I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2170

To authorize the establishment of the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge

Authority, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

AUGUST 2, 1995

Mr. MORAN (for himself, Mr. WYNN, Mr. WOLF, Mrs. MORELLA, Mr. DAVIS,

Ms. NORTON, and Mr. HOYER) introduced the following bill; which was

referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in

addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To authorize the establishment of the Woodrow Wilson

Memorial Bridge Authority, and for other purposes.

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 ‘‘Woodrow Wilson Me5 morial Bridge Act of 1995’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds that—
2

•HR 2170 IH

1 (1) traffic congestion imposes serious economic

2 burdens on the metropolitan Washington, D.C.,

3 area, costing each commuter an estimated $1,000

4 per year;

5 (2) the volume of traffic in the metropolitan

6 Washington, D.C., area is expected to increase by

7 more than 70 percent between 1990 and 2020;

8 (3) the deterioration of the Woodrow Wilson

9 Memorial Bridge and the growing population of the

10 metropolitan Washington, D.C., area contribute sig11 nificantly to traffic congestion;

12 (4) the Bridge serves as a vital link in the

13 Interstate System and in the Northeast corridor;

14 (5) identifying alternative methods for main15 taining this vital link of the Interstate System is

16 critical to addressing the traffic congestion of the

17 area;

18 (6) the Bridge is—

19 (A) the only drawbridge in the metropoli20 tan Washington, D.C., area on the Interstate

21 System;

22 (B) the only segment of the Capital Belt23 way with only 6 lanes; and
3

•HR 2170 IH

1 (C) the only segment of the Capital Belt2 way with a remaining expected life of less than

3 10 years;

4 (7) the Bridge is the only part of the Interstate

5 System owned by the Federal Government;

6 (8)(A) the Bridge was constructed by the Fed7 eral Government;

8 (B) prior to the date of enactment of this Act,

9 the Federal Government has contributed 100 per10 cent of the cost of building and rehabilitating the

11 Bridge; and

12 (C) the Federal Government has a continuing

13 responsibility to fund future costs associated with

14 the upgrading of the Interstate Route 95 crossing,

15 including the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the

16 Bridge;

17 (9) the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Coordination

18 Committee, established by the Federal Highway Ad19 ministration and comprised of representatives of

20 Federal, State, and local governments, is undertak21 ing planning studies pertaining to the Bridge, con22 sistent with the National Environmental Policy Act

23 of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and other applica24 ble Federal laws;
4

•HR 2170 IH

1 (10) the transfer of ownership of the Bridge to

2 a regional entity under the terms and conditions de3 scribed in this Act would foster regional transpor4 tation planning efforts to identify solutions to the

5 growing problem of traffic congestion on and around

6 the Bridge;

7 (11) any material change to the Bridge must

8 take into account the interests of nearby commu9 nities, the commuting public, Federal, State, and

10 local government organizations, and other affected

11 groups; and

12 (12) a commission of congressional, State, and

13 local officials and transportation representatives has

14 recommended to the Secretary of Transportation

15 that the Bridge be transferred to an independent au16 thority to be established by the Capital Region juris17 dictions.

18 SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

19 The purposes of this Act are—

20 (1) to grant consent to the Commonwealth of

21 Virginia, the State of Maryland, and the District of

22 Columbia to establish the Woodrow Wilson Memorial

23 Bridge Authority;

24 (2) to authorize the transfer of ownership of the

25 Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge to the Authority
5

•HR 2170 IH

1 for the purposes of owning, constructing, maintain2 ing, and operating a bridge or tunnel or a bridge

3 and tunnel project across the Potomac River; and

4 (3) to direct the Secretary of Transportation

5 and the Federal Highway Administration to con6 tinue working with the parties which comprise the

7 Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge Coordination

8 Committee to complete all environmental studies and

9 documentation, planning, and preliminary engineer10 ing and design efforts, and related work, and to re11 port back to Congress by October 1, 1996, on the

12 selected alternative, implementation schedule, project

13 costs, and a recommended Federal share for the

14 project.

