THE SENATE

S.C.R. NO.

169

TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2006

  

STATE OF HAWAII

  
   

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TO REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE ON THE PROGRESS OF ESTABLISHING FLEXIBLE HIGHWAY DESIGN GUIDELINES PURSUANT TO ACT 185, SESSION LAWS OF HAWAII 2005.

 

WHEREAS, Act 185, Session Laws of Hawaii 2005, relating to flexible highway design, provides in pertinent part as follows:

[Before] June 30, 2006, the director of transportation shall establish flexible highway design guidelines to govern new construction, reconstruction, preservation, resurfacing (except for maintenance surfacing), restoration, or rehabilitation of bridges, principal and minor arterial roads, collector and local roads, and streets. The guidelines shall include and address the considerations set forth in section 2 of this Act.

The guidelines shall also provide for documentation of the facts, circumstances, and considerations involved in the flexible design decision, including an explanation of the process and the reasoning that led to the decision.

[The] director shall establish a process to allow flexible highway design to be considered when designing improvements on the following highways:

(1) Hana highway, east Maui;

(2) Hanalei road, north Kauai;

(3) Hamakua-Honokaa heritage corridor, island of Hawaii;

(4) Upper Kona road, island of Hawaii; and

(5) Ka Iwi coastal highway, eastern Oahu;

and

WHEREAS, during the past decade, highway design has undergone significant change with engineers and planners employing greater flexibility in the way they design road projects through context-sensitive solutions and design; and

WHEREAS, through the use of the Federal Highway Administration Flexibility in Highway Design book, and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Green Book, and A Guide for Achieving Flexibility in Highway Design (May 2004), engineers and planners are able to consider more than safety and efficiency when building new roads or reconstructing old roads; and

WHEREAS, these additional design considerations include the environment, scenic and historic preservation, community effects, and aesthetics; and

WHEREAS, Section 1016(a) of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 allows approval of projects designed to allow for historic and scenic value preservation, while ensuring safe use; and

WHEREAS, the National Highway System Act gives states the flexibility to develop and apply criteria they deem appropriate for federal-aid projects not on the National Highway System; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii is reportedly only one of two states that have not obtained federal moneys for flexible highway design; and

WHEREAS, highway design under the National Highway System Act (other than interstates) may consider the constructed and natural environment of the area, and the environmental, scenic, aesthetic, historic, community, and preservation impacts of the project; and

WHEREAS, Act 185 further stated that the legislature adopts the concept of flexible highway design and determines as a matter of policy that the department should address these concerns by developing guidelines; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2006, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Transportation is requested to report the Legislature on the progress of establishing flexible highway design guidelines pursuant to Act 185, Session laws of Hawaii 2005; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the report include but not be limited to the following information:

(1) The reason for the apparent delay in implementing flexible highway design;

(2) When the flexible highway design guidelines will be completed;

(3) The amount of federal moneys, if any, the State can expect to receive for implementation of flexible highway design guidelines, including the procedures for obtaining such moneys; and

(4) The amount of federal moneys the State may have lost due to the delay in implementing flexible highway design;

and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Transportation and the Governor.

 

 
 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Flexible Highway Design; DOT Report