the network if since they are rail-served?
Ryan Endorf
Yes. We certainly would appreciate any comments describing those terminals or facilities. We would be happy to consider those comments if submitted into the docket.
Nicole Coene
For CRFC/CUFC designation, a highway that passes through an urbanized area (urban) greater than 500,000 in population and non-urbanized area (rural), to designate the entire route to the CRFC/CUFC should the route be proposed by both the State and the MPO?
Chandra Bondzie
This is Chandra with Federal Highways. The law states that if it's an MPO area over 500,000, then the lead on the coordination should be the MPO. However there still should be coordination between the MPO and the state in order for the application for designation to be submitted and verified by the Federal Highway's Division office. So in areas that are rural areas, the state will take the lead but coordination should still take place between the two, regardless of the urban size.
Nicole Coene
Why were other types of ports, such as inland ports/dry ports (an inland extension of a seaport), not included in the port selection criteria?
Ryan Endorf
For the Interim network we were restricted to including public ports of the United States with the total foreign and domestic trade of 2 million short tons or more. Inland ports may be underrepresented with the Interim network just by not meeting that criteria. For the Final network we are taking any comments as to what criteria we should use in terms of identifying the ports on the network and certainly comments mentioning what criteria should be used for inland ports or ports on the waterway network. It certainly would be welcomed.
Nicole Coene
The statement that a state can propose in comments to add routes of length more than 20 percent more than the established interim NMFN is welcome and important; such comments to the docket by states may well also include explanation as to how proposing such mileage is consistent with the statute. I believe that is just a statement.
Could you elaborate on the standards and performance criteria on which Class II and Class III rail segments were evaluated for inclusion in the NMFN? Also rail connection to ports, does that include inland ports or just seaports?
Ryan Endorf
I believe the rail connections to ports is primarily seaports. As for the Class II and Class III rail segments that were evaluated for inclusion, FRA uses the Waybill sample and that sample is used to identify the 9,100 miles of Class II and Class III rail routes that carry a significant percentage of freight. That was the methodology they used. Certainly they would be happy to take any comments as far as the methodology for the Final network in terms of identifying the appropriate mileage of Class II and Class III rail lines to include as well as the Class I rail lines.
Nicole Coene
Those are all the questions we have right now. We can pause for a few moments to give everyone a chance to type in or to go ahead and push * 1 on your telephone key pad.
For the CRFC/CUFC is there a limit on the mileage for designating last mile connectors?
Ryan Endorf
I believe that in the National Highway Freight Network there is a limit on the mileage for the number of critical rural freight corridors and the number of miles for critical urban freight corridors that a state can designate. I believe it is 75 for the urban freight corridors and 150 for the rural freight corridors.
Chandra Bondzie
Hello this is Chandra. It looks like the critical rural freight corridor designation is limited to a maximum of 150 miles of highway or 20 percent of the Primary Highway Freight System mileage in the state, whichever is greater. The critical urban freight corridor is limited to a maximum of 75 miles or 10 percent of the Primary Highway Freight System miles in the state, whichever is greater. Those particular mileage figures for each state have been broken down in the link that Nicole provided in the Q&A.
Nicole Coene
Can we submit the comment to add those removed segments from the draft NMFN?
Ryan Endorf
We are happy to take any comments as far as adding or deleting specific routes or segments from the Final NMFN.
Nicole Coene
Does the NMFN statewide cap of 20% apply only to highways or does it also include a separate a 20% for rail...waterways...etc.?
Ryan Endorf
There is not a separate 20% for each system. I think this might be a follow-up question, how do ports or airports fit in to the 20 percent mileage cap? What I would say is that they are facilities so they don't necessarily count against mileage per se but certainly they need to have connections to the highway or rail networks. They would count against the cap in terms of how many miles those connecting segments, either in highway or rail the network would also add to the network. That's how I would envision how they might deal that 20 percent cap.
Nicole Coene
There are critical infrastructure segments/industries identified by the DHS. These may or may not meet the performance metrics of the NMFN (thinking Class II and Class III railroads here). Have they been considered for inclusion?
