FSH 7709.55 - TRANSPORTATION PLANNING HANDBOOK
FSH 12/89 R-10 SUPP 1
One of the central resources involved in Forest Plan implementation is access.
Access to the National Forest and its resources are key to achieving many of the
goals identified in the Forest Plans. The form of access, the ease of access, and
limits placed on the access shape the opportunities for the use of the forest
resources.
Each of the Forest Plans, as amended, contain procedural direction for
implementation processes. The Chugach National Forest Plan implementation
process includes Management Area Analysis. The Tongass Land Management Plan
was amended in 1986 to include specific process direction for Area Analysis
processes to implement the Plan.
An implicit assumption is the acceptance and encouragement of people to access the
National Forest. Management goals may alter the method of access and kinds or
types of uses allowed, but peoples' access to the National Forest is not denied except
for extraordinary circumstances (fire danger closures).
31 - AREA TRANSPORTATION ANALYSIS. One of the implicit assumptions for
all transportation planning is that proposed actions or changes will require
appropriate disclosure meeting the requirements of the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). It is an explicit assumption that all transportation
analysis work is being done in preparation for, or as part of, a process resulting in
an environmental disclosure document and a related decision document. Area
transportation planning is addressed in the required environmental analysis
accompanying decisions.
Documentation of the existing status of access and the methods of access provides
baseline information for the NEPA process. This constitutes part of the basis for
the no-action alternative. Documentation of the current status using road
management objectives processes (Chapter 33) is not an action requiring NEPA
disclosure. Several actions normally considered as qualifying for Categorical
Exclusions are documented in FSH 1909.15, Chapter 26.
31.3 - Documentation.
4. In addition to the other documentation requirements outlined in this
section, road management objectives prepared during project planning activities
shall use the following list of elements in documenting the intended purpose of a
road, access objectives, and the criteria necessary to guide subsequent development,
operations, and maintenance processes. Additional elements may be added to meet
Supervisor's Office, or Ranger District needs.
The presumption is that the list is not inclusive, nor is the format displayed a
required one. The list of road management objective elements, with definitions, is
provided to foster uniformity and promote consistency with respect to content. Use
is intended during planning processes and subsequent updates of road management
objectives worksheets.
Actual selection and use of elements to document project planning and in preparing
road management objectives is left to the discretion of the Forests. Forests may
develop or use the Handbook layouts to achieve content uniformity.
Road management objective elements selected by the Forests should be developed to
meet local needs while meeting National and Regional guidelines. The process used
should be documented as a Forest supplement to this handbook.
ROAD MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVE ELEMENTS
Preface
The elements have been prepared to foster and promote uniformity and consistency
with respect to content in dealing with road management objectives (RMO).
Uniformity will be fostered by having a list of defined elements to refer to during
planning processes, and therefore, ensure important and germane elements are
considered. Consistency will be fostered by utilizing elements from a core list with
definitions.
Road ID Data
Road Number: Number consistent with NEPA disclosure document, decision, and
Transportation Information System (TIS) (Component #1).
Road Name: When available, consistent with TIS (Component #8).
Forest/Area: Name, Abbreviation, or Number consistent with TIS (Component #5).
District: Name, Abbreviation, or Number consistent with TIS (Component #206).
Termini: Preference would be a landmark or administrative name for the beginning
and ending of the road segment. Lacking a better reference, mileposts are
appropriate.
Length: Miles consistent with NEPA disclosure document, decision, and TIS
(Component #224).
Functional Class: (ART, COL, LOC) Name, Abbreviation consistent with NEPA
disclosure document, decision, and TIS (Component #13).
Service Life: (Long, Short) Consistent with NEPA disclosure document, decision,
and TIS (Component #15).
Level of Service: (Constant, Intermittent) Consistent with NEPA disclosure
document and decision.
Long Range Planning Criteria
Cycle of Entry: Consistent with NEPA disclosure document and decision projecting
next project or next need for entry, if known.
Harvest Date(s)/Volumes: Range of dates and traffic/harvest volume generated that
are consistent with NEPA disclosure document and decision.
