US Interstate Highway Historic Features Plan

16 June 2006

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[Federal Register: June 16, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 116)]

[Notices]

[Page 34988-34990]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr16jn06-166]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

[FHWA Docket No. FHWA-2006-24902]

Preliminary List of Nationally and Exceptionally Significant

Features of the Federal Interstate Highway System

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The FHWA is seeking public input on preliminary list of

elements to be excluded from exemptions of the Interstate Highway

System from consideration as historic property under the provisions of

section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and section 4(f)

of the Department of Transportation Act of 1966.\1\ This list is

available at http://www.environment.fhwa.dot.gov/histpres/index.asp.

This notice contains a link to and the process for interested members

of the public to comment on the preliminary list of elements to be

excluded from the respective exemptions of the Interstate Highway

System from consideration as historic property under the authorities

cited above. Comments received from the public will be factored into

development of a final list of exceptional elements of the Interstate

System.

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\1\ Section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act of 1966

wastechnically repealed in 1983 when it was codified without

substantive change at 49 U.S.C. 303. A provision with the same

meaning is found at 23 U.S.C. 138 and applies only to FHWA actions.

We continue to refer to section 4(f) as such because it would create

needless confusion to do otherwise; the policies section 4(f)

engendered are widely referred to as ``Section 4(f)'' matters.

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DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 17, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Mail or hand deliver comments to the U.S. Department of

Transportation, Dockets Management Facility, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh

Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590, or submit electronically at http://dms.dot.gov

or fax comments to (202) 493-2251. All comments should

include the docket number that appears in the heading of this document.

All comments received will be available for examination and copying at

the above address from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday,

except Federal holidays. Those desiring notification of receipt of

comments must include a self-addressed, stamped postcard or may print

the acknowledgment page that appears after submitting comments

electronically. Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all

comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual

submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf

of an association, business, labor union, etc.). Persons making

comments may review DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal

19477-78), or may visit http://dems.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: MaryAnn Naber, HEPE, (202) 366-2060;

Federal Highway Administration; 400 7th Street, SW., Washington, DC

20590; Harold Aikens, Office of the Chief Counsel, HCC-30, (202) 366-

0791; Federal Highway Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW.,

Washington, DC 20590-0001. Office hours are from 7:45 a.m. to 4:15

p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Electronic Access and Filing

You may submit or retrieve online through the Document Management

system (DMS) at: http://dmses.dot.gov/submit. The DMS is available 24-

hours each day, 365 days each year. Electronic submission and retrieval

help and guidelines are available under the help section of the Web

site.

An electronic copy of this document may be downloaded by using the

Internet to reach the Office of the Federal Register's home page at

http://www.archives.gov and the Government Printing Office's Web site at http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara.

I. Background

Section 106 requires that Federal agencies take into account the

effect of their actions on historic properties and afford the Advisory

Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) an opportunity to comment on

those effects. Historic properties are defined as those either listed

on or eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic

Places (National Register).\2\ Section 4(f) mandates that DOT agencies

may not use historic sites, among other protected resources, unless

there is no prudent and feasible alternative. As the Dwight D.

Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways

(Interstate System) approached the 50th Anniversary, some of its

elements were already at least 50 years of age and large sections would

soon be achieving that mark at which resources are often evaluated for

historic significance. The potential for vast sections of the

Interstate System to be considered historic raised the issue of an

overwhelming administrative burden for the myriad routine undertakings

affecting the Interstate System, even for basic maintenance and

improvements. Accordingly, on February 18, 2005, the ACHP adopted the

Section 106 Exemption Regarding Effects to the Interstate Highway

System.\3\ This exemption effectively excludes the majority of the

46,700-mile Interstate System from consideration as a historic property

under section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). In

addition, the recently enacted Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient

Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) re-

authorization legislation (Pub. L. 109-59, August 10, 2005) includes a

provision (Section 6007) that exempts the bulk of the Interstate

Highway System from consideration as a historic property under section

4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act. With these two exemptions

in place, all Federal agencies are no longer required to consider the

vast majority of the Interstate Highway System as historic property

under section 106 and section 4(f) requirements.

