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"An Overview of the Draft Highway Primary Freight Network", by Ed Strocko and Coral Torres, FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations (1.3 MB)
Jennifer Symoun
Good afternoon or good morning to those of you to the West. Welcome to the Talking Freight Seminar Series. My name is Jennifer Symoun and I will moderate today's seminar. Today's topic is An Overview of the Draft Highway Primary Freight Network.
Before I go any further, I do want to let those of you who are calling into the teleconference for the audio know that you need to mute your computer speakers or else you will be hearing your audio over the computer as well.
Today we'll have two presenters, Ed Strocko and Coral Torres of the FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations.
Ed Strocko works in the Federal Highway Administration's Office of Freight Management and Operations where he is the Team Leader for Policy, Research and Analysis. Ed has served as FHWA's TIGER Program Coordinator and manages several large infrastructure programs including Projects of National and Regional Significance. Ed focuses on freight performance measures, urban freight issues, freight policy, economics and finance. He is the co-Chair of TRB's Freight Planning and Logistics Committee. Prior to joining FHWA, Ed was the manager of Multi-modal Studies for the Maryland Department of Transportation. Ed also worked as a land use and community planner for a number of jurisdictions.
Coral Torres is a Transportation Specialist with the FHWA Freight Management Office and manages several programs and projects such as the Peer to Peer Exchange program, the Off-Hour Delivery Study and the National Freight Network designation. Coral started her career working as highway designer and construction inspector for local and state agencies in Puerto Rico. She later became a Research and Teaching Assistant at the University of Puerto Rico and Rensselear Polytechnic Institute where she worked on several key projects such as the Off-Peak Freight Deliveries to New York City project and Sustainable Freight Logistics: Oakland, CA Case Study. She later became one of the co-founders of the sustainable logistics company Green Guidance. Her career with the federal government started as a PDP Highway Engineer at the FHWA GA Division Office. Ms. Torres also served as the Highway Performance Monitoring System, Size and Weight Program Manager and temporary Every Day Counts coordinator in the State of Pennsylvania where she assisted in the development of the State Transportation Innovation Council which FHWA has instituted as exemplary for other states.
Today's webinar will feature approximately 30 minutes of presentations discussing the draft highway Primary Freight Network, including overview of the Primary Freight Network guidelines and a discussion about the routes included in the Primary Freight Network designation. The remainder of the time will be for audience question and answer. 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. We will also take questions over the phone. 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.
One final note: Talking Freight seminars are eligible for 1.5 certification maintenance credits for AICP members. In order to obtain credit for today's seminar, you must have logged in with your first and last name or if you are attending with a group of people you must type your first and last name into the chat box. I have included more detailed instructions in the file share box on how to obtain your credits after the seminar. Today's webinar is not yet available on the AICP web site but I will send out a notice once it is.
For those of you who are not AICP members but would like to receive PDH credits for this webinar, please note that FHWA does not formally offer PDFs, however, it may be possible to receive PDHs for your participation in Talking Freight if you are able to self-certify. To possibly receive PDHs, please download the agenda from the file download box and submit this agenda to your respective licensing agency.
Finally, I encourage everyone to please also download the evaluation form from the file share box and submit this form to me after you have filled it out.
We'll now go ahead and get started. I will turn this over to Ed Strocko of FHWA.
Ed Strocko
Thank you Jennifer. Hello to everyone it is great to be here today, it has been a long time coming and we're excited to have a draft out. We can take a breather and let you guys do the hard work for a few weeks. There are a lot of issues as you will see that need to be addressed and answered. We need a lot of good robust comments from you, your hard work is just beginning.
We will talk differently than we normally do, we will have the presentation for about 30 minutes and spend the rest of the time answering questions and having discussion. I will start off and talk about some background and issues and then Coral will talk about the designation process, methodoology and data.
Let's get into it here. To get you oriented, the national freight network was created in the MAP-21. It is part of Title 23 section 167. The big thing from this slide, what MAP-21 says, it is in the second line, "strategically directing resources toward improved system performance"—that is the direction that we got from MAP-21. Let's go to the next slide and see what the national freight network is made up of.
A bunch of new terms—we talked about these earlier—there are three components we have in the national freight network we will talk about today, the primary freight network, critical rural freight corridors, and the remainder of the interstate system. The primary freight network has mileage caps and 27,000 miles limit on the roads. We have the critical rural freight corridors, those are designated by the State DOT. You will see the criteria that make them eligible. They have the third piece which is the remainder of the interstate, we do not know exactly where that will be. It will be between 17,000-47,000 if we designate those two extremes. If we designate the entire primary freight network as interstate it will be 17,000, if we designate none of them as interstate it would be 47,000 miles. In reality it will be in the middle as you will see the mix of interstate and non-interstate roads.
So turning to the primary freight network itself, some of the language that was in MAP-21 through the designation. The general language, on the second slide here, focuses on the NHS, aerotropolis, and the intermodal connectors. There are nine in here, one is a double with tonnage and value. We will count that as one, but there is actually two. You have the ports of entry, both land and maritime, energy areas - a bunch of different ones here and a lot of different factors to designate in the network.
I will throw up the critical rural freight corridors, there are three criteria is here that they can use in their designation. First is the rural principal arterials which deals with percent trucks, the second one is similar to the PFN which is energy areas and the third one which is analogous to the freight intermodal connectors on the NHS. We're looking at facilities to handle a certain amount of freight, 50,000 tons of bulk per year, either one or two with the percent of truck or energy areas. At the end we will talk more about the schedule for this, we need to finish up the PFN. We are working with a group of division offices to help us through the guidance that will go out in early 2014.
As we get into the discussion, some of the thinking we had to do over the last year deals with the national freight network and what it is. A couple of things here: we recognize that the United States freight system is complex, multimodal, you have to have rail, water and air working together. It will be important that they work together. There are viable options as we go forward, we will have more bulk goods and high velocity goods to move in the coming years.
With this said, this network—the primary freight network and the national freight network—is a highway-only piece. We are aware this is not the full system. It is a system that MAP-21 asked us to designate. There are other pieces to it.
Going back to what we first said about why we're doing this? The strategic direction of resources. That is basically the only direction there. The lack of how that would be applied raises a lot of questions. People have said, "We need to be on the primary freight network because that is the only way we can get funding." There is a funding program attached or eligible for the federal share under section 1116. This is no relationship to funding or any other program or no relationship to any of the national freight network right now.
What we are solving for is system efficiency. As we think through this, another question is what is this? Should it be a system that is the backbone or the core of the nation's freight system? High-volume corridors? Solve the biggest issues which may be urban goods movement and freight congestion? A lot of different questions out there. How you answer that impacts what kind of network you develop there.
