Federal Highway Administration revises program for lower-speed roads

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), a branch of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), recently proposed revisions to its ongoing program policies that are designed to promote lower-speed roads; the revisions would serve to make the lower-speed routes more aligned with both environmental and community needs.

This is just one of several ways that the regulatory and program policy changes within the FHWA are meant to enable more flexibility in city, state and county engineers as they design various highway projects.

“This proposed policy change will give states and communities the opportunity to be more innovative in designing their local projects,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said. “It will help us to build more quality projects that will not only provide more travel options for people, but also support and unite communities across America.”

Greater independence among engineers and their highway designs may help to improve the U.S. infrastructure.

“This change is a part of a major push at the agency to give engineers more autonomy in highway design, so they can implement transportation projects that better connect with their communities,” Federal Highway Administrator Gregory Nadeau said. “We are always seeking new ways to improve our highway system, and today is a great step forward.”