15 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

16 In this Act, the following definitions apply:

17 (1) AUTHORITY.—The term ‘‘Authority’’ means

18 a non-Federal entity or entities to be designated by

19 an interstate compact between Capital Region juris20 dictions.

21 (2) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the

22 board of directors of the Authority established under

23 section 6.
6

•HR 2170 IH

1 (3) BRIDGE.—The term ‘‘Bridge’’ means the

2 Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge across the Poto3 mac River.

4 (4) CAPITAL REGION JURISDICTIONS.—The

5 term ‘‘Capital Region jurisdictions’’ means—

6 (A) the Commonwealth of Virginia;

7 (B) the State of Maryland; and

8 (C) the District of Columbia.

9 (5) INTERSTATE SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘Inter10 state System’’ means the Dwight D. Eisenhower Na11 tional System of Interstate and Defense Highways

12 designated under section 103(e) of title 23, United

13 States Code.

14 (6) PROJECT.—The term ‘‘Project’’ means the

15 upgrading of the Interstate Route 95 Potomac River

16 crossing, consistent with the selected alternative to

17 be determined by the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Co18 ordination Committee as provided under section 8,

19 possibly including—

20 (A) the rehabilitation or reconstruction of

21 the Bridge;

22 (B) the construction of a new bridge or

23 tunnel in the vicinity of the Bridge, including

24 any work necessary to provide rights-of-way for

25 a rail or bus transit facility, bus, or high occu-
7

•HR 2170 IH

1 pancy vehicle lanes, and work on Interstate

2 Route 95 or other roadways connected to the

3 Bridge and new bridge or tunnel and ap4 proaches thereto at a distance no greater than

5 5 miles from the Potomac River; or

6 (C) any building, improvement, addition,

7 extension, replacement, appurtenance, land, in8 terest in land, water right, air right, franchise,

9 machinery, equipment, furnishing, landscaping,

10 easement, utility, approach, roadway, or other

11 facility necessary or desirable in connection

12 with or incidental to a facility described in sub13 paragraph (A) or (B).

14 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

15 the Secretary of Transportation.

16 (8) SIGNATORY.—The term ‘‘Signatory’’ means

17 any political jurisdiction that enters into the com18 pact that designates the Authority.

19 SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF AUTHORITY.

20 (a) CONSENT TO AGREEMENT.—Congress grants

21 consent to the Commonwealth of Virginia, the State of

22 Maryland, and the District of Columbia to enter into an

23 interstate agreement or compact to establish the Authority

24 and to designate the governance, powers, and duties of

25 the Authority.
8

•HR 2170 IH

1 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF AUTHORITY.—

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—On execution of the inter3 state agreement or compact described in subsection

4 (a), and an agreement between the Secretary and

5 the Signatories as to the Federal share of the cost

6 of the Project and the terms and conditions related

7 to the timing of the transfer of the Bridge to the

8 Authority as provided in section 7(c), the Authority

9 shall be considered to be established.

10 (2) GENERAL POWERS.—The Authority shall be

11 a body corporate and politic, independent of all other

12 bodies and jurisdictions, having the powers and ju13 risdiction described in this Act and such additional

14 powers as are conferred on the Authority by the

15 Capital Region jurisdictions, to the extent that the

16 additional powers are consistent with this Act.

17 (c) PURPOSES OF AUTHORITY.—The Authority shall

18 be established—

19 (1) to assume ownership of the Bridge; and

20 (2) to undertake the Project.

21 SEC. 6. GOVERNMENT OF AUTHORITY.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Authority shall be governed

23 in accordance with this section and with the terms of any

24 interstate agreement or compact relating to the Authority

25 that is consistent with this Act.
9

•HR 2170 IH

1 (b) BOARD.—The Authority shall be governed by a

2 board of directors consisting of not more than 12 members

3 appointed by the Capital Region jurisdictions and 1 mem4 ber appointed by the Secretary.

