I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3743

To improve the safety of rural roads. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 28, 2004

Mr. NEY (for himself, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. BOEHLERT, and Mr. ISAKSON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL

To improve the safety of rural roads.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Rural Transportation 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. RURAL ROAD SAFETY PROGRAM. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that it is in the vital 

8 interest of the Nation that a rural road safety program 

9 be established to ensure that the safety of the traveling 

10 public is enhanced on rural two-lane highways. 
2

•HR 3743 IH 

1 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

2 and implement a rural road safety program in accordance 

3 with this section. 

4 (c) APPORTIONMENTS.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—On October 1 of each fiscal 

6 year, the Secretary shall apportion to each State to 

7 carry out this section an amount in the ratio of the 

8 percentage of the centerline mileage of two-lane 

9 roads in rural areas functionally classified as minor 

10 and major collectors and arterials in each State 

11 bears to the total centerline mileage of two-lane 

12 roads in rural areas functionally classified as minor 

13 and major collectors and arterials in all the States. 

14 (2) ALLOCATION OF APPORTIONED FUNDS.—

15 Within each State, funds for the rural road safety 

16 program for each fiscal year shall be allocated 

17 among State, county, city, and other levels of gov18 ernment commensurate with each entity’s ownership 

19 ratio of eligible two-lane road mileage of two-lane 

20 roads in rural areas functionally classified as minor 

21 and major collectors and arterials. 

22 (d) LOCATION OF PROJECTS.—Funds authorized to 

23 carry out this section shall be available for expenditure 

24 only for activities described in subsection (h). 
3

•HR 3743 IH 

1 (e) OBLIGATION OF FUNDS.—Funds authorized to be 

2 appropriated to carry out this section shall be available 

3 for obligation in the same manner and the same extent 

4 as if such funds were apportioned under section 104(b) 

5 of title 23, United States Code, except that the Secretary 

6 is authorized to waive provisions that the Secretary con7 siders inconsistent with the purposes of this section. 

8 (f) COST SHARING.—The Federal share of a project 

9 under this section shall be 80 percent of the total cost 

10 for such project. 

11 (g) TRANSFERABILITY.—Notwithstanding any other 

12 provision of law no portion of a State’s apportionment al13 located for the rural road safety program may be trans14 ferred to any other apportionment of the State for such 

15 fiscal year. 

16 (h) USE OF FUNDS.—A State that receives an appor17 tionment under this section may use funds—

18 (1) to improve horizontal and vertical align19 ment; 

20 (2) to eliminate wheel lane rutting, increase 

21 skid resistance, and smooth roadways; 

22 (3) to improve sight distances; 

23 (4) to widen lanes and shoulders; 

24 (5) to install dedicated turn lanes; 
4

•HR 3743 IH 

1 (6) to install and upgrade guardrails, traffic 

2 barriers, crash cushions, protective devices, and 

3 rumblestrips; 

4 (7) to install traffic and safety lights, improve 

5 signage and pavement markings; and 

6 (8) to implement other safety activities des7 ignated by the Secretary. 

8 (i) PROGRAM.—Not later than 180 days after the 

9 date of enactment of this Act, each State that receives 

10 an apportionment under this section shall conduct and 

11 systematically maintain an engineering survey of all two12 lane rural roads classified as minor and major collectors 

13 and minor arterials—

14 (1) to identify dangerous locations, sections, 

15 and elements, including roadside obstacles and un16 marked or poorly marked roads, which may con17 stitute a danger to motorists, bicyclists, pedestrians, 

18 impaired, and ‘‘older’’ drivers; 

19 (2) to assign priorities for the correction of 

20 such locations, sections, and elements; and 

21 (3) establish and implement a schedule of 

22 projects for improvement of such roads. 

23 (j) EVALUATION.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall establish 

25 an evaluation process approved by the Secretary to 
5

•HR 3743 IH 

1 analyze and assess results achieved by safety im2 provement projects carried out in accordance with 

3 the procedures and criteria established by this sec4 tion. 

5 (2) PRIORITIES.—Such evaluation process shall 

6 develop cost-benefit data for various types of correc7 tions and treatments, which shall be used in setting 

8 priorities for safety improvement projects. 

9 (k) REPORTING.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall report to 

11 the Secretary not later than December 30 of each 

12 year, regarding the progress of implementing safety 

13 improvement projects for danger elimination and the 

14 effectiveness of such improvements. 

15 (2) STATE ASSESSMENT.—Each State report 

16 shall contain an assessment of the cost of, and safe17 ty benefits derived from, the various means and 

18 methods used to mitigate or eliminate dangers and 

19 the previous and subsequent accident experience at 

20 dangerous locations. 

21 (3) SECRETARY’S REPORT.—The Secretary 

22 shall submit a report to the Committee on Environ23 ment and Public Works of the Senate and the Com24 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 

25 House of Representatives not later than April 1 of 
6

•HR 3743 IH 

1 each year regarding the progress of the States in im2 plementing the rural road safety program. The re3 port shall—

4 (A) include the number of projects under5 taken, their distribution by cost range, road 

6 system, means and methods used, the previous 

7 and subsequent accident experience at improved 

8 locations and a cost-benefit analysis; and 

9 (B) analyze and evaluate each State’s pro10 gram, identify any State found not to be in 

11 compliance with the schedule of improvements 

12 required by subsection (a), and include rec13 ommendations for future implementation of the 

14 rural road safety program. 