Ultimately, the goal is to designate the highway primary freight network that will improve the system performance. It will have the links and hooks to the other modes through intermodal connector or filling in a gap. We want to make sure that as we talk about the complicated, complex multimodal system, this piece that we designate now links up to all of those other modes.
So we started to talk about this last time about future applications in the future role. Here is where the comments, your comments come into play. We need to hear from you in the formal comment period when you put in your comments to the docket, how to use the NFN. Is it part of the national strategic plan? North American quarter? Does it need to be connected or not connected? How do we use performance measures or measure performance on this? How should we do this? Is funding tied to it and should it be?
Some things to think about, the other thing we need to hear from you on, is how this fits into the larger multimodal system, the national freight system, rail and waterway, and that relationship. We do not have a good sense of that now.
As we go through, you will notice a lot of limitations. The first one we talked about before is that it is not multimodal. I do not think I need to dwell on this, but it is something to keep in mind. The second one is where you saw the 8-9 factors of designation. There are infinite numbers of possibilities of what the system can look like. We have done hundreds of runs of comparisons, a lot of different permutations. There is not a right answer.
The last thing is the 27,000 mile cap. This is not a magic number, not representative of a highway system that you may need to meet all of the logistic needs in the country. We have to think about that constraint. I have a series of maps I will walk you through to illustrate these points.
The first one is a 2008 freight story map, an updated version. Where do the 27,000 miles come from? It seems it was drawn from our 2008 freight story that had a major map of 27,500 miles, of that about 26,000 are highway and 1,500 were both rail and waterways.
We went back and redid this, same methodology basically, with updated numbers from 2011. On the highway-only portion, we had a threshold of 8500 trucks or parallel rail line to see if it was above or below. What used to be 26,000 miles was over 31,000 miles. We see a growth from 2007 which is the data that we used; that is the one factor, the volume.
When you throw in the other factors it becomes complicated. The next map, it has the truck tonnage. This shows us the top 27,000 miles of highway based on tonnage. We did one based on value as well. Somewhat of a different picture. Different routes.
We went and did another one based on truck trips from the AADTT. We got a different picture. Focus on the coast, where you have a lot of population. Another one is a mirror image; it is the percent AADTT. You do not have a lot of vehicles in the middle of the country that pop up here. These maps show different approaches if you use any one of the criteria, and a single sense.
If you start combining them, it gets very difficult. The other thing that we grappled with is the center line versus the corridor approach. In the map from 2008, the thinking behind that was there are some key trade lanes and they are represented by a number of facilities throughout the mode. That is different than saying centerline miles. When you start adding up the miles, they add up differently. If you think about the corridor from LA or Long Beach there are a bunch of different roads and rail lines. Or you think about the corridor between New York and Philadelphia, there are a number of options, I-95, the New Jersey Turnpike, a couple different rail lines—CSX, NS, and a bunch of others. If you pick out a specific facility, which one do you pick? If you look at it corridor, this has a number of transportation aspects in there that together make up important corridors.
The other thing with the corridor approach, it gets flexibility to the solutions. If it is an important trade lane, we may be focused on the route patterns shift or the reason for the route changes, and there may be a better route to focus on. Thinking about the corridor gives flexibility. We need to move from point A to B. We will not be confined to where it is; we know we need to make improvements.
As part of MAP-21 we want to talk about system performance. How will we improve the system? I have a road. To be focused on this road, I need to focus on system performance, in this case freight system performance. How do I make this best decision? The corridor approach gives the best efficiency and we think there is a lot of merit to that even though the law says we have to focus on centerline.
Another thing we grappled with is the limitations in the national data. The granularity that we need is not there. We use the best national data available. We think it is good at a national level, and at a regional level, but when you get down to the local level it cannot tell you necessarily if I should be looking at Elm or Main street. It does not have that type of visibility.
How do you deal with a local data sets? How do you have a level playing field and have granularity? If city A did a lot of extra work and data, they have the same type of trade activity, does that put city B at a disadvantage? They do not have the resources or have not collected the data to fully understand the freight system there.
Another and I think the last big area I want to touch on is urban freight routes. When you look at the freight network, we have the three components we talked about: primary, critical rural, and the remainder of the interstate system. If you're in a rural area you have three options, you may be part of the primary freight network, you may be the remainder of the interstate or may be a critical rural freight corridor. If you are urban you're on an interstate or the primary freight network. It seems there may be something missing?
Should there be something similar to critical urban freight routes in there? Something that kind of balances out, that may be important at the local level, that might not rise to the level of the primary freight network? Something worthwhile for a lot of folks to consider and give suggestions on the process and your thoughts on the urban issue. We hope we will get some good thoughts on that.
So I will quickly go through the five areas for comments in the federal register notice we put out yesterday. We hope you are able to take the time to think through all of these and put some good stuff in the docket for us.
The first one is straightforward: specific routes, deletions, additions or modifications. The one thing I would like to say goes back to some of the stories we have had, I've have calls and e-mails within the 24 hours the notice has been out. A lot of them have been saying, you missed my road I need this route on there. These look at the 41,000 mile comprehensive map. We already have people who feel we have missed stuff. You see how difficult getting to 27,000 miles is. Think about this. It would be helpful for us if you don't just say, please add this road, but give us the logic in justification so we can think through this. This is the rationale or data that is important. We would be happy to see deletions, we know we need to trim this down somehow.
The second one is the methodology. You will hear from Coral, we took some steps to get the 41,000 mile map and we trimmed it back to 27,000 miles. That is not the optimal or ideal map. We need to do thinking on this. We need help. What is the best methodology on this to achieve the 27,000 miles? When you start looking at the nation the number is small.
The last three we already discussed. How does this fit into the bigger picture, multimodal, national freight system? How should this be used? What's the purpose? What is the use in the future and the whole urban area route designation process we talked about?
I will stop and turn this over to Coral to talk about the process we have used in the actual designation itself.
Coral Torres
Through the next slide I will talk about the process and the data used for the designated highway primary freight network. This was informed by measurable and objective data. The Federal Highway Administration considered the following criteria. As you see on the slide, we have a list of the data that we used for development of the network .We started with origins and destinations of freight movement.
We use the freight analysis framework data. We use the latest version available, 3.4, which is by states and zones, we also used FAF 3.4 for freight tonnage and value in highways. We assign the values based on the traffic flows within the network. We also used data on the percentage of average daily truck traffic. When we started the process earlier this year, the latest version that we had available was the 2011 HPMS data.
We also used the HPMS 2011 for the percentage of the average daily truck traffic. For the ports of entry we used the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration (MARAD) Containers by U.S Customs Ports which identifies the top ports by TEUs and metric tonnage, and we use the US DOT Transborder data as well. We were able to identify the border crossings by number of trucks that cross per year.