5 (c) QUALIFICATIONS.—At least 2 members of the

6 Board shall be elected officials who represent the jurisdic7 tions at each end of the Bridge crossing.

8 (d) FAILURE TO APPOINT.—The failure of a Capital

9 Region jurisdiction to appoint 1 or more members of the

10 Board shall not impair the establishment of the Authority

11 if the condition of the establishment described in section

12 5(b)(1) has been met.

13 (e) PERSONAL LIABILITY OF MEMBERS.—A member

14 of the Board, including any nonvoting member, shall not

15 be personally liable for—

16 (1) any action taken in the capacity of the

17 member as a member of the Board; or

18 (2) any note, bond, or other financial obligation

19 of the Authority.

20 (f) RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT.—A member of the

21 Board shall reside within a Capital Region jurisdiction.

22 SEC. 7. OWNERSHIP OF BRIDGE.

23 (a) CONVEYANCE BY SECRETARY.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—After the Signatories enter

25 into the agreement described in subsection (c), the
10

•HR 2170 IH

1 Secretary shall convey all right, title, and interest of

2 the Department of Transportation in and to the

3 Bridge to the Authority. Except as provided in para4 graph (2), upon conveyance by the Secretary, the

5 Authority shall accept the right, title, and interest in

6 and to the Bridge, and all duties and responsibilities

7 associated with the Bridge.

8 (2) INTERIM RESPONSIBILITIES.—Until such

9 time as the Project is constructed and operational,

10 the conveyance under paragraph (1) shall in no

11 way—

12 (A) relieve the Capital Region jurisdictions

13 of the sole and exclusive responsibility to main14 tain and operate the Bridge; or

15 (B) relieve the Secretary of the responsibil16 ity to rehabilitate the Bridge or to comply with

17 the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969

18 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and all other require19 ments applicable with respect to the Bridge.

20 (b) CONVEYANCE BY THE SECRETARY OF THE INTE21 RIOR.—At the same time as the conveyance of the Bridge

22 by the Secretary under subsection (a), the Secretary of

23 the Interior shall transfer to the Authority all right, title,

24 and interest of the Department of the Interior in and to

25 such land under or adjacent to the Bridge as is necessary
11

•HR 2170 IH

1 to carry out the Project. Upon conveyance by the Sec2 retary of the Interior, the Authority shall accept the right,

3 title, and interest in and to the land.

4 (c) AGREEMENT.—The agreement referred to in sub5 section (a) is an agreement between the Secretary and the

6 Signatories as to the Federal share of the cost of the ac7 tivities carried out as part of the Project.

8 SEC. 8. PROJECT PLANNING.

9 The Secretary and the Administrator of the Federal

10 Highway Administration shall—

11 (1) continue working with the parties which

12 comprise the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge Co13 ordination Committee (established and chaired by

14 the Federal Highway Administration and comprised

15 of representatives of Federal, State, and local gov16 ernments) or with the Authority consistent with its

17 mission pursuant to the interstate agreement or

18 compact referred to in section 5 to complete, at the

19 earliest possible date, environmental studies and doc20 umentation, planning, preliminary engineering ef21 forts and related work, consistent with the provi22 sions of the National Environmental Policy Act of

23 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and other applicable

24 Federal laws;
12

•HR 2170 IH

1 (2) on or before October 1, 1996, transmit to

2 Congress a report on—

3 (A) the selected alternative, implementa4 tion schedule, and costs of the Project; and

5 (B) a recommended Federal share of the

6 cost of the Project.

