High Risk Rural Roads (HR3) Program
SAFETEA-LU (the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users) introduced a new safety program called the High Risk Rural Roads (HR3) Program.
Only those roads that are functionally classified as rural major collector, rural minor collector, or rural local road are eligible to compete for HR3 funds.
For the 5-year funding duration of SAFETEA-LU (2004/2005 – 2008/2009), Caltrans solicited candidate HR3 projects twice. The first call for projects was conducted in 2006 and forty-five (45) projects were selected totaling over $22 million. The second call for projects was made in February, 2008 and the list of approved projects was released on July 9, 2008. The total amount of funds programmed for the second call was approximately $17.6 million. This amount includes approximately $10 million remaining under SAFETEA_LU funding and $7.6 million of funds that Caltrans expects to receive for the HR3 Program in the 2009/2010 Federal Fiscal Year (FFY), pending the inclusion and funding of the program in the next Federal Transportation Reauthorization Act. If the HR3 Program is not included in the next Act, projects that have not received an ‘Authorization to Proceed with Construction’ will be dropped from the program in accordance with their Safety Index priority. Agencies may exercise the Expedited Project Selection Process (EPSP) to deliver their project in advance of the FFY it is programmed in the Federal Transportation Improvement Program (FTIP).
Successful agencies from the second cycle will be contacted by their District Local Assistance Engineer with instructions on how to proceed with the implementation of their project.
Caltrans will solicit candidate HR3 projects in the future if the program is continued in the next Federal Transportation Reauthorization Act. Continue to check this site for updates.