[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 207 (Friday, October 25, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 85282-85283]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-24845]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

[Docket No. FHWA-2024-0071]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Request for Comments 
for a New Information Collection

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The FHWA invites public comments about our intention to 
request the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval for a new 
information collection, which is summarized below under Supplementary 
Information. We are required to publish this notice in the Federal 
Register by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: Please submit comments by December 24, 2024.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by DOT Docket ID Number 
0071 by any of the following methods:
    Website: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov.
    Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
    Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
    Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
    Hand Delivery or Courier: U.S. Department of Transportation, West 
Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, 
Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Monday through 
Friday, except Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Derek Constable, (202) 366-4606, 
Office of Bridges and Structures, Federal Highway Administration, 
Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue Southeast, 
Washington, DC 20590. Office hours are from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, except Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: FY24 Competitive Highway Bridge Program (CHBP).
    Background: The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, Public Law 
118-42, section 126, March 9, 2024, provides $250 million to be awarded 
by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for a Competitive Highway 
Bridge Program.
    Eligible applicants are States that have a population density of 
less than 115 individuals per square mile and less than 26% of total 
bridges classified as in good condition; or greater than or equal to 
5.2% of total bridges classified in poor condition. States meeting the 
population criteria and that have greater than 14% of total bridges 
classified as in poor condition are eligible to receive no less than 
$32,500,000. The funds shall be used for highway bridge replacement or 
rehabilitation projects on public roads that demonstrate cost savings 
by bundling multiple highway bridge projects. Population density is 
calculated based on the latest available data from the decennial census 
conducted under section 14(a) of title 13, United States Code. 
Percentages of bridge counts are based on the National Bridge Inventory 
as of June 2023. (Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, Pub. L. 118-
42, sec. 126, March 9, 2024.)
    Population density is calculated based on the latest available data 
on March 9, 2024, the date which the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 
2024, became law. Resident population density is used. The percentages 
are based on number of bridges. Funds shall be obligated by September 
30, 2027.
    Based on these requirements, eligible applicants are the State 
Departments of Transportation (State DOTs) of Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, 
Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, 
Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia, 
Wisconsin, and Wyoming. State DOTs that are eligible to receive no less 
than $32,500,000 include Iowa, Maine, South Dakota, and West Virginia.
    Awards will be made only to a State DOT. Applications by non-State 
Dot entities must be submitted by the State DOT in which they are 
located.
    Each application will require the following project narrative:
    <bullet> A discussion and supporting information that describes the 
project description, location, and project parties,
    <bullet> a discussion and supporting information on proposed 
project funding including the sources and availability of funds to 
supplement a grant award and to supplement the Federal share,
    <bullet> a discussion and supporting information on how the project 
meets the CHBP merit criteria,
    <bullet> a discussion and supporting information on project 
readiness and environmental status to include discussion and supporting 
information on technical feasibility, project schedule, status of 
required approvals including environmental permits and reviews, status 
of State, metropolitan, and local planning document approvals, and an 
assessment of project risks and mitigation strategies.
    Each applicant selected for CHBP grant funding will be required to 
execute a project agreement which is a type of grant agreement for 
administration of funds to a State DOT in FHWA's Fiscal Management 
System. In the agreement, the recipient must describe the project that 
FHWA agreed to fund, which is the project that was described in the 
application or a reduced-scope version of that project. The agreement 
also includes project schedule milestones, a budget, and project-
related goals.
    Each applicant selected for CHBP grant funding (awardee) will be 
required to collect and report project monitoring information. This 
will include information on the project's performance using performance 
indicators supplied by FHWA that relate to CHBP goals. Performance 
reporting continues for several years after project construction is 
completed. Each awardee will submit progress and monitoring reports on 
a quarterly basis until completion of the project as determined by 
FHWA. This information will be used to monitor awardees' use of Federal 
funds, ensuring accountability and financial transparency.
    These requirements will be further detailed in the Notice of 
Funding Opportunity.
    This notice seeks comments on the proposed information collection, 
which will collect information necessary to support the evaluation of 
applications and selection of project awards, the funding agreement 
negotiation stage for awards, and project monitoring.
    Respondents: Any eligible State DOT can submit as many as three 
applications. A limit of three applications will be specified in the

[[Page 85283]]

Notice of Funding Opportunity. There are 18 eligible States.
    Frequency: The information will be collected once.
    Estimated Average Burden per Response: 100 hours per respondent per 
application. In addition, each awarded project is estimated to require 
60 hours for negotiating and signing the funding agreement and project 
monitoring reporting including performance indicator and financial 
monitoring. FHWA is estimates that project monitoring will occur for 
four years.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: It is estimated that the respondents 
will complete approximately 27 applications for an estimated total of 
2,700 burden hours. In addition, it is estimated that there will be 18 
awarded projects for an estimated total of 1,080 additional burden 
hours.
    Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of 
this information collection, including: (1) Whether the proposed 
collection is necessary for the FHWA's performance; (2) the accuracy of 
the estimated burdens; (3) ways for the FHWA to enhance the quality, 
usefulness, and clarity of the collected information; and (4) ways that 
the burden could be minimized, including the use of electronic 
technology, without reducing the quality of the collected information. 
The agency will summarize and/or include your comments in the request 
for OMB's clearance of this information collection.
    Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. chapter 
35, as amended; and 49 CFR 1.48.

    Issued on October 22, 2024.
Jazmyne Lewis,
Information Collection Officer.
[FR Doc. 2024-24845 Filed 10-24-24; 8:45 am]
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