7 In making a recommendation as to the Federal share

8 under paragraph (2)(B), the Secretary, at a minimum,

9 shall provide for a 100 percent Federal share with respect

10 to the cost of the continuing rehabilitation of the Bridge

11 prior to the completion of the Project and shall provide

12 for a 100 percent Federal share with respect to the cost

13 of planning, preliminary engineering, environmental stud14 ies and documentation, and final engineering for the

15 Project.

16 SEC. 9. ADDITIONAL POWERS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF

17 AUTHORITY.

18 In addition to the powers and responsibilities of the

19 Authority under the other provisions of this Act and under

20 any interstate agreement or compact relating to the Au21 thority that is consistent with this Act, the Authority shall

22 have all powers necessary and appropriate to carry out

23 the duties of the Authority, including the power—

24 (1) to adopt and amend any bylaw that is nec25 essary for the regulation of the affairs of the Au-
13

•HR 2170 IH

1 thority and the conduct of the business of the Au2 thority;

3 (2) to adopt and amend any regulation that is

4 necessary to carry out the powers of the Authority;

5 (3) subject to section 7(a)(2), to plan, establish,

6 finance, operate, develop, construct, enlarge, main7 tain, equip, or protect the facilities of the Project;

8 (4) to employ, in the discretion of the Author9 ity, a consulting engineer, attorney, accountant, con10 struction or financial expert, superintendent, or

11 manager, or such other employee or agent as is nec12 essary, and to fix the compensation and benefits of

13 the employee or agent, except that—

14 (A) an employee of the Authority shall not

15 engage in an activity described in section

16 7116(b)(7) of title 5, United States Code, with

17 respect to the Authority; and

18 (B) an employment agreement entered into

19 by the Authority shall contain an explicit prohi20 bition against an activity described in subpara21 graph (A) with respect to the Authority by an

22 employee covered by the agreement;

23 (5) to—

24 (A) acquire personal and real property (in25 cluding land lying under water and riparian
14

•HR 2170 IH

1 rights), or any easement or other interest in

2 real property, by purchase, lease, gift, transfer,

3 or exchange; and

4 (B) exercise such powers of eminent do5 main in the Capital Region jurisdictions as are

6 conferred on the Authority by the Signatories,

7 in the exercise of the powers and the perform8 ance of the duties of the Authority;

9 (6) to apply for and accept any property, mate10 rial, service, payment, appropriation, grant, gift,

11 loan, advance, or other fund that is transferred or

12 made available to the Authority by the Federal Gov13 ernment or by any other public or private entity or

14 individual;

15 (7) to borrow money on a short-term basis and

16 issue notes of the Authority for the borrowing pay17 able on such terms and conditions as the Board con18 siders advisable, and to issue bonds in the discretion

19 of the Authority for any purpose consistent with this

20 Act, which notes and bonds—

21 (A) shall not constitute a debt of the Unit22 ed States, a Capital Region jurisdiction, or any

23 political subdivision of the United States or a

24 Capital Region jurisdiction;
15

•HR 2170 IH

1 (B) may be secured solely by the general

2 revenues of the Authority, or solely by the in3 come and revenues of the Bridge or a new

4 crossing of the Potomac River constructed as

5 part of the Project; and

6 (C) shall be exempt as to principal and in7 terest from all taxation (except estate and gift

8 taxes) by the United States;

9 (8) to fix, revise, charge, and collect any rea10 sonable toll or other charge;

11 (9) to enter into any contract or agreement nec12 essary or appropriate to the performance of the du13 ties of the Authority or the proper operation of the

14 Bridge or a new crossing of the Potomac River con15 structed as part of the Project;

16 (10) to make any payment necessary to reim17 burse a local political subdivision having jurisdiction

18 over an area where the Bridge or a new crossing of

19 the Potomac River is situated for any extraordinary

20 law enforcement cost incurred by the subdivision in

21 connection with the Authority facility;

22 (11) to enter into partnerships or grant conces23 sions between the public and private sectors for the

