FHWA Policy Memorandums - Operations Core Business Unit

This policy memorandum was canceled on July 27, 2004

	Memorandum
U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration

This is to notify you that the State or an area(s) of the State has been identified to participate in the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Deployment Program based on designations contained in either the U.S. DOT Appropriations Act for fiscal year (FY) 2002, or the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21). For more information on funding appropriated for the State or area(s) of the State, please refer to Attachment 1. Guidelines are available for integration and/or rural project proposals in Attachment 2. Projects that are deploying the Commercial Vehicle Information Systems and Networks (CVISN) should refer to Attachment 3 for additional guidance.

Important Activities and Dates

1. It is critical that the attachments be provided to representatives from the appropriate State government agencies; local highway, transit, and metropolitan planning organizations; and CVISN project managers as soon as possible and no later than February 1, 2002. Because this is a multi-modal program, we encourage the FHWA Division Administrator, the FMCSA Division Administrator or State Director, and the FTA Regional Administrator, to meet personally with the stakeholders that may be receiving the funding and explain the TEA-21 requirements for participation in the ITS Deployment Program.
   
   
2. For those States identified to receive "Statewide" Federal ITS deployment program funds, we request that you provide the following information via email to Mr. Mark Kehrli, FHWA Office of Travel Management, and Mr. Jeff Secrist, FMCSA Office of Research and Technology by February 15, 2002:
   
   
   1. A brief discussion on how your State will complete the next step in CVISN deployment (Planning, Design, or Deployment), including the amount of FY 2002 ITS deployment funds, other Federal funds, and/or State funds that the State will use for CVISN deployment.
      
      
   2. The amount of FY 2002 ITS deployment funds that the State will use for ITS Integration projects.
      
      
3. Project proposals for participation in the ITS Integration component of the ITS Deployment Program should be submitted to the appropriate FHWA division office and FTA regional office no later than March 1, 2002. Earlier submissions should be encouraged to ensure timely award of funds.
   
   
4. For integration project proposals, a new requirement is a standards plan that is submitted with the project proposal or a standards strategy submitted with the project proposal followed by a standards plan on or before the project reaches final design.
   
   
5. If your State has not completed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to deploy CVISN, the information in Attachment 3 will assist you in working with your State to complete the MOA and work towards completing the next step of Level 1 deployment. The signed MOA should be submitted to the FMCSA Division office by no later than April 12, 2002.
   
   
6. In order to increase likelihood of obligation of funds by the end of FY 2002, project description packages will need to be reviewed and ready to advance to the Congressional Notification step of the obligation process no later than August 23, 2002. Projects with unresolved project description package issues, as identified in the attached checklist of "Go/NoGo" issues, as of this date will not be funded in FY 2002.

Attachment 1, ITS Project Designations

Attachment 1 is a list of all projects identified by State and the Congressionally Designated amounts contained in the FY 2002 Appropriations Act and TEA-21. The actual amounts of funding available are less than the amount designated. This is due to the obligation limitation and other factors explained in the attachment. While the FY 2002 Appropriations Act specifies the locations and amounts of funding, it does not designate specific projects to be funded. States designated by Congress to receive FY 2002 Federal ITS deployment funds may use all or a portion of their ITS funds for Commercial Vehicle ITS Infrastructure Deployment projects.

Attachments 2 and 3 provide guidelines for use in developing the documentation needed to obtain the ITS Deployment Program funds. The ITS Deployment Program includes two components. The ITS Integration Component, defined in Section 5208, provides Federal ITS funding to accelerate the integration and interoperability of ITS in metropolitan and rural areas. The Commercial Vehicle ITS Infrastructure Deployment component, defined in Section 5209, provides Federal ITS funding to deploy Commercial Vehicle Operations (CVO) ITS systems that: (1) improve the safety and productivity of commercial vehicles and drivers, and (2) reduce CVO costs and regulatory requirements. These are the only ITS deployment funds available to support Commercial Vehicle Information Systems and Networks (CVISN) deployment.

Attachment 2, Guidance For Participating in the Integration Component

The ITS Integration Component provides Federal ITS funding for the integration of ITS components in a variety of settings, including large regional or multi-State areas, metropolitan areas, and rural areas. In metropolitan areas, ITS Integration funding shall be used primarily for activities necessary to integrate intelligent transportation systems that are either already deployed, or will be deployed with other sources of funds. For projects outside metropolitan planning boundaries, ITS Integration funding may also be used for installation of intelligent transportation infrastructure elements.

Attachment 2 contains instructions to Congressionally Designated Areas for the development of a project proposal required prior to the obligation of ITS Integration Component funds. A project proposal must be developed and submitted in accordance with the Guidelines for Participation in the FY02 ITS Integration Component of the ITS Deployment Program found in Attachment 2. Also included in Attachment 2 are Key Differences Between FY01 and FY02 Guidelines, the Project Description Template that is the required format for the project proposal and a Checklist for Participation in the FY02 ITS Integration Component of the ITS Deployment Program. As stated earlier, we encourage the FHWA Division Administrator and FTA Regional Administrator to meet with all key stakeholders and discuss these guidelines.