Management Area Direction
Management Direction: Reference to NEPA disclosure document and decision or
short management emphasis statement to describe the need for the road.
Mitigations: Reference to NEPA disclosure document and decision or short
statements outlining mitigations to protect or solve resource conflicts.
Access Management Objectives
ROS: Reference Recreation Opportunity Spectrum information in NEPA disclosure
document and decision or provide short focus statements.
Closure Prescriptions: Provide NEPA disclosure document and decision reference
or short focus statement when needed.
Other Access Needs: Describe or reference termini to trails, OHV, Ocean Access,
sources of traffic and use, and so forth.
Access Prescriptions: Reference to NEPA disclosure document and decision to tie to
Management direction concerning utilization of road. May contain the ROS
designation, AM Number, Wildlife closure, and so forth.
Intended Purpose: Reference to NEPA disclosure document and decision describing
the intended purpose of the road or a short focus statement to do the same.
Examples may be access Timber harvest volume then closure or short-term Timber
harvest with long-term Recreation or long-term Timber harvest with Wildlife focus
between projects, and so forth.
Mitigations: Reference specific NEPA disclosure document and decision mitigations
or use short statements to describe. Examples: Road Closure after first sale entry
for reduced Wildlife impacts, Road to be closed to 4-wheel vehicle traffic, but open
for OHV and foot traffic.
Design Criteria
Commercial: (Timber Harvest, Mining, Highway/Off-Highway) Identify commercial
users.
Recreation and Other Public: (RV's, School Bus, Mail Routes, Local Traffic) Identify
the traffic generators that will add to the projected traffic use for the road.
Traffic Volumes: (Amount and Kind) Identify the projected traffic volumes
generated by the traffic types, for example: commercial, recreation, and other
public users.
Traffic Characteristics: (Mix) Identify the traffic composition over the facility using
the traffic generators, projected volumes, and timing.
Safety: (Dust, Abatement, Signing) Once the traffic mix, projected use schedules
are identified then the safety of that mix needs to be addressed. Turnout spacing,
warning signs may be warranted, road restrictions, and so forth, to provide user
safety.
Traffic Control Devices: (Gates, Signs, Barricades) To meet access objectives, user
safety, and so forth, different kinds of control devices can be considered and
prescribed.
Traffic Service Level: (Characteristics, Operating Conditions) Describe a number
of factors, such as: speed, travel time, interruptions, maneuverability, safety, driver
comfort, convenience, operating cost, and will it effect several design element
selection decisions.
Service Life: (Number of Years to be Used) The length of time a facility is expected
to provide a specified service, consistent with TIS (Component #15).
Design Speed: The speed determined for design that correlates to the physical
features of a road that will influence vehicle operations, consistent with TIS
(Component #225).
Vehicle Characteristics
Design Vehicle: Vehicles having physical and/or operational characteristics that
determine the geometric and structural design requirements of a facility or a
specified section of the facility. Example: A bridge weight limit could be effected by
a design vehicle, curve widening, and/or curve radiuses could be effected by a design
vehicle.
Critical Vehicle: This vehicle is normally the largest (by weight, size, or some
unique features) whose limited use is necessary for the planned activity. Examples:
a log yarder on a timber access road.
Environmental and Resource Considerations
Archeology: Cite references in the NEPA disclosure document and decision with
respect to cultural resources, for example: being with in an area that has had
previous sites identified, or within areas that have historically produced high
probabilities of cultural resource sites, that are important to transportation system
development or road management. These references can be considerations,
concerns, mitigations, guidelines, and so forth. They flag transportation ties and
considerations to this resource.
Fish and Wildlife: Cite references in the NEPA disclosure document and decision to
fish habitat, for example: spawning and rearing habitat, channel stability, water
quality, fishing pressures, and so forth, that are important to transportation system
development or road management. These references can be considerations,
concerns, mitigations, guidelines, and so forth. They flag transportation ties and
considerations to this resource.
Cite references to wildlife habitat, for example: deer winter ranges, bear habitat,
hunting pressures, and so forth, that are important to transportation system
development or road management. These references can be considerations,
concerns, mitigations, guidelines, and so forth. They flag transportation ties and
considerations to this resource.
