U.S. Code > Title 23 Highways > CHAPTER 1—FEDERAL-AID HIGHWAYS (§§ 101—181_to_190) > § 101. Definitions and declaration of policy

§ 101. Definitions and declaration of policy

(a) Definitions.— In this title, the following definitions apply:
(1) Apportionment.— The term “apportionment” includes unexpended apportionments made under prior authorization laws.
(2) Carpool project.— The term “carpool project” means any project to encourage the use of carpools and vanpools, including provision of carpooling opportunities to the elderly and individuals with disabilities, systems for locating potential riders and informing them of carpool opportunities, acquiring vehicles for carpool use, designating existing highway lanes as preferential carpool highway lanes, providing related traffic control devices, and designating existing facilities for use for preferential parking for carpools.
(3) Construction.— The term “construction” means the supervising, inspecting, actual building, and incurrence of all costs incidental to the construction or reconstruction of a highway, including bond costs and other costs relating to the issuance in accordance with section 122 of bonds or other debt financing instruments and costs incurred by the State in performing Federal-aid project related audits that directly benefit the Federal-aid highway program. Such term includes—
(A) locating, surveying, and mapping (including the establishment of temporary and permanent geodetic markers in accordance with specifications of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the Department of Commerce);
(B) resurfacing, restoration, and rehabilitation;
(C) acquisition of rights-of-way;
(D) relocation assistance, acquisition of replacement housing sites, and acquisition and rehabilitation, relocation, and construction of replacement housing;
(E) elimination of hazards of railway grade crossings;
(F) elimination of roadside obstacles;
(G) improvements that directly facilitate and control traffic flow, such as grade separation of intersections, widening of lanes, channelization of traffic, traffic control systems, and passenger loading and unloading areas; and
(H) capital improvements that directly facilitate an effective vehicle weight enforcement program, such as scales (fixed and portable), scale pits, scale installation, and scale houses.
(4) County.— The term “county” includes corresponding units of government under any other name in States that do not have county organizations and, in those States in which the county government does not have jurisdiction over highways, any local government unit vested with jurisdiction over local highways.
(5) Federal-aid highway.— The term “Federal-aid highway” means a highway eligible for assistance under this chapter other than a highway classified as a local road or rural minor collector.
(6) Federal-aid system.— The term “Federal-aid system” means any of the Federal-aid highway systems described in section 103.
(7) Federal lands highway.— The term “Federal lands highway” means a forest highway, public lands highway, park road, parkway, refuge road, and Indian reservation road that is a public road.
(8) Forest development roads and trails.— The term “forest development roads and trails” means forest roads and trails under the jurisdiction of the Forest Service.
(9) Forest highway.— The term “forest highway” means a forest road under the jurisdiction of, and maintained by, a public authority and open to public travel.
(10) Forest road or trail.— The term “forest road or trail” means a road or trail wholly or partly within, or adjacent to, and serving the National Forest System that is necessary for the protection, administration, and utilization of the National Forest System and the use and development of its resources.
(11) Highway.— The term “highway” includes—
(A) a road, street, and parkway;
(B) a right-of-way, bridge, railroad-highway crossing, tunnel, drainage structure, sign, guardrail, and protective structure, in connection with a highway; and
(C) a portion of any interstate or international bridge or tunnel and the approaches thereto, the cost of which is assumed by a State transportation department, including such facilities as may be required by the United States Customs and Immigration Services in connection with the operation of an international bridge or tunnel.
(12) Indian reservation road.— The term “Indian reservation road” means a public road that is located within or provides access to an Indian reservation or Indian trust land or restricted Indian land that is not subject to fee title alienation without the approval of the Federal Government, or Indian and Alaska Native villages, groups, or communities in which Indians and Alaskan Natives reside, whom the Secretary of the Interior has determined are eligible for services generally available to Indians under Federal laws specifically applicable to Indians.
(13) Interstate System.— The term “Interstate System” means the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways described in section 103 (c).
(14) Maintenance.— The term “maintenance” means the preservation of the entire highway, including surface, shoulders, roadsides, structures, and such traffic-control devices as are necessary for safe and efficient utilization of the highway.
(15) Maintenance area.— The term “maintenance area” means an area that was designated as a nonattainment area, but was later redesignated by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency as an attainment area, under section 107(d) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7407 (d)).
(16) National Highway System.— The term “National Highway System” means the Federal-aid highway system described in section 103 (b).
(17) Operating costs for traffic monitoring, management, and control.— The term “operating costs for traffic monitoring, management, and control” includes labor costs, administrative costs, costs of utilities and rent, and other costs associated with the continuous operation of traffic control, such as integrated traffic control systems, incident management programs, and traffic control centers.
