I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2481 

To establish a grant program to improve safety on high risk rural roads, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 13, 2021 

Mr. O’HALLERAN (for himself and Mr. WESTERMAN) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To establish a grant program to improve safety on high 

risk rural roads, 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 ‘‘High Risk Rural Roads 

5 Safety Grant Program Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. HIGH RISK RURAL ROADS SAFETY GRANT PRO7 GRAM. 

8 Chapter 1 of title 23, United States Code, is amended 

9 by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘§ 171. High risk rural roads safety grant program 

2 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab3 lish a program to award grants, on a competitive basis, 

4 to eligible entities for projects to improve safety on high 

5 risk rural roads in the United States. 

6 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity may use 

8 funds provided under this section only for a project 

9 described in paragraph (2) that makes improvements 

10 to a high risk rural road. 

11 ‘‘(2) PROJECTS DESCRIBED.—A project re12 ferred to in paragraph (1) only includes 1 or more 

13 of the following activities: 

14 ‘‘(A) A road safety audit. 

15 ‘‘(B) An intersection safety improvement. 

16 ‘‘(C) Installation of rumble strips or an17 other warning device, if the rumble strips or 

18 other warning devices do not adversely affect 

19 the safety or mobility of bicyclists, pedestrians, 

20 and individuals with disabilities. 

21 ‘‘(D) Activities that improve the safety of 

22 pedestrians, bicyclists, or individuals with dis23 abilities. 

24 ‘‘(E) Construction of a railway-highway 

25 crossing safety feature, including installation of 

26 protective devices. 


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1 ‘‘(F) Construction of a traffic calming fea2 ture. 

3 ‘‘(G) Improvement of highway signage and 

4 pavement markings, including to meet min5 imum levels of retroreflectivity established by 

6 the Department of Transportation. 

7 ‘‘(H) Installation of a priority control sys8 tem for emergency vehicles at signalized inter9 sections. 

10 ‘‘(I) Installation of a traffic control or 

11 other warning device at a location with high ac12 cident potential. 

13 ‘‘(J) Installation of guardrails, barriers 

14 (including barriers between construction work 

15 zones and traffic lanes for the safety of motor16 ists and workers), and crash attentuators. 

17 ‘‘(K) The addition or retrofitting of struc18 tures or other measures to eliminate or reduce 

19 accidents involving vehicles and wildlife. 

20 ‘‘(L) Installation and maintenance of signs 

21 (including flurorescent, yellow-green signs) at 

22 pedestrian-bicycle crossings and in school zones. 

23 ‘‘(M) Installation of a skid-resistant sur24 face at any intersection or other location with 

25 a high frequency of accidents. 


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1 ‘‘(N) Improvement of an edge drop-off that 

2 is greater than 4 inches. 

3 ‘‘(O) Spot pavement and shoulder wid4 ening. 

5 ‘‘(P) Elimination of a roadside obstacle. 

6 ‘‘(Q) Systemic improvements focusing on 

7 low-cost safety infrastructure investments. 

8 ‘‘(R) Traffic enforcement or other activi9 ties relating to work zone safety. 

10 ‘‘(S) Installation of vehicle-to-infrastruc11 ture communication equipment. 

12 ‘‘(T) Installation or improvement of high13 way signage and pavement markings to accom14 modate advanced technologies to assist with the 

15 deployment of automated and connected vehi16 cles. 

17 ‘‘(c) SET-ASIDE.—Of the total amounts made avail18 able under this section for each fiscal year, not less than 

19 $100,000,000 shall be for grants to Indian Tribes. 

20 ‘‘(d) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the 

21 cost of a project carried out with funds made available 

22 under this section may be 100 percent. 

23 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

24 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en25 tity’ means— 


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1 ‘‘(A) a unit of local government; 

2 ‘‘(B) a special purpose district or public 

3 authority with a transportation function; 

4 ‘‘(C) a metropolitan planning organization 

5 (as defined in section 134(b)); 

6 ‘‘(D) a regional transportation authority; 

7 or 

8 ‘‘(E) an Indian Tribe (as defined in section 

9 102 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe 

10 List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5130)). 

11 ‘‘(2) HIGH RISK RURAL ROAD.—The term ‘high 

12 risk rural road’ means any roadway functionally 

13 classified as a rural major or minor collector or a 

14 rural local road with respect to which— 

15 ‘‘(A) there is a significant likelihood of ac16 cidents resulting in fatalities or incapacitating 

17 injuries; or 

18 ‘‘(B) there is a physical condition that pre19 sents to users of the roadway an increased risk 

20 of an accident, including an accident resulting 

21 in serious injury. 

22 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

23 is authorized to be appropriated out of the Highway Trust 

24 Fund (other than the Mass Transit Account) to carry out 


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1 this section $600,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 

2 through 2027, to remain available until expended.’’. 

Æ 


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