We also used the US Army Corps data, which is the data for the facilities that are geo-referenced, and we were able to see the location of these facilities. For airports, we used the Federal Aviation Administration CT 2011 Cargo Airports by Landed Weight. With the FAA aeronautical information services airport database in the national transportation list database, we can geocode or geo-reference the facilities with the CT 2011 list that we have. We also had information about access to energy exploration, deployment, installation, and production areas. The US Energy Information Administration under the Department of Energy provided us with a series of maps for specific locations for energy production and installation and with maps of regions for energy exploration.
We also used Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration data. The next set of data that we utilized was the population centers. We used the latest census data which was 2010. This was a file that has all the information in terms of population and ties the information to all of the population centers in the US. For network connectivity, we used the FAF 3.4, and for intermodal connectors we used the FHWA national highway system intermodal connectors, which is again a GIS file with information of these connectors.
Finally for railroads, we used the Federal Railroad Administration analysis of Rail Inc Centralized Station Master data . All of this information has been posted on the PFN website, and it isalso available in the federal notice. You can see there is a table with all of the information that I just mentioned. You can locate the information—it is accessible to the public, most of the data that we used you can find on the web links provided. The exception is some of the BTS as well as some of the rail data which can be obtained by email request. All of the information is public as well..
So now let's talk a little bit about the draft initial highway primary freight network methodology developed by the US DOT for the development of the draft initial highway PFN. We took a lot of time to do research in terms of understanding what the data was telling us, and the trends we can see based on the different criteria that Congress provided to us.
Based on all the work we did and the different scenarios we developed, for example the maps based only on average annual truck traffic and percentage of trucks or maps of only tonnage and value, we came to the conclusion that the best option that we could develop for the methodology is to provide the most comprehensive network by using all of the criteria provided by Congress. The methodology I will talk about is the best fit for an optimal solution for this problem.
We obtained the top 20,000 miles of of road segments that qualify in two of the following four factors: value, tonnage, average daily truck traffic and percentage of truck traffic. The reason why we selected 20,000 miles instead of 27,000 miles is because as we did research, and tried to develop a map that complies with the statutory cap, we saw that the more criteria we added into the methodology, the more we went over the mileage cap. In order for us to include as much criteria as possible we had to reduce the scenarios to 20,000 miles.
Therefore the roads that you see on the map comply with 2 out of 4 of the criteria. If we use 3/4 or 4/4 we were just getting a very constrained amount of miles in the map. We do not think that this is the objective of what Congress is trying to refelct through this map. If we did 4 out of 4 we went over the statutory cap by a a lot of miles. We found the best solution at the time was to select links or roads that complied with 2/4 criteria that I just mentioned.
The second step is to do network connectivity by length of gaps and segments. Once we develop the network with the criteria I mentioned, we will still have some gaps in the map. We will not obtain a connected network that has continuity and logic. There will always be errors here and there with data that we need to fix in order to provide a feasible outcome.
We will able to get rid of the outliers by analyzing the length of the segments in comparison to the other segments surrounding the outliers. If a segment was too far away from what we call the trunk or the main system, we got rid of those segments as well. We used a rule that specifies that if a segment is about 400 miles away from that main system— or a one-day drive—it will be too cumbersome to connect to those segments and it will take too many miles in terms of connectivity.
The next step was to include land ports of entry with truck traffic higher than 75,000 trucks per year. We had gaps in the northern region and southern region of the country, specifically in the borders. We used the data from BTS to provide connectivity to key points of entry to the US for the movement of goods in and out of the country.
The fourth step was to incorporate intermodal connectors in regions with a population of 200,000 or more. We added information that we have from the Office of Planning to identify the connectivity issues that we had in urban areas by connecting to intermodal connectors which are the facilities that generate significant freight movement in these areas. The next step was to finally close all the gaps that we had in the map, and we created a rule in which we identified key segments or routes with a high levels of truck traffic or truck flows.
The rule specifies that any segments that have 8500 trucks per day, we could add to the network in order eliminate all of the gaps we had in the urban areas and other parts of the country as well.
In steps 1-5 we created what we call a comprehensive network. We did so in order to analyze and determine the relationship between population centers, origins anddestinations, ports, airports, rail yards and minor network connections. We could see the relationship with all of the other modes as well as populationcenters,.We were able to develop a comprehensive network that had a good coverage in terms of all of the criteria provided by Congress and major freight facilities.
The next step was to address the situation with the lack connectivity for Hawaii, Puerto Rico and Alaska. These scenarios are different from other states that are part of the mainland. Airports, water ports, and other freight facilities, are key for the movement of commodities into those territories and states. We included all of those roads connecting to key ports, airports, and key freight facilities.
We proceeded to do a similar analysis as step number 6. The majority of the facilities and the regions that have the highest concentration of energy exploration development, installation or production are in rural areas. Through the critical rural corridor designation that will occur in the next couple of months, we will be able to designate connectivity to the key facilities and regions for energy exploration installation and production.
So based on this methodology, we were able to develop a comprehensive map of 41,518 miles, 37,000 miles are interstate miles and about 4000 miles are non-interstate miles. The statute limits the highway primary freight network to 27,000 miles, and the US DOT identified the segments of the comprehensive network with the highest AADTT in order to comply with the statutory cap. The 41,000 network is a map that is a fully connected, comprehensive network that includes freight facilities, and has connectivity and logic behind it.
The 27,000 mile map is derived from this map. We identified the roads with high levels of truck traffic within the 41,000 network, and we were able to obtain a disconnect network that shows which segments of the network are critical in terms of the level of truck traffic and that comply with the criteria and methodology that I mentioned before.
Again the segments represented on the draft map comprise around 26,966 miles of roads, and we are close to the statutory cap. This mileage reflects consideration of the criteria by Congress.
On the next slide is the final product or the map for the highway PFN that we developed.. What we have is the 41,000 and the 27,000 network. The comprehensive network, of 41,000 miles is all of the links in orange and purple. The highway primary network of 27,000 miles is represented by the segments in purple. The entire comprehensive network is connected. When you look at the purple segments you will see segments here in there that are disconnected. You will see gaps in the system.
We are asking for you to comment on the methodology and the data used in the final product that we presented here today, and if it fits the intent of what was written in the law.
Additional miles on the highway or primary freight network. The Secretary at his discretion under section 167 Title 23 USC may increase the highway primary freight network by up to 3000 centerline miles above the 27,000 statutory cap in order to accommodate existing or planned roads critical to future efficient movement of goods on the highway primary freight network. In the draft presented today, US DOT focuses on freight routes that are critical to the current movement of freight. DOT is aware of emerging freight routes that will be critical to the future efficient movement of goods and believes there is value in expanding the highway PFN to include those routes. We are taking comments in terms of what we should do with the additional 3000 miles that Congress provided to increase the miles to 30,000 miles.
