guidance

ATTACHMENT 1 - GUIDANCE

TRUCK PARKING FACILITES GRANT PROGRAM

YEAR	2006	2007	2008	2009
Authorization	6.25M	6.25M	6.25M	6.25M
Actual	5.385M	--	--	--

FUNDING:

• Section 1305 of the of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy For Users (SAFETEA-LU) authorized $6.25 million from the General fund for each of the FY's 2006 through 2009 to carry out this program.

• The Administrator has determined that $5.385 million is available for grants in FY 2006 under Section 1305, after obligation limitations.

• Projects funded under this section shall be treated as projects on a Federal-Aid System under Chapter 1 of Title 23, United States Code.

• Grants may be funded at an 80 to 100 percent funding level based on the criteria specified in 120 U.S.C. (b) and (c) of Title 23.

ELIGIBLE PROJECTS:

• Promoting the real-time dissemination of publicly or privately provided commercial motor vehicle parking availability on the National Highway System using ITS and other means;

• Opening non-traditional facilities to commercial motor vehicle parking, including inspection and weigh stations, and park and ride facilities;

• Making capital improvements to public commercial motor vehicle parking facilities currently closed on a seasonal basis to allow the facilities to remain open year round;

• Constructing turnouts along the NHS to facilitate commercial motor vehicle access to parking facilities, and/or improving the geometric design of interchanges to improve access to commercial motor vehicle parking facilities.

• Constructing commercial motor vehicle parking facilities adjacent to commercial truck stops and travel plazas; and

• Constructing safety rest areas that include parking for commercial motor vehicles

The FHWA believes that broad dissemination of information regarding the availability of long-term parking spaces provides the greatest opportunity to maximize the effectiveness of the limited funds available for this pilot program. Therefore, the FHWA is especially interested in projects that would increase the use of existing parking spaces along the NHS through Intelligent Transportation System technologies that will increase utilization of existing long-term parking spaces. Further, Congress indicated that the Secretary shall give priority to applicants that (a) demonstrate a severe shortage of commercial motor vehicle parking capacity in the corridor to be addressed; (b) have consulted with affected State and local government, community groups, private providers of commercial motor vehicle parking, and motorist and trucking organizations; and (c) demonstrate that their proposed projects are likely to have positive effects on highway safety, traffic congestion, or air quality.

All applications must be submitted thru a State Department of Transportation to FHWA’s Office of Freight Management and Operations, via the FHWA Division Office in the state in which the application was submitted. Awarded projects will be administered by the applicable State Department of Transportation as a Federal aid grant.

Proposal Format/Content

All proposals should use the following format:

1. Project Description. The proposal should include a detailed project description, which would include the extent of the long-term truck parking shortage in the corridor/area to be addressed, along with contact information for the project’s primary point of contact, and whether funds are being requested under 120 b) and (c) of Title 23, U.S. Code. Data helping to define the shortage may include truck volume (Average Daily Truck Traffic—ADTT) in the corridor to be addressed, current number of long-term commercial motor vehicle parking spaces, use of current long-term parking spaces, driver surveys, observational field studies, proximity to freight loading/unloading facilities, proximity to the NHS, etc.

2. Proposal rationale. The proposal should set forth the rationale for the project and should include an analysis and demonstration of how the proposed project will positively affect truck parking, safety, traffic congestion, or air quality in the identified corridor. Examples may include: advance information on availability of parking that may help to reduce the number of trucks parked on roadside and increase the use of available truck parking spaces.

3. Scope of work. The scope of work should include A complete listing of activities to be funded through the grant; including technology development, information processing, information integration activities, developmental phase activities (planning, feasibility analysis, environmental review, engineering or design work, and other activities), construction, reconstruction, acquisition of real property (including land related to the project and improvements to land) environmental mitigation, construction contingencies, acquisition of equipment, and operational improvements. Also included is a 3-year performance measurement plan that continues beyond the demonstration period of the project.

