11th edition of the MUTCD-2020 draft-Item 10

Overview

NPA Proposed Change Item 10 proposes to add a new Section 1B.02 on “State Adoption and Conformance”.

NPA Text

10. FHWA proposes to add a new Section 1B.02, titled, “State Adoption and Conformance,” with text relocated from the existing Introduction and existing Section 1A.07. FHWA proposes this revision to consolidate information about the adoption of the MUTCD by States and other Federal agencies and substantial conformance of State MUTCDs and Supplements.

FHWA also proposes a new Standard paragraph to clarify the fact that, in addition to State MUTCDs or Supplements, any policies, directives, or other supplemental documents that a State or other agency might issue to address traffic control devices are considered supplements to the MUTCD and must be in substantial conformance with the national MUTCD. This proposed change is for clarification purposes and does not represent a change to existing requirements.

Lastly, FHWA proposes to add Guidance indicating that traffic control devices that have been granted Interim Approval, but which have not yet been adopted into the national MUTCD, should not be included in State MUTCDs or Supplements. FHWA proposes this revision to clarify the process for such cases because the technical conditions or status of an Interim Approval are provisional in nature and can change before adoption into the MUTCD. Adoption into State Manuals or Supplements can create a burden for those States for which a legislative change would be required to comply with any new or revised provisions that FHWA might issue. FHWA proposes this change to ensure that an Interim Approval can accommodate flexibility by responding readily to any changes that might become necessary.