Skip to main content

FHWA proposes new performance measures to reduce highway congestion

The US Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) today released a proposed regulation outlining new performance measures to assess travel reliability, congestion, and emissions at a national level. It calls for an increased level of transparency and accountability in establishing and achieving targets for performance impacting commuters and truck drivers. The measures address the concerns outlined in the USDOT report Beyond Traffic, which examines the trends and choices facing
April 19, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
The 324 US Department of Transportation’s 831 Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) today released a proposed regulation outlining new performance measures to assess travel reliability, congestion, and emissions at a national level.  It calls for an increased level of transparency and accountability in establishing and achieving targets for performance impacting commuters and truck drivers.

The measures address the concerns outlined in the USDOT report Beyond Traffic, which examines the trends and choices facing America's transportation infrastructure over the next three decades, including a rapidly growing population, increasing freight volume, and the need to mitigate environmental impacts.  The proposed regulation also invites comment on the potential to establish a performance measure to address reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.  

The proposed new rule – National Performance Management Measures; Assessing Performance of the National Highway System, Freight Movement on the Interstate System, and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program – is a requirement under the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21).  Major provisions involve requirements for all states to evaluate and report more effectively and consistently on transportation system performance, including travel time reliability, delay hours, peak-hour congestion, freight movement, and on-road mobile source emissions.

FHWA’s National Performance Management Research Data Set, a relatively new data tool that collects actual travel times from vehicles, will be used by states to monitor system performance. All state departments of transportation and metropolitan planning organisations would be required to use travel time data to establish performance targets and report on progress.

In addition, the reduction in criteria pollutants resulting from federally funded projects will also be estimated and reported.   FHWA is also seeking comment on whether and how to establish a greenhouse gas emissions measure.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • New report identifies 21 actions to help states address pedestrian safety
    August 12, 2015
    A new report released today by the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) examines the current pedestrian safety data and research and outlines 21 steps states can take to address pedestrian safety. According to the most recent data, pedestrian deaths remain stubbornly high and have increased 15 per cent since 2009. The most recent full year of data indicates that 4,735 pedestrians died in 2013, which translates to one pedestrian in the US killed every two hours. The report, Everyone Walks Understan
  • Climate change guidance for Ireland roads from Aecom
    March 23, 2023
    Infrastructure developers should assess a project’s impact on climate resilience
  • Middle East Looks to road charging for congestion relief
    January 26, 2012
    On the eve of the Gulf Traffic show in Dubai, ITS Arab secretary general and Innova Consulting managing director Zeina Nazer reviews prospects for road user charging in the Middle East and North Africa
  • IBTTA Joins transportation secretaries in call for adequate infrastructure funding
    July 24, 2014
    The International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) has joined US Department of Transportation (DOT) secretary Anthony Foxx and 11 former DOT secretaries in supporting a call for Congress to find consensus on a long-term solution to funding our nation’s infrastructure. Patrick D. Jones, executive director and CEO of IBTTA, echoed the call for long-term action by stating: “The joint letter released yesterday by our nation’s transportation chiefs is a profile in courage and should serve as an