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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 36 / Thursday, February 25, 2021 / Notices including intermodal projects located at airport facilities.9 Applicants should demonstrate that a project that is required to be included in the relevant State, metropolitan, and local planning documents has been or will be included in such documents. If the project is not included in a relevant planning document at the time the application is submitted, the applicant should submit a statement from the appropriate planning agency that actions are underway to include the project in the relevant planning document.
To the extent possible, freight projects should be included in a State Freight Plan and supported by a State Freight Advisory Committee 49 U.S.C. 70201, 70202. Applicants should provide links or other documentation supporting this consideration.
Because projects have different schedules, the construction start date for each INFRA grant will be specified in the project-specific agreements signed by relevant modal administration and the grant recipients, based on critical path items that applicants identify in
the application and will be consistent with relevant State and local plans.
D Assessment of Project Risks and Mitigation Strategies. Project risks, such as procurement delays, environmental uncertainties, increases in real estate acquisition costs, uncommitted local match, or lack of legislative approval, affect the likelihood of successful project start and completion. The applicant should identify all material risks to the project and the strategies that the lead applicant and any project partners have undertaken or will undertake to mitigate those risks. The applicant should assess the greatest risks to the project and identify how the project parties will mitigate those risks.
To the extent it is unfamiliar with the Federal program, the applicant should contact USDOT modal field or headquarters offices as found at www.transportation.gov/infragrants for information on what steps are prerequisite to the obligation of Federal funds to ensure that their project schedule is reasonable and that there are no risks of delays in satisfying Federal requirements.

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vii. Large/Small Project Requirements To select a large project for award, the Department must determine that the projectas a whole, as well as each independent component of the project satisfies several statutory requirements enumerated at 23 U.S.C. 117g and restated in the table below. The application must include sufficient information for the Department to make these determinations for both the project as a whole and for each independent component of the project. Applicants should use this section of the application to summarize how their project and, if present, each independent project component, meets each of the following requirements.
Applicants are not required to reproduce the table below in their application, but following this format will help evaluators identify the relevant information that supports each large project determination. Supporting information provided in appendices may be referenced.

Large project determination
Guidance
1. Does the project generate national or regional economic, mobility, or safety benefits?

Summarize the economic, mobility, and safety benefits of the project and independent project components, and describe the scale of their impact in national or regional terms. The Department will base its determination on the projects benefits as assessed according to the Economic Vitality criterion.
Highlight the results of the benefit cost analysis, as well as the analyses of independent project components if applicable. The Department will base its determination on the ratio of project benefits to project costs as assessed according to the Economic Vitality criterion.
Specify the Goals and summarize how the project and independent project components contributes to that goals.
The Department will base its determination on the projects benefits as assessed according to the Economic Vitality criterion.

2. Is the project cost effective?

3. Does the project contribute to one or more of the Goals listed under 23 U.S.C. 150 and shown below?
1 National Goals.It is in the interest of the United States to focus the Federal-aid highway program on the following national goals:
2 Safety.To achieve a significant reduction in traffic fatalities and serious injuries on all public roads.
3 Infrastructure condition.To maintain the highway infrastructure asset system in a state of good repair.
4 Congestion reduction.To achieve a significant reduction in congestion on the National Highway System.
5 System reliability.To improve the efficiency of the surface transportation system.

metropolitan transportation plan, transportation improvement program TIP and statewide transportation improvement program STIP.
Further, in air quality non-attainment and maintenance areas, all regionally significant projects, regardless of the funding source, must be included in the conforming metropolitan transportation plan and TIP. Inclusion in the STIP
is required under certain circumstances. To the extent a project is required to be on a metropolitan transportation plan, TIP, and/or STIP, it will not receive an INFRA grant until it is included in such plans. Projects not currently included in these plans can be amended by the State and metropolitan planning organization MPO. Projects that are not required to be in long range transportation plans,
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STIPs, and TIPs will not need to be included in such plans to receive an INFRA grant. Port, freight rail, and intermodal projects are not required to be on the State Rail Plans called for in the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008.
However, applicants seeking funding for freight projects are encouraged to demonstrate that they have done sufficient planning to ensure that projects fit into a prioritized list of capital needs and are consistent with long-range goals. Means of demonstrating this consistency would include whether the project is in a TIP or a State Freight Plan that conforms to the requirements Section 70202 of Title 49 prior to the start of construction.
Port planning guidelines are available at StrongPorts.gov.

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9 Projects at grant obligated airports must be compatible with the FAA-approved Airport Layout Plan ALP, as well as aeronautical surfaces associated with the landing and takeoff of aircraft at the airport. Additionally, projects at an airport:
Must comply with established Sponsor Grant Assurances, including but not limited to requirements for non-exclusive use facilities, consultation with users, consistency with local plans including development of the area surrounding the airport, and consideration of the interest of nearby communities, among others; and must not adversely affect the continued and unhindered access of passengers to the terminal.

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