Recreation: Cite references in the NEPA disclosure document and decision to
recreation opportunities, for example: existing camp sites, proposed sites, water
access, trail access, and so forth, that are important to transportation system
development or road management. These references can be considerations,
concerns, mitigations, guidelines, and so forth. They flag transportation ties and
considerations to this resource.
Silviculture: Cite references in the NEPA disclosure document and decision to
silviculture cultural prescriptions, for example: being within an area that has had
sites identified for silvicultural activities subsequent to the harvest activities that
are important to the transportation system development or road management.
These references can be considerations, concerns, mitigations, guidelines, and so
forth. They flag transportation ties and considerations to this resource activities.
Soil and Water: Cite references in the NEPA disclosure document and decision to
soil stability and water quality that are important to the transportation system
development or road management. These references can be considerations,
concerns, mitigations, guidelines, and so forth. They flag transportation ties to
other resource considerations.
Subsistence: Cite references in the NEPA disclosure document or decision to
subsistence use and the effects of the proposed actions that are important to the
transportation system development or road management. The references can be
considerations, concerns, mitigations, guidelines, and so forth. They flag
transportation ties to other resource considerations.
Visual: Cite references in the NEPA disclosure document and decision to visual
quality, for example: road cuts, pit development, scenic overlooks, and so forth, that
are important to the transportation system development or road management.
These references can be considerations, concerns, mitigations, guidelines, and so
forth. They flag transportation ties and considerations to this resource.
Economics
Cash flows (costs and values) are usually considered with respect to specific projects
and the capital costs for the facility, the maintenance during the project period,
some operations costs after the project. The costs are generally balanced against
the gains (values), either direct or indirect, as a result of the project.
Other
Additional items need to be considered with respect to the road facilities in the
Alaska Region. The type of log-transfer facility (LTF), storage capability, access
capabilities, production rates, and the use period have effects on traffic generators
and road use. The following elements are mentioned here to surface that focus.
LTF Type: The type of facility used to place timber/minerals and other commodities
on to marine transportation systems.
Sort Yard: The existence and capacity of a sort yard to not impede haul activities.
Float/Ramp: The facilities available or planned to load and off-load materials,
supplies, people, equipment at the log-transfer facilities.
Volume Rate: The productive capacity to place commodities on marine
transportation systems.
Use Period: The timing of projects and use of LTF facilities to avoid conflicts with
users, permits, and so forth.
Operation Criteria
Subject to Highway Safety Act: Roads open to public travel except during scheduled
periods, extreme weather conditions, or emergencies where the road sections
passable by 4-wheel standard passenger cars and is open to the general public for
use without restrictive gates, prohibitive signs, or regulations other than generally
applicable traffic controls fall under this category. This information is important
and requires action to be considered and implemented in road design, construction,
operations, and maintenance management.
Jurisdiction: Is the legal right to control or regulate use of a transportation facility.
Jurisdiction requires authority, but not necessarily ownership. The authority to
construct or maintain a road may be derived from fee title, easements, or other
similar methods. Jurisdiction is, therefore, important with respect to authority to
control, regulate, use, improve, maintain, and so forth, for management purposes.
Identify the kind of jurisdiction for example: FS ownership, easement, Borough,
State, Other Agency, and so forth, and consistent with TIS (Component #229).
Traffic Management Strategy: Indicate the strategy that will encourage,
discourage, or eliminate use of the facility to certain types of traffic if it applies.
Include narrative statement that addresses:
Traffic control devices.
Permits (overload, sup, and so forth).
Traffic rules and Orders.
Management strategy both during commercial use and between commercial
use.
Maintenance Criteria
Maintenance Level: Is a formally established criterion which prescribes the
intensity of maintenance necessary for the planned operation of a road. The level
can be broken into two categories. The operating maintenance level (At present
time), consistent with TIS (Component #231) and the objective maintenance level
(between projects), consistent with TIS (Component #232).