(18) Operational improvement.— The term “operational improvement”—
(A) means
(i) a capital improvement for installation of traffic surveillance and control equipment, computerized signal systems, motorist information systems, integrated traffic control systems, incident management programs, and transportation demand management facilities, strategies, and programs, and
(ii) such other capital improvements to public roads as the Secretary may designate, by regulation; and
(B) does not include resurfacing, restoring, or rehabilitating improvements, construction of additional lanes, interchanges, and grade separations, and construction of a new facility on a new location.
(19) Park road.— The term “park road” means a public road, including a bridge built primarily for pedestrian use, but with capacity for use by emergency vehicles, that is located within, or provides access to, an area in the National Park System with title and maintenance responsibilities vested in the United States.
(20) Parkway.— The term “parkway”, as used in chapter 2 of this title, means a parkway authorized by Act of Congress on lands to which title is vested in the United States.
(21) Project.— The term “project” means an undertaking to construct a particular portion of a highway, or if the context so implies, the particular portion of a highway so constructed or any other undertaking eligible for assistance under this title.
(22) Project agreement.— The term “project agreement” means the formal instrument to be executed by the State transportation department and the Secretary as required by section 106.
(23) Public authority.— The term “public authority” means a Federal, State, county, town, or township, Indian tribe, municipal or other local government or instrumentality with authority to finance, build, operate, or maintain toll or toll-free facilities.
(24) Public lands development roads and trails.— The term “public lands development roads and trails” means those roads and trails that the Secretary of the Interior determines are of primary importance for the development, protection, administration, and utilization of public lands and resources under the control of the Secretary of the Interior.
(25) Public lands highway.— The term “public lands highway” means a forest road under the jurisdiction of and maintained by a public authority and open to public travel or any highway through unappropriated or unreserved public lands, nontaxable Indian lands, or other Federal reservations under the jurisdiction of and maintained by a public authority and open to public travel.
(26) Public lands highways.— The term “public lands highways” means those main highways through unappropriated or unreserved public lands, nontaxable Indian lands, or other Federal reservations, which are on the Federal-aid systems.
(27) Public road.— The term “public road” means any road or street under the jurisdiction of and maintained by a public authority and open to public travel.
(28) Refuge road.— The term “refuge road” means a public road that provides access to or within a unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System and for which title and maintenance responsibility is vested in the United States Government.
(29) Rural areas.— The term “rural areas” means all areas of a State not included in urban areas.
(30) Safety improvement project.— The term “safety improvement project” means a project that corrects or improves high hazard locations, eliminates roadside obstacles, improves highway signing and pavement marking, installs priority control systems for emergency vehicles at signalized intersections, installs or replaces emergency motorist aid call boxes, or installs traffic control or warning devices at locations with high accident potential.
(31) Secretary.— The term “Secretary” means Secretary of Transportation.
(32) State.— The term “State” means any of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, or Puerto Rico.
(33) State funds.— The term “State funds” includes funds raised under the authority of the State or any political or other subdivision thereof, and made available for expenditure under the direct control of the State transportation department.
(34) State transportation department.— The term “State transportation department” means that department, commission, board, or official of any State charged by its laws with the responsibility for highway construction.
(35) Transportation enhancement activity.— The term “transportation enhancement activity” means, with respect to any project or the area to be served by the project, any of the following activities as the activities relate to surface transportation:
(A) Provision of facilities for pedestrians and bicycles.
(B) Provision of safety and educational activities for pedestrians and bicyclists.
(C) Acquisition of scenic easements and scenic or historic sites (including historic battlefields).
(D) Scenic or historic highway programs (including the provision of tourist and welcome center facilities).
(E) Landscaping and other scenic beautification.
(F) Historic preservation.
(G) Rehabilitation and operation of historic transportation buildings, structures, or facilities (including historic railroad facilities and canals).
(H) Preservation of abandoned railway corridors (including the conversion and use of the corridors for pedestrian or bicycle trails).
(I) Inventory, control, and removal of outdoor advertising.
(J) Archaeological planning and research.
(K) Environmental mitigation—
(i) to address water pollution due to highway runoff; or
(ii)  [1] reduce vehicle-caused wildlife mortality while maintaining habitat connectivity.
(L) Establishment of transportation museums.
(36) Urban area.— The term “urban area” means an urbanized area or, in the case of an urbanized area encompassing more than one State, that part of the urbanized area in each such State, or urban place as designated by the Bureau of the Census having a population of 5,000 or more and not within any urbanized area, within boundaries to be fixed by responsible State and local officials in cooperation with each other, subject to approval by the Secretary. Such boundaries shall encompass, at a minimum, the entire urban place designated by the Bureau of the Census, except in the case of cities in the State of Maine and in the State of New Hampshire.
(37) Urbanized area.— The term “urbanized area” means an area with a population of 50,000 or more designated by the Bureau of the Census, within boundaries to be fixed by responsible State and local officials in cooperation with each other, subject to approval by the Secretary. Such boundaries shall encompass, at a minimum, the entire urbanized area within a State as designated by the Bureau of the Census.