15 (l) DEFINITIONS.—In this section—

16 (1) the term ‘‘rural area’’ means all areas of 

17 the State not included in urban areas as defined in 

18 section 101(a)(29); 

19 (2) the term ‘‘rural road’’ means all roads in 

20 rural areas; and 

21 (3) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

22 of Transportation.

23 (m) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS RURAL

24 ROAD SAFETY PROGRAM.—To carry out the rural road 

25 safety program under this section there are authorized to 
7

•HR 3743 IH 

1 be appropriated $1,000,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

2 2004 through 2009. 

3 SEC. 3. DIVISION BETWEEN CERTAIN AREAS. 

4 Section 105(c)(2) of title 23, United States Code, is 

5 amended by striking ‘‘paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) and 

6 inserting ‘‘paragraphs (1) and (2)’’. 

7 SEC. 4. SPECIAL RULE FOR AREAS LESS THAN 5,000 POPU8 LATION. 

9 Section 133(d)(3)(B) of title 23, United States Code, 

10 is amended—

11 (1) by inserting ‘‘for roads functionally classi12 fied as minor arterials and major and minor collec13 tors’’ after ‘‘5,000)’’; and 

14 (2) by striking ‘‘110’’ and inserting ‘‘150’’. 

15 SEC. 5. HIGHWAY BRIDGE REPLACEMENT AND REHABILI16 TATION. 

17 Section 144 of title 23, United States Code, is 

18 amended—

19 (1) in subsection (e)—

20 (A) by striking ‘‘Funds’’ and inserting the 

21 following: 

22 ‘‘(1) STATE APPORTIONMENT.—Funds’’; and 

23 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(2) DIVISION BETWEEN STATE, CITIES, 

25 TOWNS, AND COUNTIES.—Funds apportioned to each 
8

•HR 3743 IH 

1 State shall be spent on bridges owned by the State 

2 and local governments based on the cost of deficient 

3 bridges at each level of government divided by the 

4 total cost of deficient bridges in that State.’’. 

5 (2) in subsection (g)(3)—

6 (A) by striking ‘‘15 percent’’ and inserting 

7 ‘‘25 percent’’; and 

8 (B) by striking ‘‘1987 through 2003’’ and 

9 inserting ‘‘2004 through 2009’’. 

10 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

11 Section 504(b) of title 23, United States Code, is 

12 amended by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

14 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

15 this subsection $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

16 2004 through 2009.’’. 

17 SEC. 7. STATE PLANNING AND RESEARCH. 

18 Section 505 of title 23, United States Code, is 

19 amended—

20 (1) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘Two percent’’ 

and inserting ‘‘two and 1 21 ⁄2 percent’’; 

22 (2) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as 

23 (d) and (e), respectively; and 

24 (3) by adding after subsection (b) the following: 
9

•HR 3743 IH 

1 ‘‘(c) LOCAL DISTRIBUTION.—Not less than 20 per2 cent of the funds subject to subsection (a) that are appor3 tioned to a State for a fiscal year shall be distributed to 

4 local governments, local planning agencies, including 

5 multi-jurisdictional rural planning agencies governed by 

6 local officials, and other transportation bodies responsible 

7 for transportation planning in nonmetropolitan areas to 

8 be used for the development of the statewide transpor9 tation improvement program.’’. 

10 SEC. 8. APPALACHIAN REGIONAL COMMISSION. 

11 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

12 are authorized to be appropriated from the Highway Trust 

13 Fund (other than the Mass Transit Account) for the Ap14 palachian development highway system program under 

15 section 14501 of title 40, United States Code, 

16 $611,800,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 through 2009. 

17 (b) APPORTIONMENT.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para19 graph (2), the Secretary shall apportion funds made 

20 available by subsection (a) for fiscal years 2004 

21 through 2009 among the States based on the latest 

22 available cost to complete estimate for the Appa23 lachian development highway system under section 

24 14501 title 40, United States Code. 
10

•HR 3743 IH 

1 (2) LOCAL DEVELOPMENT DISTRICTS.—Before 

2 apportioning amounts to the States under paragraph 

3 (1), the Secretary shall make available $11,800,000 

4 to be equally divided among local development dis5 tricts (as such term is defined in section 14102 of 

6 title 40, United States Code) to carry out com7 prehensive regional transportation planning activi8 ties, including activities related to linking transpor9 tation and economic development investment within 

10 the region. 

11 (c) APPLICABILITY OF TITLE 23.—Funds made 

12 available by section 1101(a)(6) of the Transportation Eq13 uity Act for the 21st Century for the Appalachian develop14 ment highway system shall be available for obligation in 

15 the same manner as if such funds were apportioned under 

16 chapter 1 of title 23, United States Code; except that the 

17 Federal share of the cost of any project under this section 

18 shall be determined in accordance with section 14501 of 

19 title 40, United States Code, and such funds shall be avail20 able to construct highways and access roads under such 

21 section and shall remain available until expended.

Æ