Ryan Endorf
For the Class II and Class III railroads, we certainly considered anything the Department of Defense has considered a strategic rail corridor. We were not necessarily aware of the DHS's critical infrastructure assessments or industries. But we certainly appreciate any comments on that.
Nicole Coene
We will pause for a moment to wait on any more questions coming in.
Based upon research I have done on the Water Port designation by volumes of 2 million, the port designations are done based upon the whole Harbor, not specific public or private port facilities, but both added together.
Ryan Endorf
For the threshold it is somewhat based on what was provided in the language which is the threshold of 2 million short tons. So the data that was used is publicly available data. We did not want to publish anything that would violate any kind of confidentiality rules or regulations. It is basically based on the publicly available.
Nicole Coene
So in follow up to Michael Rimer's question, does the Interim NMFN as currently proposed allow for limitless additional designation by states for rail connections not already included (such as shortline), or does it prohibit state's from submitting these?
Ryan Endorf
For the additional rail connections I think, I would say there is a cap in terms of the total mileage you can include at least under the statute. But certainly the Department will take any comments we receive. So I would say that a state is certainly not prohibited from submitting any rail connections that they think are appropriate to inclusion to the NMFN. I would emphasize that to the extent that you can connect those proposed designations to one of the 12 factors listed in the statute and possibly also include data supporting freight volumes or supporting why it connects with one of those factors it would be most useful for us.
Nicole Coene
Have border crossing "ports of entry" been taking into consideration?
Ryan Endorf
We have considered those. I would say for the Interim that they are a bit of a work in progress. We are committed to improving that for the Final network.
Nicole Coene
Again, we will pause to give people a chance to type in any questions. We have one hour left on our time.
The next Talking Freight seminar will be held on September 21, 2016. The topic is tentatively scheduled as "Freight Vehicles and Intersection and Interchange Geometrics." Registration is not yet available but I will send out a notice once registration is open.
Please elaborate on the 20% cap for adding network additions: 20% of highway miles? 20% of rail miles? 20% of combined rail and highway miles?
Ryan Endorf
It is combined across all designations. It is not separate by highway, rail or airport.
Nicole Coene
Would it be ok to comment suggesting including the whole 227,000 miles of National Highway System to the NMFN?
Ryan Endorf
We are happy to accept any comments that you may have.
Nicole Coene
We have a couple people typing so we will hold and see what questions they have.
Will the final freight performance measures data/targets (proposed under Federal Registration Docket FHWA-2016-0010) be tied to the NMFN or the NHFN?
Ryan Endorf
Which rulemaking is that for the performance measures? I can say is that the comment period for that is still underway. I believe that we certainly haven't come up with what the final rulemaking will look like. I believe it would be tied specifically to the NHS interstate system. It will not be tied to the National Multimodal Freight Network. I believe it is tied specifically to NHS. That comment period is ongoing and we appreciate any comments received.
Nicole Coene
Will there be a transcript available? Yes, there will be a transcript available in the next upcoming weeks on the Talking Freight website. In addition, will there be a recording of the webinar for everyone who is registered.
The FASTLANE program uses the NHS as eligibility criteria. Since the NHS is a large, connected network, and because the interim NMFN includes NHS intermodal connectors already, couldn't the NMFN include the entire NHS as the highway component?
Ryan Endorf
That is a comment we would be happy to take. I can't say how we come down on that exactly, but right now we are committed to taking any comments on the appropriate size of the highway network.
Nicole Coene
That is all of the questions that we have in the chat. We will give it one more minute.
I think we will go ahead and close out. The recorded version of this event will be available within the next few weeks on the Talking Freight website. The next seminar will be held on September 21, 2016 and the topic is tentatively scheduled as "Freight Vehicles and Intersection and Interchange Geometrics". Thank you Ryan for presenting and thank you Chandra for being available to answer questions. Registration is not yet available but I will send a notice out through the Freight Planning LISTSERV announcing when registration is open. I encourage you to join the Freight Planning LISTSERV if you have not already done so. Please enjoy the rest of your day.
