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What is the purpose of this transmittal? This transmittal announces and describes the recent and planned enhancements to the Federal-Aid Policy Guide (FAPG).
What are the specific enhancements to the FAPG? The FAPG is now linked to the Government Printing Office's (GPO's) Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (e-CFR) site for direct access to the regulatory text in Title 23 and Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). This will enable the FAPG users to access the most current Federal-aid highway regulatory information available. The GPO updates the 23 and 49 CFR regulatory text posted on its e-CFR site within three days following the issuance of the pertinent final rules in the Federal Register. The new links to the e-CFR will keep the FAPG regulatory text current at all times, and they will eliminate the need for future updates to the 23 and 49 CFR regulatory text that, in past years, were issued in transmittal format signed by the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA's) Associate Administrator for Administration.
How will the links to the e-CFR work? To access the e-CFR, FAPG users should start at the FAPG table of contents. By clicking on the appropriate regulatory links, users will leave the FHWA directives website and will proceed to the GPO's e-CFR site. There, users may continue by clicking on the appropriate links to access their desired regulatory sections. Likewise, to access a non-regulatory supplement or generalized guidance, users should start at the FAPG table of contents and click on the desired supplement or general guidance link.
What about the FAPG non-regulatory supplements? Many of the existing Federal-aid non-regulatory supplements in the FAPG have not been updated in a number of years. The Office of Information and Management Services (HAIM) will initiate a comprehensive review of the existing non-regulatory supplements with the issuing Washington Headquarters offices in the near future. This review will require the issuing offices to review their supplements and advise HAIM which supplements are current, obsolete, and/or need revision. Based on the inputs received from the issuing offices, HAIM will delete the obsolete supplements and incorporate new and/or revised supplements into the FAPG as appropriate. As in the past, an FAPG transmittal update will issue these new and/or revised non-regulatory supplements.
What about the generalized guidance contained in the FAPG "G" section? Like the non-regulatory supplements, the Federal-aid generalized guidance in the "G" section has not been updated in a number of years. HAIM will initiate a review of this guidance in the same manner as the planned review of the non-regulatory supplements described in paragraph 4.
What should the Washington Headquarters offices do in the future to help keep the FAPG current? In order to keep the FAPG current, the Washington Headquarters offices are strongly encouraged to review their sponsored non-regulatory supplements and generalized guidance in the "G" section on a regular basis. When new 23 and 49 CFR regulations are issued, the Washington Headquarters offices should determine whether new or revised supplements are needed. These offices should forward new and revised supplement text materials in FAPG format to HAIM for inclusion in the FAPG. This also applies to new and revised guidance in the FAPG "G" section. The updates to the non-regulatory supplements and the generalized guidance in the "G" section will continue to be issued in transmittal format signed by the FHWA's Associate Administrator for Administration.
How can I obtain additional information and/or submit comments concerning the FAPG enhancements? Additional information concerning the recent and planned FAPG enhancements can be obtained by sending e-mail inquiries to the Directives Control Point in HAIM's Management Programs and Analysis Division (HAIM-10) found on the site at https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/legsregs/elecdirs.htm. Also, your comments and suggestions concerning these enhancements are welcome.