All of the information that we presented today can be accessed through the NFN website.. We have maps for both the 27,000 and the 41,000 networks.
These are the links, where you'll find all the information I just mentioned. We have more in-depth information, in the 20 page federal register, This document talks about the methodology and all of the information that Ed and I mentioned earlier today. You can find all of this at the following website that you see on the PowerPoint presentation. It is important to know that all of the comments that you wish to share with us will be accepted through the docket for comments. The link that we have here at the bottom of the slide, if you have any comments in regards to the five areas we mentioned, make sure to submit the comments through the website in order for the comments to be considered.
This is a slide that shows the PFN website and the information available right now on the website.
This is a sample of one of the state maps that we have, this one is for Maryland. We have information for both of the networks, border crossings and other freight and intermodal facilities.
This is an example of the tables that we have on the website with the information for the routes, start and end points, mileage and all of the other freight facilities and population centers, etc.
So the next steps are for you guys to provide comments now that we just published the draft designation. We are giving 30 days for you to do so, so we anticipate to receive comments by the end of 2013. [Note: The comments deadline has been extended to February 15, 2014.]
When we received the comments we will review and analyze them. Once we analyze all the comments, we will make adjustments and modifications based on the information that you suggest. We will develop the final initial highway primary freight network sometime early 2014. The finalization of the critical rural freight order guidance is anticipated to go out as well in early 2014. Pay close attention to the information, which will be critical for the designation process of those routes.
Next step will be to request for states to designate the CRFC during the spring of 2014, state DOTs will compile all a designated routes by spring 2014 as well.
The release of the initial designation including the highway PFN, remainder of the interstate system, and the state-designated critical rural freight corridors will occur sometime mid-2014.
With that said, that is all of the information that we have today. As Ed said, we want to hear from you about the information we presented; the methodology, data, and approach that we used for designating the PFN.
We have a number of questions in the chat box.
Before we start with questions, Jennifer, we will do our best to answer every question here. I want everybody to make sure if you have a comment that you want us to consider that you enter it into the official docket. By telling us here it will not get it into the official docket. Definitely ask it here but if it is really important and you want it to be considered, put into the docket.
Jennifer Symoun
The first question, will you take questions that pertain to the specific network such as the gaps?
Ed Strocko
Sure. We will do our best to see what we can answer for you.
Jennifer Symoun
This one came up several time, will the GIS files be available?
Ed Strocko
Yes. We will put them up on our network both the 27,000 and 40,000 miles.
Jennifer Symoun
How will you identify bottlenecks and what will you do to ease them?
Ed Strocko
That is a joint question for everybody who works in transportation here as far as what we will do to ease them? Part of that is the state DOT and the MPOs. We are doing a number of projects both here at the FHWA and through TRB and the NCHRP program to look at bottlenecks and determine where exactly they are, the causes, and how to get to a solution. I do not know if the primary freight network is going to be able to answer all those questions. It will identify what is important to the nation as far as a primary freight system, but I am not sure in the designation we will identify bottlenecks.
Jennifer Symoun
Do you have to have all three criteria to qualify for CRFC?
Ed Strocko
Just one of the three.
Jennifer Symoun
What are the advantages to the PFN designation?
Ed Strocko
We need clarification, more clarification. We went through some of the issues that we face, some of the challenges and trade-offs, what we are solving for, and the purpose. I think that gives you a good sense of some of the issues we grapple with. We did many iterations that highlight different things, at the end of the day the 41,000 mile network was the best illustration of a comprehensive network on the highway side of the freight system to meet the national-level needs and meet what PFN is about.
Jennifer Symoun
From the Virginia PFN can you provide a detailed map for us?
Ed Strocko
Two things. We have the shape file that we will create and send out, but right now currently for each state we have a detailed list, a table for each state, a beginning and end point in mileage you can look at in the table. Even with the GIS I would refer to the table to get a sense of what is going on there.
Jennifer Symoun
What are the performance requirements for the NFN and MAP-21?
Ed Strocko
The C and P report talks about the performance on the national freight network. The performance measures that the state DOT and the MPO is responsible for are not related to the national freight network. The one performance measure they will be responsible for is freight movement on the interstate system.
Jennifer Symoun
We found several data anomalies and discrepancies in the data set for California as listed in the Network Route table. Will these be corrected prior to the close of the comment period so that we are certain that we are responding to the actual proposed network rather than our interpretation of what DOT is intending to depict?
Ed Strocko
I would say two things. We noticed a few typographical errors. If there is an error, we will adjust it. We also asked that you submit that to the docket so we have it in the official record. Send us a note if you see a typographical error. The folks notice the first one, check the position of a 2 and a 1. We will work for the adjustment. Also put in the docket if it is beyond a typographical error—it may be something with the actual data. In that case we want to see it in the docket so we can make adjustments and look at the data itself.
Jennifer Symoun
What is the difference between the PFN and national highway planning network?
Ed Strocko
The national highway planning network is a much broader network; around 400,000 miles used for a variety of purposes. This one is very focused and you can see it focuses on freight where the other networks that we have out there have different purposes.
Jennifer Symoun
Who made the decision to add another 47,000 miles to the 27,000 mandated by MAP-21?
Ed Strocko
Nobody made the decision. Looking at the NFN, you have the three components: the PFN which is 27,000 miles plus 3,000 miles; the interstate or the remainder of the interstate which could be 41,000 miles, the length of the interstate; and then the critical rural freight corridors that are unlimited miles. We do not know what the total miles of the national freight network will be. But those are the two components. I think the other confusing thing is the difference between 27,000 and the 41,000 that we've highlighted. We've looked at all of the data in the system, and we feel that a comprehensive network for the highway system for freight is around 41,000 miles. But we recognize there is constraint of 27,000 miles, so we've identified this as well, but we're looking for comments to trim it back to 27,000 miles per MAP-21.
Jennifer Symoun
How do you handle freight generators?
Ed Strocko
A couple of things, we focus on the lane; we look at where you have the highest tonnage, volume, AADDT to get the freight system. We look at the freight intermodal connector to get in to look at their freight generators. We also looked at the large OD from different regions of the country to understand where the freight is moving to.
Of course we also looked at the network connectivity connecting all urban areas of 200,000 or above. Within urban areas of 200,000 and above, you are likely to have freight generators in there.
Jennifer Symoun
Why is Sault Ste. Marie in Michigan not shown as a border crossing?
