DESIGN MEMORANDUM NO. 7-98

TO:                                           Chief District Engineers
                                                  Active Consultants
                                                  Design Engineers

FROM:                                     John B. Sacksteder, P.E.
                                                  Director, Division of Highway Design

DATE:                                      February 10, 1998

SUBJECT:                               Phase 1 Design

Phase I Design is presently defined as "---design activity to a stage slightly past development of a Preliminary Line and Grade." Until recently, all federally-funded projects were limited to that degree of completion until such time as an environmental document had been approved by FHWA. In response to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s program to improve efficiencies in the design process, agreement has now been reached that allows a project to advance beyond that previous limitation on projects where it may be reasonably determined that the remaining environmental actions would have no effect on the selection of the final corridor location of the design section being considered.

This will allow the Department to consider the specific circumstances of each project and where warranted, advance the design process so that additional design work can be undertaken concurrent with the completion of the environmental document.

This should not be interpreted as a circumvention of the environmental process and is not advocated as the routine process for all projects. It is the Department's responsibility to assure that all environmental considerations are investigated and that the public has an opportunity to present its concerns for the environmental and design elements of a project before any advanced stages of design occur.

Consideration may be given to advance Phase I Design when it can be determined that:

1) the environmental document is essentially complete but formal approval has been delayed, and

2) public meetings have been held leading to a determination that general support for the project exists and the environmental considerations are not a dominating factor in any opposition, and

3) the decision to advance Phase I Design may require minor modifications to alignment or grade of a particular section but will have no impact on the final corridor location consideration or logical termini of the project.

The determination to advance projects will rest with the Project Development Team (PDT). As previously defined, the Project Development Team includes an FHWA representative on all National Highway System projects which includes the Interstate System. When the PDT makes a determination to advance Phase I Design on any project, the Project Manager shall write documentation to the file citing consideration of the three listed factors. Copies of the documentation shall be sent to the Directors of Design, Environmental Analysis, and FHWA. On Interstate projects, formal approval of the project's advancement must be obtained from FHWA.

Once the decision has been made to advance the project, design may advance to the point of producing Final Right-of-Way plans. Right-of-Way acquisition may not occur on federal-aid projects prior to the completion of the environmental process.

This new process is considered immediately effective and should be considered for any projects that meet the cited conditions.

JBS:jad