FHWA Policy Memorandums - Office of Operations

	Memorandum
U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration	ELECTRONIC MESSAGE

This is to notify you that your State or area(s) of your State has been identified to participate in the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Deployment Program based on designations contained in the fiscal year (FY) 2004 Omnibus Appropriation Act. The recently enacted FY 2004 Omnibus Appropriation Act identifies one or more projects in your State. Congress has designated ITS Deployment Incentive Program funding to pay for the Federal share. The purpose of this memorandum is to solicit proposals for the projects identified in Appendix 1.

Important Activities and Submission Deadline for 2004 Funding

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. 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 requirements for participation in the ITS Deployment Program.

2. 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 as soon as possible. Earlier submissions should be encouraged to ensure timely award of funds. Specific information for transit projects can be directed to the FTA Office of Mobility Innovation.

3. For integration project proposals, a standards plan must be submitted with the project proposal or a standards strategy must be submitted with the project proposal followed by a standards plan on or before the project reaches final design. In addition, for all projects that include the deployment of a Changeable Message Sign/Dynamic Message Sign (CMS/DMS) as part of an America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency response (AMBER) Program, a standards plan must be submitted with the project proposal.

4. In order to increase likelihood of obligation of funds by the end of FY 2004, project proposal packages will need to be reviewed and ready to advance to the funds obligation process no later than September 10, 2004. Projects with unresolved project proposal package issues, as identified in the attached checklist of "Go/No Go" issues, as of this date will not be funded in FY 2004.

Attachments

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 2004 Omnibus Appropriation Act. The actual amounts of funding available are likely less than the amount designated. This is due to the obligation limitation and other factors, which have yet to be finalized. Note also that P.L. 108-88, the Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2003, provided new FY 2004 authority for all programs authorized for FY 2003, including the ITS Deployment Incentives program, at approximately $52 million versus the $122 million designated in the FY 2004 Omnibus Appropriation Act. The multiyear authorization bill now being considered by both the House and the Senate may or may not include funding for the ITS Deployment Incentives Program, and funding levels also remain uncertain.

We request that you solicit project proposals for which funding has been designated in the FY 2004 Omnibus Appropriation Act, based on the amounts earmarked, recognizing that the full amount of this funding may not be ultimately available. While the FY 2004 Omnibus Appropriation Act specifies the locations and amounts of funding, it does not designate specific projects to be funded in all cases. For those earmarks that include a specific activity within their designation, they may be eligible for funding even if they would not have been eligible under the program Guidelines. For more information on this topic, please see Attachment 2, Appendix G Section 547. In addition, States designated by Congress to receive FY 2004 Federal ITS deployment funds may use all or a portion of their ITS funds for Commercial Vehicle ITS Infrastructure Deployment projects.

Attachment 2, Guidance For Participation 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.

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. Specific information on the Commercial Vehicle ITS Infrastructure Deployment Component, defined in Section 5209 will be provided directly from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's Office of Research and Technology.

Attachment 2 provides guidelines 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 FY 04 ITS Integration Component of the ITS Deployment Program. Also included is the Project Description Template, that is the required format for the project proposal, and a Checklist for Participation in 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.

Following receipt of a project proposal and after joint FHWA and FTA review and approval, the Division/FTA Regional Office should electronically forward the project proposal and completed Checklist for Participation in the ITS Integration Program to: ITSEARMARKS@fhwa.dot.gov or the FHWA Office of Transportation Management, HOTM-1 and the FTA Office of Mobility Innovation, TRI-11. Copies should be provided to the FTA Regional Office. Following review and approval, funds will be released and a sample partnership agreement will be provided.

For those Division Offices that would like to obligate these ITS program funds using the normal Federal-aid project agreement process, without execution of a separate ITS partnership agreement, it is an option upon request. Those choosing to use the normal Federal-aid project agreement process for this purpose, please note that you will need to include a statement in the "Division Defined Field" of the Financial Management Information System data entry process, stating that an approved Project Description package, complying with all of the provisions included in the FY 04 ITS Integration Program Guidance, has been approved and is included as part of each project agreement. Prior to obligation of funds, the conditions of this field will need to be met and appropriately acknowledged with a checkmark or date. This field must be visible and accessible to Headquarters' users of FMIS.

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. Larry R. Swartzlander, Office of Transportation Management, FHWA (202) 366-6066. Questions concerning proposed transit projects may be directed to Mr. Brian Cronin, Office of Mobility Innovation, FTA (202) 366-8841. Mr. Jeff Secrist, Office of Research and Technology, FMCSA (202) 385-2367 is the contact for questions concerning Commercial Vehicle Information Systems and Networks (CVISN) deployment.