Ed Strocko
Two possibilities. If it was under 75,000 trucks per year, it would have not shown up as part of the PFN. I am not sure on the map if we showed every border crossing. If we showed everything, it must be anomaly. Please note that for us in the docket.
Jennifer Symoun
How does this relate to be existing designated truck network?
Ed Strocko
There is no relationship. The national network that was created back in 1982—that was about making sure we had interstate commerce, and provided an envelope vehicle and network that tracks can run on across the country.
Jennifer Symoun
The draft Florida list includes two segments of a county road serving a rail intermodal center and airport, respectively. Would a segment of the same road that is not on your list but connects these other two on your list also be eligible for funding of an improvement project and other benefits of being part of the PFN?
Ed Strocko
Well a couple of things. It is a network with no funding attached to it. Being on or off the PFN has no funding implications. The other part goes to the question of the corridor versus the centerline approach. MAP-21 says it was 27,000 centerline miles, but the corridor approach will allow multiple roads going to a facility to be considered. Right now, if it is not centerline mileage, one of the roads that we have counted, it is not part of the PFN. This is one of the areas we want to have comments on. What does that mean? Is it something to be adjusted? Or is there a different approach we need to take? What makes sense?
Jennifer Symoun
I should also clarify, this is a project for a roadway that may include two segments on the list and one that is not.
Ed Strocko
I think—again—there is no funding associated with it. It is tough to know. You have to have a funding program to see what the eligibility of the funding program was.
Jennifer Symoun
Freight network is hardly static but dynamic in a long run. Should the NFN reflect the changes over time?
Ed Strocko
Definitely. MAP-21 has a provision to update every 10 years. That is why Congress put in 3000 miles for future roads as an interim step between the years. You have 3000 miles and you can designate if things change and then in 10 years you can designate or redesignate the entire system.
Jennifer Symoun
What if the state determines a substitute route is more important than the one designated by DOT, assuming that the total centerline miles for the state do not increase? Would there be some sort of justification process that could be provided by DOT that would facilitate such a process and have all states using the same methodology?
Ed Strocko
I think the way to do that is through the comments to the docket. We put out the designation and if the state feels that is not the right facility, then that should be reflected in the comment section of the docket. So we can consider them as we refine this and develop a final one.
Jennifer Symoun
What is the difference between PFN (27k) and Comprehensive PFN (41k) on state maps? Are both of these included in the draft PFN?
Ed Strocko
We talked about this before. Coral please talk about the difference here.
Coral Torres
When you the maps, all of the segments will be the comprehensive 41,000 comprehensive network. The segments that we identified with the purple color, comprise the highway PFN of 27,000 miles. That is the distinction of the orange and purple segments that you see on the map.
So both are here. We have the 27,000, which is the draft highway PFN.
Ed Strocko
As Coral said, is it connected or disconnected? What should be included in there? Those are some the things that you should be thinking about.
Jennifer Symoun
Will we be able to access the recorded version of this session?
Jennifer Symoun
Yes. It will be posted online along with the presentation and transcript a few weeks from now. I will send out a e-mail when it is available.
Jennifer Symoun
Since it is obviously a limiting factor, what is the background justification for the statutory cap in the first place....or more specifically for the selection of 27,000 miles as the designated cap value?
Ed Strocko
I cannot answer that question. That is something that Congress wrote. When we talk about the 2008 map that had something very close, it had 27,500 total; of that, 26000 was highway. It could be that Congress derived it from there. You would really have to ask Congress about that.
Jennifer Symoun
What methodology was used to designate intermodal connectors from the states?
Ed Strocko
So the way that we did that, we took the list of connectors and it was categorized as freight, rail, intermodal, pipeline, or going to a port. We included them in areas over 200,000. For the airports that category has both passenger and freight. We supplemented that with the data on air cargo and picked those that had significant air cargo. If you see an error please put that in the docket. It could be that you do not see some because they are outside of the urban areas.
Jennifer Symoun
What is the designation for the highest AADDT?
Ed Strocko
The measure that we use here at US DOT for the highway performance is to get an average of the number of the truck traffic or the truck flow on a specific road or area. We look at all of the segments and find the highest one and work backwards from there.
Jennifer Symoun
Will there be discussion from US DOT for interpretation of allocating resources?
Ed Strocko
That is an area that is unclear. We are hoping to get comments back on what the use of the NFN is and how it should be thought of in the purpose. I think your comments will be very beneficial. We will not define that today.
Jennifer Symoun
This is a comment. They seem to be working backwards, determining what they can handle (based on the 2008 network) and adjusting criteria until the mileage comes in under the arbitrary cap. This will leave a lot of important infrastructure out of the picture.
Ed Strocko
We agree; that's why we have the 41,000 comprehensive network as well.
Jennifer Symoun
Is there a dollar range for the PFN levels?
Ed Strocko
There is. I do not know—when you get to those they are cut off amounts once you hit the number of miles. There is a relationship there. Yes.
Jennifer Symoun
Same question for tonnage?
Ed Strocko
Yes. It will be—we will get back to you on the exact one if you would like.
Jennifer Symoun
Did you compare the PFN draft to the Enhanced NHS in this process?
Ed Strocko
The data that we used was all pre-enhanced NHS. We used the 2011 data that was prior to MAP-21.
Jennifer Symoun
Does designation as a critical rural freight corridor count towards the mileage cap?
Ed Strocko
No.
Jennifer Symoun
How are the caps determined?
Ed Strocko
You can look through the methodology.
Jennifer Symoun
Will non-interstate PFN segments be included in the HERE data?
Ed Strocko
Yes. Plus some other roads around border crossings, right now if you access the HERE data it has the entire PFN. I should not say that, I am not sure if there are non-NFN segments. I'm pretty sure that most of it is interstate. If it is not in the future, we will consider adjusting the HERE data.
Jennifer Symoun
How recently do AADDTs need to have been collected?
Ed Strocko
We used 2011 data for HPMS and for some of the other we use the FAF the latest version, 3.4. That is mostly based off of 2007. We will use CFS in 2012. We use that data so it is a couple of years old.
Jennifer Symoun
Will there be an opportunity to provide comments on the PFN after the states receive the critical rural freight corridors guidance?
Ed Strocko
I'm not sure if they are going to link up or not. There will be overlap there. I think the law and the criteria and the guidance will just be how to make the determinations. It is pretty straightforward in the law. I suggest if you have thoughts or other comments on that, put them in the docket.
Jennifer Symoun
Will STAA trucks automatically be allowed on all routes in the NFN?
Ed Strocko
This does not relate to the national network. It does not change where STAAs can go.
Jennifer Symoun
Will PFN's be aligned with critical rural freight corridors so that state truck weight tolerances over 80,000 lbs. gross will be allowable on Interstates? Rural freight should be able to take advantage of Interstate travel.