The new requirement of a standards plan is also discussed in Attachment 2. The standards plan includes a detailed approach for implementing specific standards, listing application areas and specific components of the standard proposed, identification of the process/analysis used to select the standards and a rationale for standards not selected as relevant to the project. In addition, if a standards plan is not submitted with the project proposal, a standards strategy is required. The standards strategy includes an outline of steps necessary to obtain a detailed standards plan, a list of relevant application areas and an identification of training opportunities and needs for technical assistance. The standards plan and standards strategy is described in Section 3.3.1 - 3.3.3. To summarize the process: (1) either a standards plan is submitted with the project proposal or, (2) a standards strategy is submitted with the project proposal and a standards plan will follow on or before the project reaches final design. If process number 1 is followed, the Division/FTA Regional office will review and approve the project proposal and standards plan prior to submitting the package to Headquarters. If process number 2 is followed, the same review and approval by the Division/FTA Regional office will occur. The project proposal will be submitted to Headquarters and if approved, the Division/FTA Regional office will be responsible for approving the standards plan (submitted on or before final design). Prior to approval, the Division/FTA Regional office is asked to consult with the Deployment Task Force and make use of available Headquarters provided technical assistance resources familiar with standards implementation issues that are addressed in the standards plan.

Within 30 days of receipt of the project descriptions, and after joint FHWA and FTA review, the Division/FTA Regional office should electronically forward the project description and completed Checklist for Participation in the ITS Integration Program to the FHWA Office of Travel Management, HOTM-1, and the FTA Office of Mobility Innovation, TRI-11. Copies should be provided to the FTA Regional Office. Following review and Congressional notification, funds will be released and a sample partnership agreement provided.

Attachment 3, Guidance For Participating in the Commercial Vehicle ITS Infrastructure Deployment Component

Congress established a goal in TEA-21 to complete CVISN deployment in a majority of States by September 30, 2003. States designated by Congress to receive FY 2002 Federal ITS deployment funds may use all or a portion of their ITS funds for Commercial Vehicle ITS Infrastructure Deployment projects, including CVISN Level 1 deployment. Level 1 deployment focuses on electronically exchanging safety and credentialing information, electronically processing interstate registration and fuel tax credentials, and implementing roadside electronic screening at one fixed or mobile site.

The funds provided in the "Statewide" designations are the only FY 2002 Federal ITS deployment funds available for CVISN deployment. It is our intent that these funds be used to help your State complete its next step of CVISN deployment. In step 1, Planning, a State establishes an ITS/CVO working group; participates in ITS/CVO technical training courses; and completes and maintains an ITS/CVO Business Plan. For step 2, Design, a State selects a CVISN project manager and system architect; participates in three CVISN Deployment Workshops; and completes a CVISN program plan and top-level design. A State begins to implement CVISN Level 1 capabilities in step 3, Deployment. If only partial funding is available for CVISN deployment, we encourage States to deploy the Level 1 safety information exchange capabilities first, followed by either credentialing or electronic screening.

We appreciated the valuable information that the Division Administrators and State Directors provided us last year regarding the States' use of the ITS deployment funds through a series of conference calls. A representative from the FMCSA Office of Research and Technology will contact you shortly to arrange a time for us to discuss the guidance package with you.

We will invite an FMCSA Service Center ITS/CVO specialist and a representative from the Office of Travel Management to participate on these calls. Once these calls have taken place, we would like the FMCSA Division Administrator or State Director and the FHWA Division Administrator to meet with the stakeholders, including the CVISN project manager, and discuss how the State may use the ITS deployment funds to complete the next step of CVISN deployment.

Attachment 3 provides guidance for your State to follow if it agrees to use all or a portion of its funds for CVISN deployment. It also describes the process to use if your State has been fully funded to complete CVISN Level 1 deployment and has agreed to use all or a portion of its funds for other commercial vehicle ITS deployment activities. The State will submit the appropriate documentation to the FMCSA Division Administrator or State Director and identify how it will use its deployment funds. Once the FMCSA Division Office has received the documentation, it should forward a copy of it to the FMCSA Office of Research and Technology, MC-RT. Following review and Congressional notification, funds will be released and a sample partnership agreement provided.

Please work with appropriate officials and organizations in your State to develop an acceptable project proposal for these funds and submit as soon as possible.

For More Information

Thank you in advance for your assistance in this important Departmental initiative. If you have any questions about the ITS Deployment Program, please call Mr. Mark Kehrli, Office of Travel Management, FHWA (202) 366-5465; Mr. Ron Boenau, Office of Mobility Innovation, FTA (202) 366-4995; or Mr. Jeff Secrist, Office of Research and Technology, FMCSA (202) 358-5658.

Attachments:

1. ITS Project Designations
2. Guidance For Participating in the Integration Component
3. Guidance For Participating in the Commercial Vehicle ITS Infrastructure Deployment Component