Maintenance Responsibility: (Forest Service, Purchaser, Co-Op) Projects require
road maintenance many times, co-op agreements may require maintenance, and
depending on the maintenance level assigned the Forest Service has maintenance
requirements. Therefore, identifying timing and responsibility will enable us to
schedule and utilize our maintenance funding and meet our maintenance
obligations.
Frequency and Kind of Attention: (How often - Grading, Ditching, Brushing, and so
forth) This title fits closely with MAINTENANCE STANDARD which is defined as
a formally established criterion for a specific activity which 1) outlines the work
involved and when it should be done; 2) describes the work methods and
composition of efficient crews; 3) list the average productivity rate; and 4) describes
results to be expected. This will be important in evaluating the maintenance
workload and funding requirements for out-year planning.
Actual Traffic Volumes: (Traffic counts) Some roads will need some kind of traffic
counts to help establish use of a facility and mix of traffic. These will be valuable in
substantiating traffic projections in planning, seasonal influences of certain types of
traffic generators, establishing traffic volume growth trends, identifying traffic
management strategies, identifying structures to meet short and long range facility
needs, and so forth.
33 - ROAD MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES. Road management objectives are
addressed in the Forest Plan implementation processes described in the current
Forest Plans. Road management objectives are not established until the
documentation is completed and a decision is made by the appropriate line officer.
33.3 - Documentation. The completed, signed, Road Management Objective form
documents details of the decisions made in implementing Forest Plans. A single,
site specific planning and disclosure process is used to implement Forest Plans. It
is recognized that some discrete detail may be necessary to supplement and
complete the implementation decision. It is possible that some programmatic
strategies may be the result of the implementation planning and disclosure
processes and can be detailed with the signed RMO record documents.
Where the RMO record documents the current situation, and is in accordance with
applicable related NEPA disclosure and decision documents, there is no change.
The process of documenting the current situation is not a decision nor a NEPA
process item.
Where there is a desire for a change from the current situation, any change will
need environmental analysis to determine if it is significant. If it is significant,
either individually or cumulatively, then an EIS is required. If it is not significant,
then a Categorical Exclusion will suffice. If there is uncertainty about the
significance, an EA is usually preferred. Appropriate disclosure is required. The
documented current situation provides the basis for the no-action alternative.
Many actions such as road closures, restrictions on travel or use, construction of low
impact facilities, or repair and maintenance activities normally may be
Categorically Excluded from documentation in an EIS or EA. Consult FSH 1909.15,
Chapter 26, for further information on Categorical Exclusions and situations where
Decision letters are not required.
The RMO record form is useful for documenting site specific management direction
for roads or road segments. The form should not be signed by the line officer during
the preparation of the environmental analysis unless it documents only the current
situation. RMO record forms should not be signed by the line officer for roads
within the environmental analysis (project) boundaries for changes until a decision
document has been signed. The line officers' signature before the decision point
could be viewed as a pre-decisional action.
It is desirable that the RMO record form include reference to the project analysis,
and alternative(s) it is associate with. Summaries of the information contained in
RMO record forms can be used in analyzing effects in the disclosure documents.
The inclusion of the RMO record form in the analysis record or project file is
required by NEPA documentation direction.
The signing of the RMO record can function as a Decision letter for a Categorical
Exclusion if required, or can be an attachment to a Decision letter. When used as a
Decision letter, the information required in FSH 1909.15, Chapter 27, must be
included.
It is important that the information on the RMO record explicitly include the
references to the decision it is implementing. An example situation would be
implementation of a road management strategy determined in a Record of Decision.
The RMO record (and associated environmental analysis, if needed) could provide
site-specific details on the locations of traffic control devices, operational limitations
such as, removal of bridges and other details related to implementing a strategy
selected in the Record of Decision. Likewise, the RMO record can include explicit
dates implementing a seasonal closure described in the decision document.
A list of elements is provided in the R-10 Supplement to Chapter 31.3
Documentation (AREA TRANSPORTATION ANALYSIS) for road management
objectives. Forest transportation planners, development engineers and operations,
and maintenance engineers are encouraged to review and use those elements
provided when developing or updating permanent records (worksheets)
documenting road management objectives.