Ed Strocko
There are a couple of questions in there, first thing again, this is just a designation of important freight routes, it has nothing to do with truck size and weight or truck access. So it will not be changing anything as far as the national network or the interstate weight limits.
As far as the alignment with the critical rural freight corridors with the PFN I do not think they need to be connected. There are probably instances out there where you have a critical freight rural corridor that may not touch the interstate or piece of the PFN. I am not sure that the critical rural freight corridor needs to be connected to the interstate.
Coral Torres
We have the answer for the question about tonnage and value for the both networks. They will both have the same value for the tonnage and value. Tonnage will be 35.5 million tons and the value is $70 billion. The reason it is the same is because the 27,000 is derived out of the 41,000 network.
Jennifer Symoun
How many miles of the PFN are interstate miles?
Coral Torres
For the 41,000 network it will be 37,436 miles of interstate. For the PFN the information is on the table on the website. If you're able to review the information on the website you will be able to find the information there.
Jennifer Symoun
We understand you would like us to comment on how the network can be applied. Are there thoughts on the subject that you would like to share with the group?
Ed Strocko
We do not have any thoughts. Although it was very nice of you to ask, thanks.
Jennifer Symoun
Do you foresee specific fund sources being established for the PFN or perhaps inclusion in the PFN being a plus for a project seeking funding through an existing fund source such as PNRS?
Ed Strocko
I think right now, all I can say is it is a network with no funding attached to it. I do not know what the future holds.
Jennifer Symoun
Doesn't Sec. 1115(f) of MAP-21 require FHWA to identify bottlenecks on the NFN?
Ed Strocko
I believe so.
Jennifer Symoun
The analysis includes relationship to energy resources, population. Does this is include relationship to military facilities or areas of national importance?
Ed Strocko
It is not specifically calling out military facilities.
Jennifer Symoun
Will State DOT's be required to spend more of their federal-aid funds to maintain routes on the PFN?
Ed Strocko
As mentioned before it is only network designated, nothing else attached to it.
Jennifer Symoun
To be included in the National Freight Strategic Plan, must highway projects be first included in the Primary Freight Network or be included in the National Freight Network?
Ed Strocko
They are meeting next week to continue discussion for directions. Nothing has been written on the plan yet, so it's tough to know what will happen. Check back in about six months or so.
Jennifer Symoun
What is the difference between the PFN and NFN with strategically directing resources?
Ed Strocko
I think the provision actually starts out the whole section. It talks about the national freight network and directing resources. No differentiation to the components. Any thoughts or comments? If there is a way to differentiate ways of directing resources, or parts, we would appreciate it.
Jennifer Symoun
Comment for the record: for the largest freight gateway in the western hemisphere serving 45% of imports in the US, POLA/POLB, there are three significant gaps on the I-710 (a SAFETEA-LU PNRS), SR47/SR 710/Desmond Bridge (PNRS), and I-110 (SR 1 to SR 47).
Ed Strocko
I appreciate it. I want you to take that and put it in the docket. You can find the link in the federal register to do that. I will bring back the link.
Jennifer Symoun
When will be national freight advisory committee meet again?
Ed Strocko
It is meeting this week. I do not know when the next meeting will be. I do not think it has been scheduled yet. After tomorrow we will have a better sense as to when they will meet again.
Jennifer Symoun
Connections to military—how are those being considered?
Ed Strocko
Definitely something we can consider if you feel it is important. Please put that in as a comment on the docket.
Jennifer Symoun
Will they need to be coordinate across the state lines for critical rural freight corridors?
Ed Strocko
I think that will be a good thing to do. This has come up a bunch of times, within your own state boundaries you can designate them. I think you definitely want to have some linkage between the states.
Looking at some of the regional organizations, it may be really good to think about working with them, such as ITTS or Mid-America. They both thought about the issue and can probably get some help in convening the groups and having the dialogues. The same thing for I-95, and I will say in general, they want to or may want to go there.
Jennifer Symoun
California would like to request an extension of the 30-day comment period as we wish to coordinate our comments with our freight advisory committee members and other freight stakeholders. How do we formally request an extension to the comment period?
Ed Strocko
Are you asking us to extend? California wants to request an extension? I appreciate the feedback.
Jennifer Symoun
Why are land ports of entry treated as a separate category from other ports of entry (air and sea) in the methodology?
Ed Strocko
The law calls them out separately.
Jennifer Symoun
Did you develop an equation of some sort, or weighting factors for the various criteria to rank and nominate?
Ed Strocko
Taking the percent trucks, tonnage, total volume and then working back so we could hit the limit.
Jennifer Symoun
Should an MPO coordinate comments with the state DOT?
Ed Strocko
We appreciate the coordinated comments especially for the urban areas. We think it is worthwhile for the state DOT, MPO as well as the freight stakeholders in the area whether they are shippers, carriers, receivers, ports, have a dialogue together on this. Have a coordinated response on how you would approach this. Not just the public side but the private side too.
Jennifer Symoun
Your map shows orange and almost every major urbanized center, can you comment on what this represents?
Ed Strocko
The example we provided for Maryland shows there is a lot of the network comprised within the urban area of the state. It may be the case for some urban areas may be different for others. There is no specific correlation to having mileage for one of the networks versus the other.
The other reason you will see this is because, as part of the network connectivity, it is connected to every urban area over 200,000 people. You will see a lot of freight movement as well as freight generators.
Jennifer Symoun
We've gotten through all of the questions typed in, we have a few minutes left. If the operator can open the line.
Operator: If you would like to ask a question over the phone, press star one.
Attendee: I know this on the primary network the 27,000 miles, there are three states here that end up with 0 miles. One is Montana. Have you heard from any of the states yet? The senators or representatives about this?
Ed Strocko
We just put out the notice yesterday. We have not heard from them yet.
Attendee: Was that a concern that prompted you to consider to creating the 41,000 mile network?
Ed Strocko
This was data-driven, and what we saw as the needs for the country.
Operator: Star one if you would like to ask the question. There are no further questions on the phone at this time.
Attendee
When will GIS file for the PFN be made available?
Ed Strocko
Late this week or very early next week.
Attendee
Does the 41,000 table include 27,000 roadways?
Ed Strocko
The table that has 41,000 miles containing 27,000 in it. Restricting the 41,000—we chipped the 41,000 miles to get down to 27,000 miles.
Attendee
The final statement you want to get, mid-2014, is this document valuable for the reauthorization process? Has anyone asked you to use it for this? Would you be able to get it there in time to be worthwhile?
Ed Strocko
No one asked us about that. We would hope by getting it out in mid-2014 we will have it out before MAP-21 expires.
