2024-01126. Agency Information Collection Activities: Notice of Request for Extension of Currently Approved Information Collection

AGENCY:

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION:

Notice of request for extension of currently approved information collection.

SUMMARY:

The FHWA invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval for renewal of an existing information collection that 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 March 22, 2024.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments identified by DOT Docket ID Number 0003 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 https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Fax: [phone]. 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:

Scott Gable, 202–366–2176, Office of Safety, Federal Highway Administration, Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590, between 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Highway Safety Improvement Program.

OMB Control #: 2125–0025.

Background: The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) (Pub. L. 117–58, also known as the “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law” (BIL)) continues the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) as a core federal-aid program with the purpose to achieve a significant reduction in traffic fatalities and serious injuries on all public roads, including non-State-owned public roads and roads on tribal lands. The HSIP requires a data-driven, strategic approach to improving highway safety on all public roads that focuses on performance.

The existing provisions of Title 23 U.S.C. 130, Railway-Highway Crossings Program, as well as implementing regulations in 23 CFR part 924, remain in effect. Included in these combined provisions are requirements for State DOTs to annually produce and submit to FHWA by August 31 reports related to the implementation and effectiveness of their HSIPs, that are to include information on: (a) progress being made to implement HSIP projects and the effectiveness of these projects in reducing traffic fatalities and serious injuries [Sections 148(h)]; and (b) progress being made to implement the Railway-Highway Crossings Program and the effectiveness of the projects in that program [Sections 130(g) and 148(h)], which will be used by FHWA to produce and submit biennial reports to Congress. To be able to produce these reports, State DOTs must have safety data and analysis systems capable of identifying and determining the relative severity of hazardous highway locations on all public roads, based on both crash experience and crash potential, as well as determining the effectiveness of highway safety improvement projects. FHWA provides an online reporting tool to support the annual HSIP reporting process. Additional information is available on the Office of Safety website at https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/​hsip/​resources/​onrpttool/​. Reporting into the online reporting tool meets all report requirements and USDOT website compatibility requirements. The information contained in the annual HSIP reports provides FHWA with a means for monitoring the effectiveness of these programs and may be used by Congress for determining the future HSIP program structure and funding levels.

Respondents: 50 State Transportation Departments, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

Frequency: Annually.

Estimated Average Burden per Response: 250 hours.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 13,000 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: January 17, 2024.

Jazmyne Lewis,

Information Collection Officer.