8350 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 33 / Thursday, February 19, 1998 / Rules and Regulations
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration
23 CFR Part 655
[FHWA Docket No. FHWA-97-2314]
RIN 2125-AD45
National Standards for Traffic Control
Devices; Revision of the Manual on
Uniform Traffic Control Devices;
Temporary Traffic Signals
AGENCY: Federal Highway
Administration (FHWA), DOT.
ACTION: Final amendment to Part VI of
the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control
Devices (MUTCD).
SUMMARY: This document contains an
amendment to Part VI of the Manual on
Uniform Traffic Control Devices
(MUTCD) which has been adopted by
the FHWA. The amendment revises the
section of the MUTCD concerning
temporary traffic signals in order to
permit the use of certain temporary
signaling devices that were
inadvertently excluded by an earlier
revision to Part VI. The MUTCD is
recognized as the national standard for
traffic control on all public roads.
DATES: The final rule is effective
February 19, 1998. Incorporation by
reference of this amendment is
approved by the Director of the Federal
Register as of February 19, 1998.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
Michael E. Robinson, Office of Highway
Safety (HHS-10), (202) 366-2193, or Mr.
Wilbert Baccus, Office of the Chief
Counsel, (202) 366-0780, Federal
Highway Administration, 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: The
MUTCD is available for inspection and
copying as prescribed in 49 CFR part 7,
appendix D. The MUTCD (1988 Edition)
which includes Part VI (Revision 3,
dated 1993) may be purchased for $44
(Domestic) or $55 (Foreign) from the
Superintendent of Documents, U.S.
Government Printing Office, P.O. Box
371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954,
Stock No. 650-001-00001-0.
The FHWA both receives and initiates
requests for amendments to the
MUTCD. Each request is assigned an
identification number which indicates,
by Roman numeral, the organizational
part of the MUTCD affected and, by
Arabic numeral, the order in which the
request was received (e.g., REQUEST
VI-82(C)).
This amendment contains a revision
to Part VI of the MUTCD, Standards and
Guides for Traffic Control for Street and
Highway Construction, Maintenance,
Utility, and Incident Management
Operations. Part VI sets forth principles
and prescribes standards for temporary
traffic control zone operations on streets
and highways in the United States.
Also, Part VI addresses the design,
administration, and operation of street
and highway temporary traffic control
plans and projects. Previous Federal
Register actions regarding changes to
Part VI are contained in FHWA docket
number 89-1, Notice No. 7, published at
58 FR 65084 on December 10, 1993.
The text change resulting from this
amendment to the MUTCD has been
titled ''1988 MUTCD Revision 4a
(modified).'' It will be available from the
Government Printing Office (GPO),
Superintendent of Documents, P.O. Box
371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954.
Everyone currently appearing on the
FHWA, Office of Highway Safety,
Federal Register mailing list will be
sent a copy. Those who want to be
added to this mailing list should write
to FHWA, Office of Highway Safety,
HHS-10, 400 Seventh Street, SW.,
Washington, DC. 20590.
Summary of Comments
Part VI of the MUTCD was revised on
September 3, 1993, and incorporated by
reference in 23 CFR part 655 on
December 10, 1993 (58 FR 64085). As
revised, the last paragraph in section
6F-8C read:
One-way traffic flow requires an all-red
interval of sufficient duration for traffic to
clear the portion of the temporary traffic
control zone controlled by the traffic signals.
To avoid the display of conflicting signals at
each end of the temporary traffic control
zone, traffic signals shall be either hard-wired
or controlled by radio signals.
On January 4, 1995, the FHWA
published an interim final rule and
request for comments that allowed the
use of temporary traffic signals that
employ new technology that will guard
against conflicting GREEN indications at
each end of the temporary traffic control
zone.
The FHWA received a total of seven
comments pertaining to this
amendment. Four of the comments were
in favor of the amendment. The major
concerns of the three opposing
comments relate to the following:
1. Proper signal operation during power
failure;
2. Proper signal operation during possible
equipment malfunction;
3. Proper signal operation at construction
sites where serious vandalism occurred at
one end of a two-lane, two-way traffic
operation;
4. The extent of a State's obligation to
determine if safeguards are in place to avoid
the display of conflicting signals at each end
of the temporary traffic control zone; and
5. The need to avoid the possibility of
green/green conflict.
The FHWA agrees with the concerns
of the opposing comments. To address
the concerns of the opposing comments,
FHWA will revise section 6F-8C to
allow new traffic signal technology, to
require traffic signals to guard against
conflicting GREEN indications, and to
use conflict monitors or other similar
technology to guard against signal
malfunctions whenever the distance
between traffic signals is long or
restricted. Based on the comments, the
last paragraph in section 6F-8C, as
revised and adopted by the FHWA in
this final rule, reads as follows:
One-way traffic flow requires an all-red
interval of sufficient duration for traffic to
clear the portion of the temporary traffic
control zone controlled by the traffic signals.
To avoid the possibility of GREEN/GREEN
conflict at each end of the temporary traffic
control zone, the traffic signal shall be either
hard-wired, controlled by radio signals,
operated manually, or designed to employ
other technology that will not allow
conflicting signal displays. Whenever the
distance between traffic signals is long or
restricted, the use of conflict monitors or
similar electronic technology that is typically
used in traditional traffic signal operations
should be considered.
This revised language in section 6F-
8C allows the use of new and innovative
technology to coordinate signal displays
and does not endorse a particular
product. It ensures, however, that the
concerns of the three opposing
individuals must be addressed by all
traffic signal manufacturers, regardless
of methods used to coordinate signal
displays.
Rulemaking Analyses and Notices
Executive Order 12866 (Regulatory
Planning and Review) and DOT
Regulatory Policies and Procedures
The FHWA has determined that this
action is not a significant regulatory
action within the meaning of Executive
Order 12866 or significant within the
meaning of Department of
Transportation regulatory policies and
procedures. It is anticipated that the
economic impact of this rulemaking
would be minimal. The changes
proposed in this notice provide
additional guidance, clarification, and
optional applications for traffic control
devices. The FHWA expects that
application uniformity will improve at
little additional expense to public