Jennifer Symoun
I think we made it through all of the questions. We will go ahead and close.
Thank you for attending today. This was recorded and we will have the recording and transcript posted within the next few weeks I will send an e-mail when available. We are holding the seminar again on December 6, only for people who could not attend this webinar. The next Talking Freight will be December 18; more information on that seminar will be available soon. I will send a notice through the freight planning LISTSERV.
With that we will close out and enjoy the rest of your day.
Jennifer Symoun
Thank you. We do have a number of questions. The first question is how are they freight network miles determined?
Ed Strocko
We probably answered that with the presentation with Coral. If not, let us know and we will talk more about that.
Jen Symoun
The next question is: were the eight factors weighted in some way or is each equal?
Ed Strocko
We did not give them a numerical weight, as you start with the presentation we saw the four core ones. We generated the network and added in specific intermodal connectors and connections to the population centers.
Jennifer Symoun
TIGER grants afforded state of Rhode Island cranes for container handling, but no lines call at ports. How can shipping lines be enticed to call on the port?
Ed Strocko
This is outside of the scope here today on the PFN. We would be very happy to talk to you about TIGER grants. You can talk with Amy or Crystal in our office.
Jennifer Symoun
What does development mean in "Provides access to… development, instillation, or production areas"? Could it apply to research and Development? What about military and/or large government facilities? Are those included in the factors?
Ed Strocko
Development is interesting we have been working with the states on the extent of what development means. We are interested in getting feedback from folks on that because the energy access or energy is very broadly written. Some of the states suggested it is where you deal with fracking or the crystal sands being mined or wind turbines, ethanol, maybe it is the cornfields. So there is a lot of broad definition there and there is no specific definition out yet but interested in hearing from people, both on this and production, installation and the other criteria.
Jennifer Symoun
What kinds of strategic resources are envisioned?
Ed Strocko
We don't know, we would like to hear from you. It would help us to figure out what resources could be included in there in the purpose of the NFN is.
Jennifer Symoun
What is the potential to get the "complete" PFN approved, given the 27k and 30k mile cap?
Ed Strocko
We are still thinking through what that means. We have spoken to Congress, they are aware of the situation. They know where we are, we know what the law states. We are still thinking through how we would want to present that, and what we can present. Any guidance on this is appreciated.
Jennifer Symoun
How does the PFN/NFN compare to the defense related STRAHNET?
Ed Strocko
We did look at that, but there is overlap not one of the factors refocused on. We have a STRAHNET and interstate system that have important roles in moving military assets. If you look why this was created, it was to focus in on the major freight movement. If it is something of interest please comment on this for us.
Jennifer Symoun
Why 27,000 miles only?
Ed Strocko
Good question. Congress needs to answer that for us. We do not know; we know that is the law.
Jennifer Symoun
Why does truck volume drop at the Arizona/New Mexico border?
Ed Strocko
I think that is within the data itself, when the states do their collection and sampling.
Jennifer Symoun
How reliable is the freight truck volumes is this effort based upon?
Ed Strocko
It is the HPMS data that we use for a variety of purposes that the states provide. You can look at the website where we have the directions for this in the manual, and how to fill out and report all that. There is consistent direction on this.
Jennifer Symoun
How did it came team take into consideration changes or types of traffic occurring since the 2011 HPMS data?
Ed Strocko
They have not in the data itself. We use this latest year available, we have not come back and put 2012 in or made any other changes on the national scale.
Jennifer Symoun
When and how would the additional 3,000 miles be designated?
Ed Strocko
Not sure. We would like to get feedback. We are focused on the first 27,000 miles. We do not know when we would do this; do this all at once or partially. We are looking for guidance on this. Should we focus on existing roads, growth potential, focus on plan facilities, both, or neither?
Jennifer Symoun
If a state recommends some deletions, will be mileage saved go to the same miles or be reallocated?
Ed Strocko
It is not a formula program each state it's a certain number of miles; we look at the country as a whole and what the optimal freight system is for the country as a whole. It may stay in the states, me go to another state it depends on how the comments are worded. There is a link between the city and the city but you identified the wrong route. Maybe we would move it to a different one. If it is another comment it is important freight routes, another part of the country you need to focus on, we can move the mileage.
Jennifer Symoun
Have you considered incorporating future freight traffic tonnage growth in establishing the NFN and PFN?
Ed Strocko
We would look at that a lot for the future. But when we looked at the law and felt like this really talked about where the critical issues are with the system today, 27,000 miles, and 3,000 miles is for the future. We designate every 10 years, we would go back and revisit the entire system in the next 10 years.
Jennifer Symoun
Do you anticipate having to return to Congress for clarification on the issues uncovered in your work so far in the PFN?
Ed Strocko
When we put up the final notice we were going to talk about the issues again and Congress would be made aware. We have not gone back and asked for clarification necessarily on any specific thing. We have informed them of the issues we've faced though.
Jennifer Symoun
What is the date for the US EIA Data? New Mexico is not the only state to face some significant energy/extraction booms around the state.
Coral Torres
The date for the data varies depends on the source. We provided a link we can download the map and some of the data sources. It depends, it can be five years old, even up to 10 years old. It refers specifically to the information you refer to. They are in the process of updating the information sometime this year.
Ed Strocko
Something I would add about the energy data, when you look at the exploration areas, the area covers hundreds of thousands of acres. And in multiple states when you look at oil wells, you have thousands and thousands of them, if you look at mines, they are easier to locate. The question is, are there any trucks going to them? Or are they all in rail and barge. That is a tricky area for us to think through. So much of the US is covered by something.
Jennifer Symoun
There is a question about making the GIS data available on the National Freight Network website. Could a raw GIS map the available? This allows folks to review the data coming from the regions to suggest areas for refining data or provide more current data.
Ed Strocko
We have the base GIS layer to look at. We do not have the attributes on. As Coral noted, all of the source data is there. We've done that so you can pull the data and do the analysis yourself. As we talked about earlier, a lot of the data comes the states and the HPMS data, if you are a State DOT you have the data that we use.
Jennifer Symoun
How does the freight network correspond with the Marine Highway Corridors?
Ed Strocko
Well there are many Marine Highway Corridors now; we have a robust system designated throughout the country. We are very fortunate and we hope we will see more activity. As we look at the designing and designation of the draft PFN we looked at some of the key ports and intermodal connectors to the ports. We did not necessarily look at what is going on with the waterways or rail lines, since we are focused on the highway system. We want to make sure we have the connections to those but not with what was occurring on any one of those.
Jen Symoun
The next question, can you define more precisely the difference between a corridor approach versus centerline approach?