(38) Advanced truck stop electrification system.— The term “advanced truck stop electrification system” means a system that delivers heat, air conditioning, electricity, or communications to a heavy duty vehicle.
(39) Transportation systems management and operations.—
(A) In general.— The term “transportation systems management and operations” means an integrated program to optimize the performance of existing infrastructure through the implementation of multimodal and intermodal, cross-jurisdictional systems, services, and projects designed to preserve capacity and improve security, safety, and reliability of the transportation system.
(B) Inclusions.— The term “transportation systems management and operations” includes—
(i) regional operations collaboration and coordination activities between transportation and public safety agencies; and
(ii) improvements to the transportation system, such as traffic detection and surveillance, arterial management, freeway management, demand management, work zone management, emergency management, electronic toll collection, automated enforcement, traffic incident management, roadway weather management, traveler information services, commercial vehicle operations, traffic control, freight management, and coordination of highway, rail, transit, bicycle, and pedestrian operations.
(b) Declaration of Policy.—
(1) Acceleration of construction of federal-aid highway systems.— Congress declares that it is in the national interest to accelerate the construction of Federal-aid highway systems, including the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense,[2] because many of the highways (or portions of the highways) are inadequate to meet the needs of local and interstate commerce for the national and civil defense.
(2) Completion of interstate system.— Congress declares that the prompt and early completion of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways (referred to in this section as the “Interstate System”), so named because of its primary importance to the national defense, is essential to the national interest. It is the intent of Congress that the Interstate System be completed as nearly as practicable over the period of availability of the forty years’ appropriations authorized for the purpose of expediting its construction, reconstruction, or improvement, inclusive of necessary tunnels and bridges, through the fiscal year ending September 30, 1996, under section 108(b) of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 (70 Stat. 374), and that the entire system in all States be brought to simultaneous completion. Insofar as possible in consonance with this objective, existing highways located on an interstate route shall be used to the extent that such use is practicable, suitable, and feasible, it being the intent that local needs, to the extent practicable, suitable, and feasible, shall be given equal consideration with the needs of interstate commerce.
(3) Transportation needs of 21st century.— Congress declares that—
(A) it is in the national interest to preserve and enhance the surface transportation system to meet the needs of the United States for the 21st Century;
(B) the current urban and long distance personal travel and freight movement demands have surpassed the original forecasts and travel demand patterns are expected to continue to change;
(C) continued planning for and investment in surface transportation is critical to ensure the surface transportation system adequately meets the changing travel demands of the future;
(D) among the foremost needs that the surface transportation system must meet to provide for a strong and vigorous national economy are safe, efficient, and reliable—
(i) national and interregional personal mobility (including personal mobility in rural and urban areas) and reduced congestion;
(ii) flow of interstate and international commerce and freight transportation; and
(iii) travel movements essential for national security;
(E) special emphasis should be devoted to providing safe and efficient access for the type and size of commercial and military vehicles that access designated National Highway System intermodal freight terminals;
(F) the connection between land use and infrastructure is significant;
(G) transportation should play a significant role in promoting economic growth, improving the environment, and sustaining the quality of life; and
(H) the Secretary should take appropriate actions to preserve and enhance the Interstate System to meet the needs of the 21st Century.
(c) It is the sense of Congress that under existing law no part of any sums authorized to be appropriated for expenditure upon any Federal-aid system which has been apportioned pursuant to the provisions of this title shall be impounded or withheld from obligation, for purposes and projects as provided in this title, by any officer or employee in the executive branch of the Federal Government, except such specific sums as may be determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, after consultation with the Secretary of Transportation, are necessary to be withheld from obligation for specific periods of time to assure that sufficient amounts will be available in the Highway Trust Fund to defray the expenditures which will be required to be made from such fund.
(d) No funds authorized to be appropriated from the Highway Trust Fund shall be expended by or on behalf of any Federal department, agency, or instrumentality other than the Federal Highway Administration unless funds for such expenditure are identified and included as a line item in an appropriation Act and are to meet obligations of the United States heretofore or hereafter incurred under this title attributable to the construction of Federal-aid highways or highway planning, research, or development, or as otherwise specifically authorized to be appropriated from the Highway Trust Fund by Federal-aid highway legislation.
(e) It is the national policy that to the maximum extent possible the procedures to be utilized by the Secretary and all other affected heads of Federal departments, agencies, and instrumentalities for carrying out this title and any other provision of law relating to the Federal highway programs shall encourage the substantial minimization of paperwork and interagency decision procedures and the best use of available manpower and funds so as to prevent needless duplication and unnecessary delays at all levels of government.

[1] So in original. The word “to” probably should appear.

[2] So in original. Probably should be “Defense Highways,”.