Fix It, Sign It or Close It: State of Good Repair in an Era of Budget Constraints (2021)

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TCRP LRD 57 / NCHRP LRD 84 29 What criteria are used to prioritize the repairs or replacement of equipment or vehicles? Has a matrix or other means of analysis been devised to assist with the process? When an agency has knowledge of a potential “dangerous con- dition” or condition that is less than optimal on a road or bridge, what measures are taken to address it?  Is the hierarchy of sign- ing for it, fixing it, or closing it followed? How does the agency work through those decision-making steps?  If a road or bridge is under consideration for permanent closure, is the public notified?  If not, how, and when is the public noti- fied? If funding to build or maintain the structure was provided via a federal agency, is the federal funding agency involved in the decision-making process?  Might funds need to be returned to the funding agency? Has the agency returned funds to its funding agency in this situation?  If closures or restrictions in service have been made, what les- sons were learned by the agencies as they worked through the decision-making process? Have any best practices or policies been established that will allow or require review by manage- ment and/or a governing Commission? APPENDIX B DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION INTERVIEW QUESTIONS (HIGHWAY) The National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) has initiated a legal research study which will review current practices of transit agencies and state DOTs which are addressing budget limitations. When funds are unavailable for repair of infrastructure or equipment, agencies must decide whether to limit services or restrict access to them. The research paper is intended to assist transportation agencies that are faced with decisions about repairing, improving, re-building or sim- ply closing a facility that cannot be safely operated. The attached survey is part of this effort. Results will be reviewed and com- piled for the publication of a research document which is tenta- tively titled “Fix It, Sign It, or Close It: State of Good Repair in an Era of Budget Constraints.”    Name and Title Name of Agency Physical and E-mail Address Phone Number Does the state have a law or rule that identifies the standard of care for the operation of vehicles or equipment that must be used by the DOT?  It is generally a law that requires a certain standard of care such as “reasonably safe” or “very highest degree of care.” There may be a different standard of care for property such as highways, bridges, or facilities such as sidewalks or buildings. Please provide a citation or the text of the law if available. If a certain guideline, such as the Roadside Design Guide, or a bridge safety publication are used to determine when access to a facility should be limited or completely closed, please provide that information. Has the state been involved with any litigation that relates to closing a road or bridge or restricting access to any state bridges, roads, or other facility? If yes, please provide details and contact information for the attorney that handled the matter.  Has the DOT closed a road or limited access to it for safety rea- sons? Permanently or temporarily during repair?  How long did the decision to close or restrict the route take and what was the decision-making process? How were Environmental Justice concepts considered during the planning process? Did the DOT consider the possibility of a civil rights complaint during the closure evaluation process?  What public outreach was done? Has the agency ever responded to a civil rights com- plaint about the closure or restriction of a road or other facility? If so, how did the agency respond?

TCRP ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This study was performed under the overall guidance of TCRP Project Committee J-5. The Committee is chaired by SHERYL KING BENFORD, Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority, Cleveland, Ohio. Members are ROLF G. ASPHAUNG, Consultant, Denver, Colorado; JAYME BLAKESLEY, Hayes Godfrey Bell, P.C., Holladay, Utah; DARRELL BROWN, Consultant, New Orleans, Louisiana; APRIL GREENHOUSE, Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Houston, Texas; JAMES P. LARUSCH, Raul V. Bravo +Associates, Inc., Reston, Virginia; TERESA J. MOORE, South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, Pompano Beach, Florida; ELIZABETH M. O’NEILL, Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, Atlanta, Georgia; ROBIN M. REITZES, San Francisco City Attorney’s Office, San Francisco, California; JAMES S. THIEL, Madison, Wisconsin; and ALAN S. ZIMMET, Tampa, Florida. BONNIE GRAVES provides liaison with the Federal Transit Administration; LINDA FORD provides liaison with APTA; DAN SMITH serves as the liaison with the Amalgamated Transit Union; ROBERT SHEA provides liaison with TRB’s Technical Activities Division, and GWEN CHISHOLM SMITH represents the TCRP staff. NCHRP ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This study was performed under the overall guidance of the NCHRP Project Committee SP 20-6. The Committee is chaired by MICHAEL E. TARDIF, Friemund, Jackson and Tardif, LLC. Members are JAMES R. “JIM” BAILEY, Texas DOT; CARMEN D. TUCKER BAKARICH, Kansas DOT; RICHARD A. CHRISTOPHER, HDR Engineering; JOANN GEORGALLIS, California Department of Transportation; MARCELLE SATTIEWHITE JONES, Stantec Consulting Services, Inc.; RODNEY M. LOVE, Mississippi DOT; SID SCOTT, III, HKA- Global; FRANCINE T. STEELMAN, Consultant. MICHELLE S. ANDOTRA provided liaison with the Federal Highway Administration, ROBERT J. SHEA provided liaison with TRB’s Technical Activities Division, and GWEN CHISHOLM SMITH represents the NCHRP staff. NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM Systematic, well-designed, and implementable research is the most effective way to solve many problems facing state depart- ments of transportation (DOTs) administrators and engineers. Often, highway problems are of local or regional interest and can best be studied by state DOTs individually or in cooperation with their state universities and others. However, the accelerating growth of highway transportation results in increasingly complex problems of wide interest to highway authorities. These prob- lems are best studied through a coordinated program of cooperative research. Recognizing this need, the leadership of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in 1962 initiated an objective national highway research program using modern scientific techniques—the National Coopera- tive Highway Research Program (NCHRP). NCHRP is supported on a continuing basis by funds from participating member states of AASHTO and receives the full cooperation and support of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), United States Depart ment of Transportation, under Agreement No. 693JJ31950003.

Transportation Research Board 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 Subscriber Categories: Law • Highway These digests are issued in order to increase awareness of research results emanating from projects in the Cooperative Research Programs (CRP). Persons wanting to pursue the project subject matter in greater depth should contact the CRP Staff, Transportation Research Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 500 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001.