System Performance (Travel Time Reliability), Freight, CMAQ

 

On May 20, 2017, a Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) final rule took effect regarding Performance of the NHS, Freight, and CMAQ. The rule establishes performance measures that State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) will use to report on the performance of the Interstate and non-Interstate National Highway System (NHS) to carry out the National Highway Performance Program (NHPP); freight movement on the Interstate system to carry out the National Highway Freight Program (NHFP); and traffic congestion and on-road mobile source emissions for the purpose of carrying out the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) Program. The rule addresses requirements established by the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) and reflects passage of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. 

The performance measures under this rule are:

  • Interstate Travel Time Reliability Measure (% of person-miles traveled on the Interstate that are reliable)**

  • Non-Interstate Travel Time Reliability Measure (% of person-miles traveled on the non-Interstate NHS that are reliable)

  • Truck Travel Time Reliability Index (Sum of max TTTR for each segment/total Interstate system miles)

  • Peak Hour Excessive Delay (PHED) Per Capita*

  • % of Non-Single Occupancy Vehicle (SOV) Travel*

  • Total Emissions Reduction*

    Time reliability in transportation refers to the consistency and predictability of travel times on a given route. A reliable route means that travelers can expect their trips to take roughly the same amount of time every day, without significant delays or unexpected increases in travel time.

  • As indicated in the table, MATS has chosen to support the State targets for Interstate, Non-interstate, and Freight reliability.

    CMAQ stands for Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality, and the last three performance measures are applicable to areas that have been determined to not be in attainment of mandated air quality standards.

    In April 2023, MATS Policy Committee supported the initial targets and then supported the adjusted targets (shown below) in January 2025, as promulgated by MDOT:

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    *Not applicable to MATS due to the attainment of air quality standards.

    **Not applicable to MATS due to no Interstate mileage within the MATS area.

  • The table below provides a progress update on statewide highway time reliability reported to FHWA for 2022.

    The Baseline, Target, and Actual conditions are presented as percentages of the network for each measure.

    For more information on highway reliability: Click Here for the State Highway Reliability Report Dashboard

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