California State Department of Transportation Project Development Procedures Manual (PDPM)

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Test your knowledge of policies and procedures for State highway project development. There are 118 questions broken down into the following 3 parts:

Part 1: General Information (14 questions, 1-14)

Part 2: The Project Development Process (67 questions, 15-81)

Part 3: Specific Project Development Procedures (37 questions, 82-118)

Question 1
During the system and regional planning process, the Planning Concept and the Planning Scope are defined for proposed projects in the plan. When a project advances to project development, these become the Design Concept and the Design Scope for the programmed project. In this context, what does the term "Scope" mean?

a.) The federal funding type for which the project qualifies: eg, NHS, Interstate, HES, BR, ER, TSM, etc.

b.) For highway facilities, addressing such features as number of lanes, project location and length, HOV lanes, interchange and intersection spacing.

c.) A facility type or mode: eg, highway (refined to freeway, expressway or conventional highway), transit, rail, or a combination, proposed to meet a transportation need.

d.) The kind of environmental documentation required: eg, EIR/EIS, Initial Study-ND /Environmental Assessment-FONSI, Categorical Exemption, Categorical Exclusion

Question 2
Regional Transportation Planning Agencies (RTPAs) are the same as Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs)?

• True
• False

Question 3
The lead person from headquarters Design & Local Programs who provides project development technical expertise and assistance to district engineering staff, is the:

a.) Geometric Reviewer

b.)Traffic Operations Liaison Engineer

c.) Project Development Coordinator

d.) Engineering Service Center Project Functional Manager

Question 4
Where should one go for new mapping for a project?

a.) A map store.

b.) Files of an old project.

c.) A photogrammetry contractor.

d.) Caltrans Photogrammetry

Question 5
One of the interactions between the Right of Way unit and the Project Development unit is the Certificate of Sufficiency. Who of the following is requested to provide a Certificate of Sufficiency, and what are the two points the Certificate certifies?

a.) The Design Unit

b.) The Right of Way Engineering Unit

c.) The Surveys Unit

d.) The Right of Way Appraisals Unit

Question 6
When you prepare a Project Study Report (PSR), what unit studies and makes cost estimates for structures, what structures would you submit to them, what information must you submit with your request, and what should you get in response?

• Answer

Question 7
The major programming documents that list state highway projects to be funded by the state, including any federal funds passed through the state, are the:

a.) RTP, CTP and DSMP

b.) RCR and RDP

c.) STIP, SHOPP, TSM and TBP

d.) PMCS and PYPSCAN

Question 8
What are the current federal highway funding programs as defined by ISTEA?

a.) IC, NH, CMAQ, BR, HES, STP

b.) FCR, OHC, TSM, IRR, RAS

c.) SHA, TP&D

d.) HA21, HA22, HB4, HE11

Question 9
What phrase is not one of three phases that broadly define the project development process?

a.) Construction Phase

b.) Programming Phase

c.) Project Design Phase

d.) Project Planning Phase

Question 10
What is the name of the project management scheduling tool that is replacing PYPSCAN (Person Year and Project Schedule and Cost Analysis)?

a.) PMCS

b.) PS&E

c.) TRS

d.) XPM

Question 11
Departmental approval of scope, cost or schedule changes approve these changes in the programming documents (ie, in the STIP, SHOPP, TSM, Toll Bridge Program)?

• True
• False

Question 12
Cost increases of more than $300,000 for state-funded, programmed projects, require the approval of the Deputy Director for Finance or, where delegated, the District Director. (1) What document is prepared to request this change? (2) What funding information needs to be included in this document?

• Answer

Question 13
When a project is split, when does the PE create a separate project file?

a.) Always

b.) Never

c.) Sometimes, depending on the situation

d.) Whatever the PE feels like doing

Question 14
What type of records go in the Project History File (PHF)?

a.) Project development records that document project decisions

b.) Project development records that would be needed to develop a subsequent project

c.) Final project construction records

d.) All of the above records

End of Questions for "Part 1: General Information"

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ranjeet.bagha@dot.ca.gov

This Web page last modified March 27, 2006.