Shailen Bhatt, who led state transportation departments in Colorado and Delaware, was confirmed by the Senate to lead the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

Bhatt’s confirmation by the full Senate on Thursday follows bipartisan support on Nov. 29 by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

As head of the FHWA, Bhatt will oversee implementation of the $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA) passed into law in November 2021.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) will host an executive-level virtual rollout of the Every Day Counts (EDC) program round 7 innovations on Dec. 2. 

These innovations will build upon the already significant legacy of EDC and support FHWA’s efforts to drive innovation around three core priorities:

• Improving safety for all road users;
• Building sustainable infrastructure for the future; and
• Growing an inclusive workforce.

EDC is a state-based program that identifies and rapidly deploys proven, yet underutilized innovations that make our transportation system adaptable, sustainable, equitable and safer for all. Proven innovations promoted through EDC facilitate greater efficiency at the State, Local and Tribal levels, saving time, money and resources to ensure our infrastructure is built better, faster, and smarter.

Register now to attend on Dec. 2 at 1:30 p.m. ET. The Executive Session is open to everyone.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is hosting a webinar on “Maintaining Minimum Pavement Marking Retroreflectivity” to discuss the final rule published in the Federal Register on Aug. 5.

The Sept. 1 webinar starts at 12:30 p.m. ET, is free for the public but requires advance registration.

Organizers said the final rule published on Aug. 5 amends the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), adding provisions for minimum maintained levels of pavement marking retroreflectivity in Revision 3 of the 2009 MUTCD.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) posted the final rule regarding pavement marking retroreflectivity in today’s Federal Register.

The posting states: “The purpose of this final rule is to update the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) to provide standards, guidance, options, and supporting information relating to maintaining minimum levels of retroreflectivity for pavement markings. The MUTCD is incorporated in FHWA regulations and recognized as the national standard for traffic control devices used on all streets, highways, bikeways, and private roads open to public travel.”

The rule notes that it is effective on Sept. 6.

Traffic fatalities across the U.S. rose 10.5% in 2021 to a projected 42,915 deaths, reaching a 16-year high, according to statistics released today by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

That projected increase from 38,824 fatalities in 2020 is “the highest number of fatalities since 2005 and the largest annual percentage increase in the Fatality Analysis Reporting System’s history,” NHTSA announced today.

ATSSA President & CEO Stacy Tetschner expressed concern over the record-breaking fatality rate.

“ATSSA’s members have devoted their lives to roadway safety and providing the infrastructure and technology needed to save the lives of the motoring public as well as men and women working on our roadways,” Tetschner said. “This unprecedented increase in traffic fatalities brings home the importance of our work and the necessity of government and private industry partnering to provide safe thoroughfares. The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which was enacted into law in November, provides historic levels of federal funding for roadway safety infrastructure projects. Departments of transportation around the country, including the U.S. Department of Transportation, must prioritize getting these funds to critical, lifesaving safety projects as soon as possible. We know that safer roads save lives. ATSSA members are ready to go to work with their agency partners to move toward zero deaths on all roads.”

ATSSA President & CEO Stacy Tetschner reached out to the leaders of departments of transportation (DOTs) in all 50 states asking for their support for a standardized form for the Qualified Products List (QPL) and the Approved Products List (APL).

In a letter, Tetschner explains that a standardized form would help roadway safety products get to market faster by streamlining the current burdensome process of making a different application for every DOT across the country.

"If you are not aware, each DOT manages its QPL/APL submittals, reviews and approvals differently and this means each company wishing to see a product added to the list must go through the process 50 times, frequently in different ways with different forms, resulting in a very time-consuming, labor-intensive process,” Tetschner states in the letter. “This burdensome process delays getting new and improved products onto the roadways where they could save lives.”

The letter is signed by the president of each of ATSSA’s Chapters, which represent 1,500 member companies from across the country as well as many public agencies.

Earlier today, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) released guidelines for the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) under the new Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).

The guidance outlines eligibilities under the HSIP, along with defining guidance for new special rules that  fall under the HSIP.

While the majority of the HSIP guidance remains intact from the previous highway authorization, ATSSA’s Government Relations team highlighted a few changes to the guidance under the IIJA.

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on Monday announced the release of  responses to three questions regarding testing of roadway safety hardware under the Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH), 2016.

The guidance is available online and includes all new and prior questions and answers dating to May 2018.

A joint AASHTO/FHWA technical working group developed the latest responses, which are created to help manufacturers, crash test laboratories and transportation agencies apply the guidelines to roadway safety devices.

The Federal Highway Administration is hosting a Nov. 22 webinar providing its “Proven Safety Countermeasures 2021 Update,” which will highlight two innovations that are part of the Safe Transportation for Every Pedestrian (STEP) program.

Register now for this free event in which the Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon and Crosswalk Visibility Enhancements will be highlighted. Nine new countermeasures will be introduced during the webinar along with a briefing on new features in the program’s website and implementation resources.