4. Stakeholder identification should include evidence of prior consultation and/or partnership with affected MPOs, local governments, community groups, private providers of commercial motor vehicle parking, and motorist and trucking organizations. Also, include a listing of all public and private partners, and the role each will play in the execution of the project should also be included. Commitment examples may include: Memorandums of Agreement, Memorandums of Understanding, contracts, meeting minutes, letters of support/commitment, documentation in a Transportation Improvement Plans/State Transportation Improvement Plans.

5. Cost estimate. Provide a detailed quantification of eligible project costs by activity, and an identification of all funding sources that will supplement the grant and be necessary to fully fund the project, and the anticipated dates on which the additional funds are to be made available. Public and private sources of matching funds (non-Federal commitment) will be considered. State matching funds will be required for projects eligible under 23 U.S.C. 120 (b).

6. A complete timeline that includes work to be completed and anticipated funding cycles. Gantt charts are preferred.

7. Environmental process. Applicant should show the timeline for complying with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), if applicable.

8. Projects that will take more than one year are acceptable, so long as the complete funding comes from one year’s allocation. Also, a state is not prohibited from requesting additional funds in subsequent years to expand a project, but will be rejected for items such as cost overruns.

9. Project map. Applicants must include a project map consisting of a schematic illustrations depicting the project and connecting transportation infrastructure

10. Length Limit. Proposals shall not exceed 20 pages in length.

Application Review Information

A. Eligibility:

1. Grant applications that contain the proposal elements will be scored competitively according to the soundness of their methodology and subject to the criteria listed below. Sub factors listed under each factor are of equal importance unless otherwise noted.

B. Scoring criteria

1. Demonstration of severe shortage (number of spaces, access to existing spaces or information/knowledge of space availability) of commercial motor vehicle parking capacity/utilization in corridor or area to be addressed. (20 percent)

Examples may include:

• Average Daily Truck Traffic (ADTT) in proposal area.

• Average daily shortfall of truck parking in proposal area.

• Ratio of ADTT to average daily shortfall of truck parking in proposal area.

• Proximity to National Highway System (NHS).

2. The extent to which the proposed solution resolves the described shortage. (35 percent)

• Number of truck parking spaces per day that will be utilized as a result of the proposed solution

• The effect on highway safety, traffic congestion, and/or air quality.

3. Cost effectiveness of proposal. 25%

• How many truck parking spaces will be utilized per day per dollar expended?

• Total cost of project, including in kind match.

4. Scope of proposal. 20%

• Evidence of a wide range of input from affected parties, including State and local governments, community groups, private providers of commercial motor vehicle parking, and motorist and trucking organizations.

• Can the principles outlined in the proposal be applied to other locations/projects and possibly serve as a model for other locations?

C. Review Standards

1. To be considered, the State DOT shall deliver the grant application to the FHWA Division Office by the date specified in this notice. The FHWA Division office will review the proposal, and forward it to FHWA headquarters no later than October 8, 2006 with a designation APPROVED or DISAPROVED.

2. Each application will be reviewed for conformance with the provisions in this part.

3. Incomplete applications as of the deadline for submission will not be considered. If an application is determined to be incomplete, the applicant will be notified in writing and the application will receive no further consideration.

4. Applications conforming to this part will be evaluated competitively by a panel of FHWA employees selected by the Federal Highway Administrator and will be scored as described in the scoring criteria.

5. FHWA may partially fund or request modification of promising projects with the agreement of the applicant.

6. All information in the important program elements must be quantifiable and sourced.

Selection Process.

The grant applications will be ranked by final score. FHWA will select applications based on those rankings, subject to the availability of funds.

VIII. Award Administration Information

A. Award Notices

FHWA will notify applicants whose projects are selected by an award letter. FHWA will follow the award letter with a grant agreement that contains all the terms and conditions for the grant. An applicant should then execute and return the grant agreement, accompanied by any additional items required by the grant agreement.

B. Performance Reporting and Measurement

Applicant must describe a measurement plan to determine whether or not the project achieved its intended results. The measurement plan must continue for three years beyond the completion date of the project. After the three-year period a final report quantifying the results of the project should be submitted. Failure to provide this measurement plan will be considered during past-performance reviews for future contracts. Applicant must ensure that the project is or will be identified on the appropriate state-planning document, and must provide quarterly progress reports updating the status of the project to the FHWA.