[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 117 (Monday, June 19, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35322-35323]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-9583]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

[Docket No. FHWA 2006-25064]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Request for Comments 
for New Information Collection

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The FHWA invites public comment about our intentions to 
request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for a new 
information collection, which is summarized below under SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION. We are required to publish this notice in the Federal 
Register by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: Please submit comments by August 18, 2006.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by DOT DMS Docket Number 
FHWA-2006-25064 to the Docket Clerk, by any of the following methods:
     Web site: http://dms.dot.gov. Follow the instructions for 
submitting comments on the DOT electronic docket site.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
     Mail: Docket Management Facility; U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Nassif Building, Room PL-401, 
Washington, DC 20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery: Room PL-401 on the plaza level of the 
Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC, between 9 
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received go to http:// http://dms.dot.gov">dms.dot.gov at any time or to Room 401 
on the plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., 
Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Chien-Tan Chang, Office of Bridge 
Technology, HIBT-1, (202) 366-6749, Fax (202) 366-3077, or e-mail 
[email protected]. For legal questions, please contact Mr. Robert 
Black, Office of the Chief Counsel, (202) 366-1359,

[[Page 35323]]

[email protected]; Federal Highway Administration, Department 
of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. 
Office hours are from 7:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., e.t. Monday through 
Friday, except Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Innovative Bridge Research and Deployment (IBRD) Program

Background

    Congress established the Innovative Bridge Research and 
Construction program, the predecessor of the IBRD program, in the 
Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) (Pub. L. 105-
178). The IBRC program was continued in SAFETEA-LU, but was renamed as 
the IBRD program. Funds are provided to the States under as the IBRD 
program to pay the Federal share of the cost of projects that 
demonstrate innovative accelerated bridge design and construction 
technology and the application of innovative material technology in the 
repair, rehabilitation, replacement, or new construction of bridges and 
other highway structures. For each of the fiscal years 2005 through 
2009, approximately $13.1 million will be available. For FY 2006, 
approximately $2.2 million is available for the IBRC program, and 
approximately $5.1 million for the IBRD program after reduction of 
funds pursuant to the Departments of Transportation, Treasury, Housing 
and Urban Development, the Judiciary, and the District of Colombia, 
independent Agencies Appropriations Act 2006 (Pub. L. 109-115, Nov. 30, 
2005) the Department of Defense, Appropriations Act 2006 (Pub. L. 109-
148, Dec. 30, 2005), and Section 5202(b)(3)(B) of the Safe, 
Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: Legacy for 
Users (SAFETEA-LU). The IBRD activities include identification and 
selection of candidate projects from 50 State DOTs, Puerto Rico and the 
District of Columbia, which meet one or more goals of the program as 
established by the Congress. Approximately 25 projects will be selected 
that meet one or more program goals as follows:
    A. The development of new, cost-effective, innovative highway 
bridge applications;
    B. The development of construction techniques to increase safety 
and reduce construction time and traffic congestion;
    C. The development of engineering design criteria for innovative 
products, materials, and structural systems for use in highway bridges 
and structures;
    D. The reduction of maintenance costs and life-cycle costs of 
bridges, including costs of new construction, replacement or 
rehabilitation of deficient bridges;
    E. The development of highway bridges and structures that will 
withstand natural disasters;
    F. The documentation and wide dissemination of objective 
evaluations of the performance and benefits of these innovative 
designs, materials, and construction methods;
    G. The effective transfer of resulting information and technology; 
and,
    H. The development of improved methods to detect bridge scour and 
economical bridge foundation designs that will withstand bridge scour.
    Additional activities include collection of project information; 
documentation, promotion and wide dissemination of objective 
evaluations of the performance and benefits of these innovative 
designs, materials, and construction methods resulting from the project 
studies.
    Respondents: 50 State Departments of Transportation, the District 
of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
    Frequency: Annual.
    Estimated Average Burden per Response: 1 hour.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: It is estimated that a total 
of 100 responses will be received to give us a total annual burden of 
100 hours.
    Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of 
this information collection, including: (1) Whether the proposed 
collection is necessary for the FHWA's performance; (2) the accuracy of 
the estimated burdens; (3) ways for the FHWA to enhance the quality, 
usefulness, and clarity of the collected information; and (4) ways that 
the burden could be minimized, including the use of electronic 
technology, without reducing the quality of the collected information. 
The agency will summarize and/or include your comments in the request 
for OMB's clearance of this information collection.

    Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. 
Chapter 35, as amended; and 49 CFR 1.48.

James R. Kabel,
Chief, Management Programs and Analysis Division.
[FR Doc. E6-9583 Filed 6-16-06; 8:45 am]
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