From Arizona to Alaska: Maintaining Access and Mobility on Federal
Lands Highways
The Federal Lands Highway Program comprises more than 8,000 miles
of National Park roads, nearly 30,000 miles of forest highway roads,
and roadways serving over 500 Wildlife Refuges. Charged with the mission
of continually improving transportation access to and within Federal
and Indian lands, the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Federal
Lands Highway Core Business Unit is responsible for providing the
best transportation system possible that balances sound engineering
principles and the protection of Federal and Indian lands. The Federal
Lands Highway Program (FLHP) provides funding for a coordinated program
of public roads and transit facilities that play numerous vital roles,
including sustaining recreational travel and tourism, providing safe
and access and mobility while protecting vital ecosystems, providing
economic development in rural areas, and supplying needed transportation
access for Native Americans.
To support these vital roles, staff at the FLHP Headquarters and
the three Federal Lands division offices (see sidebar) provide program
development, policy and direction, planning and project coordination,
road and bridge design, environmental design and protection, construction
supervision, technical assistance, and other services.
Current Federal Lands initiatives around the country range from spearheading
the $200 million Hoover Dam Bypass project in Arizona and Nevada to
designing Walden Point Road in Alaska, which will be constructed on
the side of a mountain on Annette Island. The bypass around Hoover
Dam will improve safety for vehicles and ease traffic congestion,
with construction slated to begin in 2003 and finish in 2007. The
Annette Island project, meanwhile, will help provide economic development
for the island, as the road will connect with a new ferry terminal
being built by the State.
Federal Lands also has the goal of providing state-of-the-art technical
services to the highway community. As part of this goal, Federal Lands
is implementing such new technologies as ROSAN, a road surface analyzer,
and new techniques for collecting data on such variables as traffic
on National Park roads and the soil moisture of dirt roads within
parks. ROSAN is helping engineers meet the public's need for smoother,
longer lasting roads, while the new data collection techniques are
helping the Park Service more appropriately size parking facilities
in National Parks, thus limiting the impact on park land, and better
determine when park roadways can be opened to traffic in the spring.
To carry out its activities, Federal Lands works with a number of
partners, including the National Park Service, Forest Service, Bureau
of Indian Affairs, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management,
and Native American tribes. These partnerships are vital to the success
of our mission.
Looking ahead, Federal Lands' priorities for the remainder of 2001
and 2002 include showcasing context sensitive design activities, implementing
initiatives to increase roadside and work zone safety, and conducting
outreach to promote the use of innovative financing and contracting
techniques. Through these and our many other initiatives throughout
the country, we will continue to contribute to the overall FHWA goals
of improving safety and mobility, protecting and enhancing the natural
environment, and improving the economic efficiency of the Nation's
transportation system, resulting in a stronger transportation network
for us all.
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Regional Contacts
Eastern Federal Lands Highway Division Office Sterling, Virginia
Phone: 703-404-6201
Fax: 703-404-6217
Web: www.efl.fhwa.dot.gov
Central Federal Lands Highway Division Office
Lakewood, Colorado
Phone: 303-716-2116
Fax: 303-969-6499
Web: www.cflhd.gov
Western Federal Lands Highway Division Office
Vancouver, Washington
Phone: 360-696-7710
Fax: 360-696-7846
Web: www.wfl.fhwa.dot.gov
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Other
articles in this issue:
From Arizona to Alaska: Maintaining access and mobility on federal lands highways
Cold
in-place recycling a success in the badlands
New
data collection tools get a tryout in Denali
Combatting
pavement roughness with ROSAN
How
well do you know your asphalt mix design?
The
ABCs of heat-straightening repair for steel bridges
Highway
technology calendar