Ed Strocko
That is a good question. We would love to hear feedback. I think if you define a corridor a number of ways, whether it is different to the highways or multiple highways that connect two points or with will modes of transportation that connect two points. We do not have a firm definition. The Freight Story 2008 map we considered it from a multimodal perspective.
We want the freight to get there safely and effectively. It could be water, rail or highway. Rather than look at the facility let's look at the nodes it connects.
Jennifer Symoun
Do you know why Kansas and New Mexico data was not usable for this? Both states have sudden stoppage cutoffs in these networks.
Ed Strocko
We used HPMS data from every state. It might be something with the sampling or the calculation of the state, but we did not exclude any specific states. We used the entire national database there.
Jennifer Symoun
How many "last-mile" intermodal connectors have been designated on the 27k map?
Ed Strocko
Zero. Because the way we designed that map we back that out based on volume, give us the top based on the volume and the intermodal connectors. It does not have the AADDT on there. They were not included, as you can see from the data provided it is not complete and is not connected. There needs to be fine tuning on this before it can be finalized to make a logical. That may be a good comment.
Jennifer Symoun
If it was decided to forgo centerline miles and use the corridor method, what would 41,000 and 27,000 be in "corridor miles"?
Ed Strocko
It would be something similar or different. We have to figure out how to define the corridor. Looking at the city lanes or the trade lanes, it can be so very different. You look at Baltimore and Washington; you have multiple routes and could quadruple the mileage if you go centerline or if you just pick the corridor point that's 40 miles or so.
Jennifer Symoun
How is the National Freight Network including Tribal Government's needs?
Ed Strocko
The same way it looked at all other populations centers and freight needs. We looked at data based on the tonnage, volume, and percent of trucks moving. And the key freight facilities and key population centers.
Jennifer Symoun
How will the Freight Network as defined by FHWA correspond with the development of performance measures for freight?
Ed Strocko
There are two answers. Performance measure that State DOTs and MPOs need to report on as part of Section 1203 on performance measures, says we need to measure check movement on the interstate system, so it's just an interstate measure. Outside of that, what we may be looking at for the freight viewport or National Freight Plan, these are some of the items that U.S. DOT has to consider. We would be looking at performance on the National Freight Network.
Jennifer Symoun
Why was an urban population of 200,000 used in the methodology verses using all Metropolitan Planning Organization designated areas (which are considered "urban" if over 50,000 people)?
Ed Strocko
Good question. We went back and forth on this. We had a threshold of 1 million people. We looked at 50,000 and we looked at 200,000. We thought about the types of activity that occurs in different areas. At an area of 200,000 you have more than just low level or localized freight. You have some significant freight generators and receivers. We thought that was a threshold to use. We looked at them all the way down to 50,000 and we recognize there is a donut hole between 50,000 and 200,000. Think about whether that is the right population total to use? Should be go up or down?
Jennifer Symoun
Why were only intermodal connectors in these urban areas considered for inclusion in the draft initial PFN?
Ed Strocko
It was not just intermodal's we went to for the initial methodologies, when you look at the tonnage volume, value, percent of trucks and on urban routes. Understanding we need to hit some of the first mile/last mile. We looked at the subset of NHS intermodal connectors categorized as freight related and we picked those out from there. Not just intermodal connectors but also other facilities. Because knew the records were critical to get to key freight nodes and facilities we included them.
Coral Torres
Also know that by designating the corridors it saved time and opportunity.
Jennifer Symoun
How will the results of the NFN be used ? Would that be a part of the National Strategic Freight Plan?
Ed Strocko
Those are great questions. We need to revisit that in six months after the work has been done in providing the department more recommendations as we have gotten further along in the thinking of both of these. I do not have a good answer today. I hope we should have one soon.
Jennifer Symoun
It would appear the NFN is the real relevant network, not the PFN. Why should the states be concerned about what is on the PFN as long as routes are on the NFN?
Ed Strocko
Great question. Going back to the earlier slides I presented. Right now there is nothing associated with either. The only thing is the PFN is supposed to be the most critical routes. There are no plus or minus being on one versus another. It talks about NFN in the three components, and they are all important. So I'm not sure there is importance of being on one versus the other.
Jennifer Symoun
Was the NTN (National Truck Network) STAA Truck network utilized in this effort? Has there been a quality control check of PFN continuity across State Borders?
Ed Strocko
We did not use the national network in this effort. We have overlaid it's a little bit, National Network or National Truck Network is larger than 41,000 mile network. It is a significant subset of the national truck network in the same thing with the national highway system both about the same now, 200,000 to 220,000 miles so they are a much larger system that we are talking about here for the PFN.
Coral Torres
We did quality control work to make sure we included the top border crossings based on the number of trucks that cross per year.
Jennifer Symoun
Why would only one half of a couplet be included? An example is Highway 90/Evangeline Thruway in Lafayette, LA. Northbound is not included in 27,000, but southbound is.
Ed Strocko
I think that is probably due to the volumes there. It can be just an error. When we pulled up the top 27,000 miles on the AADDT, it could be that one area was meeting the threshold and the other was not.
Jennifer Symoun
How will newly planned corridors (e.g., I-11) be included or added to the network?
Ed Strocko
You would want to talk to us about that in the 3,000 miles of the future freight PFN. If it is existing, then same type of thing but not making it because it is not have a lot of volume yet, or not a lot of activity. It would be the same thing, 3,000 miles for the future freight movement.
Jennifer Symoun
Do more detailed maps of key urban/port regions exist, and if so, how can we obtain them?
Ed Strocko
We have three options. Maps of the PDF, very detailed tables which are easy to look at contain each routes beginning and end points. We also have the GIS file that you can use and zoom in as close as you would like on that one.
Jennifer Symoun
Our HPMS data is reported differently for bridges (since they are not always in the same condition, etc. as the highway they are a part of), can we address this in our comments? We have lengthy interstate bridges that were excluded from the PFN although the highway leading up to and following the bridges did make the cut.
Ed Strocko
By all means, please do.
Jennifer Symoun
How were rail yards selected for the maps?
Ed Strocko
We do not necessarily pick and choose rail yards. We looked at those to see where they were located but in the end we used other methods more and focused on intermodal connectors, designated as the truck, rail and freight connector.
Jennifer Symoun
How are they truck rail facilities and public transit stations identified?
Ed Strocko
There was probably not any public transit stations identified. In the NHS connector table and file they are separated by category, some go to public transit station, some go to the bus terminals, some identified as going to the port, pipelines, rail freight, and we pulled out the freight ones. The one that we were not able to pull out cleanly was the airport because there is one category for NHS for the airport, we supplemented with the top 50 airports by the cargo so we could say, here are the top 50 and see which intermodal connectors go to those.