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\2\ The National Register of Historic Places is the Nation's

official list ofcultural resources worthy of preservation.

Authorized under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the

National Register is part of a national program to coordinate and

support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and

protect our historic and archeological resources. Properties listed

in the Register include districts, sites, buildings, structures, and

objects that are significant in American history, architecture,

engineering, and culture. The National Park Service administers the

National Register.

\3\ The ACHP's approved exemption was published in the Federal

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Highways comprising the Interstate Highway System are denoted by

the official red, white, and blue, or green

[[Page 34989]]

and white in Alaska, Interstate Highway System shield.\4\ All

facilities within the right-of-way of these highways (e.g., road bed,

engineering features, bridges, tunnels, rest stops, interchanges, off-

ramps, on-ramps, etc.) are considered to be part of the Interstate

Highway System. Other highways (e.g., U.S. routes, State routes, etc.)

not designated with the official shield are not part of the Interstate

Highway System, and therefore are not eligible for either exemption.

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\4\ See Section 2D.11 of the Manual on Uniform Traffic

ControlDevices (MUTCD) for more information about the design of

route signs. The MUTCD is available at the following URL: http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/pdfs/2003/pdf.index.htm

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Under Section II of the ACHP's section 106 exemption, certain

elements of the Interstate Highway System, such as bridges, tunnels,

and rest stops, shall be excluded from the exemption's provisions if

they have national and/or exceptional historic significance. Section

III of the ACHP's section 106 exemption sets forth the criteria by

which the FHWA shall identify these elements in consultation with

stakeholders in each State. Section 6007 of SAFETEA-LU (codified at 23

U.S.C. 103(c)(5)) adopts by reference the same process for identifying

exclusions to the section 4(f) exemption. Elements identified for

exclusion will continue to be subject to the requirements of sections

106 and 4(f). It does not mean that the excluded facilities cannot be

modernized, rehabilitated, expanded or replaced after appropriate

consideration under the aforementioned statutes.

II. Process

The ACHP's section 106 exemption directed FHWA, at the headquarters

level, to work with stakeholders at the State and local levels, to

compile a list of excluded elements prior to the 50th Anniversary of

the Interstate Highway System on June 29, 2006. The criteria set forth

in the language of the respective exemptions were used to guide the

process of identifying Interstate Highway System elements that should

remain subject to section 106 and 4(f) requirements. Also, to assist in

the process, the FHWA commissioned preparation of a historic context

report for the Interstate Highway System (Interstate Historic Context

Report). This report provides a detailed history of the evolution,

development of design standards, and construction of the Interstate

Highway System. It explains how the Interstate Highway System is

significant within the areas of engineering, transportation, social

history, and commerce, and it provides some specific examples of

elements that are important within these areas. The draft context

report is available at: http://www.environment.fhwa.dot.gov/histpres/index.asp

III. Exclusion Criteria

Individual elements that are excluded from the exemptions may

include bridges, tunnels, rest areas, medians, interchanges, ramps,

highway segments, culverts, pedestrian overcrossings, lookout sites,

visitor centers, retaining walls, signage, lighting, toll booths, and

landscaping that are part of the Interstate Highway System. Elements

must possess adequate integrity to convey their importance within the

appropriate area(s) of significance: Engineering, transportation,

social history, or commerce. In addition, per Section III of the ACHP's

section 106 exemption, elements must meet at least one of the following

criteria:

1. National Significance. The element is at least 50 years old and

meets the National Register criteria \5\ for national significance as

defined in 36 CFR 65.4. In particular, the quality of national

significance is ascribed to resources that possess exceptional value or

quality in illustrating or interpreting the heritage of the United

States in history, architecture, archeology, engineering, and culture

and that possess a high degree of integrity.

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\5\ Information on the National Register standards for

evaluating thesignificance of properties and its criteria for

listing may be found at the following URL: http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/listing.htm

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2. Exceptional Significance. The element is less than 50 years old

and meets the National Register criteria consideration for exceptional

importance. The first step in evaluating properties of recent

significance is to identify the appropriate area(s) of significance:

engineering, transportation, social history, or commerce. Then,

deliberate and distinct justification for the ``exceptional

importance'' of the resource must be made. The phrase ``exceptional

importance'' may be applied to the element's extraordinary impact on an

event or for the quality of its design or because it may be one of very

few survivors of a resource type. Standard design elements, by their

very nature, are not exceptional.