24 purpose of—
16

•HR 2170 IH

1 (A) financing, constructing, maintaining,

2 improving, or operating the Bridge or a new

3 crossing of the Potomac River constructed as

4 part of the Project; or

5 (B) fostering development of a new trans6 portation technology;

7 (12) to obtain any necessary Federal authoriza8 tion, permit, or approval for the construction, repair,

9 maintenance, or operation of the Bridge or a new

10 crossing of the Potomac River constructed as part of

11 the Project;

12 (13) to adopt an official seal and alter the seal,

13 as the Board considers appropriate;

14 (14) to appoint 1 or more advisory committees;

15 (15) to sue and be sued in the name of the Au16 thority; and

17 (16) to carry out any activity necessary or ap18 propriate to the exercise of the powers or perform19 ance of the duties of the Authority under this Act

20 and under any interstate agreement or compact re21 lating to the Authority that is consistent with this

22 Act, if the activity is coordinated and consistent with

23 the transportation planning process implemented by

24 the metropolitan planning organization for the

25 Washington, District of Columbia, metropolitan area
17

•HR 2170 IH

1 under section 134 of title 23, United States Code,

2 and section 5303 of title 49, United States Code.

3 SEC. 10. FUNDING.

4 (a) SET-ASIDE.—Section 104 of title 23, United

5 States Code, is amended—

6 (1) in the first sentence of subsection (b), by

7 striking ‘‘subsection (f) of this section’’ and insert8 ing ‘‘subsections (f) and (h) of this section’’;

9 (2) by redesignating subsection (h) as sub10 section (i); and

11 (3) by inserting before subsection (i), as redes12 ignated by paragraph (2) of this subsection, the fol13 lowing:

14 ‘‘(h) WOODROW WILSON MEMORIAL BRIDGE.—

15 ‘‘(1) SET-ASIDE.—Before making an apportion16 ment of funds under subsection (b), the Secretary

17 shall set aside $17,550,000 for fiscal year 1996 and

18 $80,050,000 for fiscal year 1997 for the rehabilita19 tion of the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge and

20 for the planning, preliminary design, engineering,

21 and acquisition of a right-of-way for, and construc22 tion of, a new crossing of the Potomac River as part

23 of the Project, as such term is defined by section 4

24 of the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge Act of

25 1995.
18

•HR 2170 IH

1 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL SHARE; NONAPPLICABILITY OF

2 OBLIGATION LIMITATIONS.—The Federal share of

3 the cost of any project funded with amounts set

4 aside under paragraph (1) shall be 100 percent.

5 Such amounts shall not be subject to any obligation

6 limitation.’’.

7 (b) DISTRIBUTION OF OBLIGATION AUTHORITY.—

8 Section 1002(e)(3) of the Intermodal Surface Transpor9 tation Efficiency Act of 1991 (Public Law 102–240; 23

10 U.S.C. 104 note) is amended by inserting before the pe11 riod at the end the following: ‘‘and section 104(h) of title

12 23, United States Code’’.

13 (c) REMOVAL OF ISTEA AUTHORIZATION FOR

14 BRIDGE REHABILITATION.—Section 1069(i) of the Inter15 modal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991

16 (Public Law 102–240; 105 Stat. 2009) is repealed.

17 SEC. 11. AVAILABILITY OF PRIOR AUTHORIZATIONS.

18 In addition to the funds made available under section

19 104(h) of title 23, United States Code, any funds made

20 available before the date of the enactment of this Act for

21 the rehabilitation of the Bridge under sections 1069(i) and

22 1103(b) of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Effi23 ciency Act of 1991 (Public Law 102–240; 105 Stat. 2009

24 and 2028) (as in effect prior to the amendment made by

25 section 10(d)) shall continue to be available after the con-
19

•HR 2170 IH

1 veyance of the Bridge to the Authority under section 7(a),

2 in accordance with the terms under which the funds were

3 made available under such sections 1069(i) and 1103(b).

Æ

HR 2170 IH——2