3. Listed or Determined Eligible by the Keeper. The element is

listed in the National Register or has previously been determined

eligible by the Keeper of the National Register.

4. State or Local Significance. At the discretion of the FHWA,

elements may be included in the list of excluded elements if they are

at least 50 years old, were later incorporated into the Interstate

Highway System, and meet the National Register criteria for evaluation

as defined in 36 CFR 60.4 at the State or local level of significance.

IV. Methodology

The FHWA identified exceptional elements for the preliminary list

by soliciting input and conducting facilitated meetings with key

representatives from each State and the District of Columbia. The

details of this process are described in the following paragraphs.

Points of contact from the FHWA Division Offices, Departments of

Transportation (DOTs), and State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPOs)

were identified within each of the 50 States and the District of

Columbia. Where possible, contacts also were identified within

organizations capable of providing additional information relevant to

this process (e.g., facility owners, local, State, or national road-

related historical groups).

Guidance materials for applying the criteria detailed above were

prepared and distributed to the points of contact identified within

each State. These materials included representative examples of

property types and individual historic elements. After distributing the

guidance materials and appropriate background information to each

State's ``team'' of representatives, FHWA held State-by-State

conference calls, inviting pertinent points of contact identified

within each State to participate. These calls were facilitated by

qualified cultural resource management specialists and were intended

to: (a) Ensure that all team members understood the details of the

exemptions and the criteria for identifying potentially significant

elements; and (b) provide a forum for brainstorming for potential

elements within the State that merited consideration for exclusion. In

cases where all points of contact were not able to participate in the

initial conference call, absent individuals were contacted separately

by phone and provided with meeting minutes to keep them apprised of the

project and any relevant discussions.

Following the initial round of 51 conference calls, each State team

was given several weeks to collaborate and determine whether there was

consensus on a list of elements to be excluded from the exemptions. As

necessary, the FHWA provided support to conduct limited research on

potentially significant elements. Teams were asked to provide the FHWA

with standardized information for each of the resources

[[Page 34990]]

identified in their lists including, location (Interstate number and

milepost and/or crossing), name of resource, property type, year(s) of

construction, level of significance (national, State, or local), and

nature of significance for inclusion in the list. In addition, teams

were asked to provide brief justifications of significance for each

element on the list. As expected by the FHWA, some States were unable

to identify any Interstate Highway System elements that strongly convey

a particular area of significance at a level of exceptional or national

importance.

V. Public Participation

Based on the lists submitted by each State, the FHWA compiled a

preliminary national list of elements to be excluded from the

exemptions. This draft list is available at the following URL: http://www.environment.fhwa.dot.gov/histpres/index.asp.

Through public input

and stakeholder involvement, the FHWA intends to refine the preliminary

list of exceptional Interstate System elements. The draft list will be

e-mailed to all stakeholders who participated in the process of

identifying historic elements, as well as any additional individuals or

organizations identified by the FHWA Division Offices, State DOTs, and

SHPOs as having an interest. The FHWA is interested in feedback

concerning the following specific aspects of the preliminary list:

Whether it should include additional elements, which would

continue to be considered as historic properties under the provisions

of section 106 and section 4(f).

Whether certain sites should be excluded from the final

list based on application of the stated criteria.

Considerable stakeholder input has already been received and taken into

consideration in developing this preliminary list. In addition, the

section 106 exemption, which was previously published in the Federal

designate, by June 30, 2006, individual elements on the Interstate

System that will continue to be considered under section 106.

Accordingly, the FHWA believe that a 30-day comment period for input

from the general public at this time is deemed to be adequate.

Commenters should submit comments as indicated above under

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

Authority: 23 U.S.C. 103(c)(5)(B); Sec. 6007, Public Law 109-59.

Issued on: June 12, 2006.

J. Richard Capka,

Federal Highway Administrator.

[FR Doc. E6-9454 Filed 6-15-06; 8:45 am]

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