I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3725 

To relieve traffic congestion. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 6, 2009 

Mr. CASTLE (for himself and Mr. CAPUANO) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To relieve traffic congestion. 

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 ‘‘National Highway 

5 Chokepoint Congestion Relief Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) In 2007, traffic congestion in the top 437 

9 urban areas resulted in major chokepoints and bot10 tlenecks, causing Americans to lose 4.2 billion hours 

11 and 2.9 billion gallons of fuel sitting in traffic jams. 


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1 (2) At the most traffic congested chokepoints, 

2 each rush hour traveler ‘‘pays’’ an annual virtual 

3 congestion tax of between $600 and $1,600 in lost 

4 time and fuel and spends the equivalent of almost 

5 eight work days each year stuck in traffic. 

6 (3) Traffic congestion threatens business pro7 ductivity through the loss of efficient delivery cycles, 

8 the need for increased inventory, and the cost of 

9 congestion-related fuel emissions. 

10 (4) Traffic congestion causes highway crashes 

11 that can kill drivers, their passengers and other mo12 torists. As highway crowding grows and motorists 

13 jockey for position at exits and entryways, the poten14 tial for highway crashes increases. 

15 (5) Traffic congestion chokepoints hinder the 

16 Nation’s progress in improving air quality. Vehicles 

17 caught in stop-and-go traffic emit far more pollut18 ants, particularly carbon monoxide and volatile or19 ganic compounds, than they do when operating with20 out frequent braking and acceleration. 

21 (6) In the largest cities of the Nation, highway 

22 congestion impacts 67 percent of travel, lasts seven 

23 hours per day in duration, and increases by 37 per24 cent the length of the average rush hour driver’s 

25 trip. 


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1 (7) Traffic congestion is no longer simply a 

2 problem in the central areas of large cities. In fact, 

3 the rate of congestion has increased dramatically in 

4 medium-sized cities and suburban areas. 

5 (8) In a 2005 National League of Cities survey, 

6 traffic congestion led all other categories, including 

7 education and healthcare, when respondents were 

8 asked to identify the most deteriorated conditions in 

9 their cities over the last five years. 

10 (9) In December 2007, the National Surface 

11 Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commis12 sion noted that certain chokepoints impede national 

13 and regional movements and recommended that a 

14 distinct program be established to fund projects that 

15 reduce traffic congestion. 

16 SEC. 3. CHOKEPOINT CONGESTION RELIEF PROGRAM. 

17 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

18 of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall issue 

19 regulations that establish a chokepoint congestion relief 

20 program pursuant to the requirements of this Act. 

21 SEC. 4. NATIONAL CHOKEPOINT REGIONS. 

22 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

23 of this Act, the Secretary shall develop criteria for desig24 nating national chokepoint regions in a State, or more 


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1 than one State if the States are contiguous, based on fac2 tors, including— 

3 (1) daily vehicle-miles of travel; 

4 (2) estimates of annual hours of delay per trav5 eler; 

6 (3) comparisons of peak period travel time to 

7 free-flow travel time (travel time index); 

8 (4) percentage of trucks in traffic stream; 

9 (5) estimates of wasted fuel per traveler; 

10 (6) estimates of extra costs due to travel delay 

11 and fuel consumption; 

12 (7) percentage of daily travel in congested con13 ditions; 

14 (8) proximity to shipping ports, airports, com15 muter rail, tourist destinations, and freight trans16 portation corridors; 

17 (9) estimates of incident-related travel delay, 

18 including roadside distractions and ‘‘rubbernecking’’; 

19 (10) abrupt changes in highway alignment such 

20 as sharp curves and hills; 

21 (11) intended interruption to highway flow such 

22 as tollbooths and freeway ramp meters; and 

23 (12) vehicle merging maneuvers such as 

24 ‘‘lanedrop,’’ lane-blocking incidents, ‘‘weaving 


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1 areas’’, freeway on-ramps, and freeway-to-freeway 

2 interchanges. 

3 SEC. 5. GRANT PROGRAM. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

5 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary may make 

6 a grant for capital improvements under this Act to a State 

7 department of transportation having jurisdiction over an 

8 area within a national chokepoint region. 

9 (b) SECRETARIAL APPROVAL.—A grant may only be 

10 made under this Act for an eligible project described in 

11 section 7. 

12 (c) COORDINATION WITH EXISTING PROGRAMS.— 

13 The Secretary shall coordinate the chokepoint congestion 

14 relief program with existing programs, including the cor15 ridors of the future program. 

16 (d) CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS.—A project to be 

17 carried out with assistance under this Act that is for a 

18 highway that is on a Federal-aid system (as defined in 

19 section 101 of title 23, United States Code) shall be con20 structed to the same standards that would apply if such 

21 project was being carried out with assistance under chap22 ter 1 of title 23, United States Code. 

23 (e) FEDERAL SHARE.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share of the 

2 cost of an eligible project for which a grant is made 

3 under this Act shall be 80 percent. 

4 (2) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Federal 

5 share of the cost of an eligible project for which a 

6 grant is made under this Act may not be provided 

7 from Federal funds made available under any other 

8 law. 

9 SEC. 6. APPORTIONMENT OF FUNDS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized to 

11 carry out the chokepoint congestion relief program de12 scribed in section 5 by apportioning amounts to State de13 partments of transportation, in the form of capital im14 provement grants, for carrying out eligible projects in the 

15 national chokepoint regions. 

16 (b) FORMULA FOR APPORTIONMENT.—The Secretary 

17 shall develop a formula for apportioning amounts to eligi18 ble projects in national chokepoint regions based on— 

19 (1) estimates of annual hours of delay per trav20 eler; 

21 (2) daily vehicle-miles of travel on Federal-aid 

22 highways; and 

23 (3) comparisons of peak period travel time to 

24 free-flow travel time (travel time index). 


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1 (c) APPORTIONMENTS TO MORE THAN ONE

2 STATE.—If a national chokepoint region is within the 

3 boundaries of more than one State, the Secretary shall ap4 portion the funds apportioned under subsection (a) for 

5 carrying out eligible projects in such national chokepoint 

6 regions among such States as follows: 

7 (1) 50 percent of the apportionment in the ratio 

8 that— 

9 (A) the total lane miles of Federal-aid 

10 highways in the national chokepoint region in 

11 each of such States; bears to 

12 (B) the total lane miles of Federal-aid 

13 highways in the national chokepoint region in 

14 all of such States. 

15 (2) 50 percent of the apportionments in the 

16 ratio that— 

17 (A) the total vehicle miles traveled on lanes 

18 on Federal-aid highways in the national 

19 chokepoint region in each of such States; bears 

20 to 

21 (B) the total vehicle miles traveled on 

22 lanes on Federal-aid highways in the national 

23 chokepoint region in all of such States. 

24 (d) PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY.—Amounts granted to 

25 a State department of transportation for carrying out an 


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1 eligible project, from amounts apportioned under this sub2 section, shall remain available for obligation for a period 

3 of 6 years after the last day of the fiscal year for which 

4 the funds are authorized to be appropriated. Any amounts 

5 so apportioned that remain unobligated at the end of such 

6 period shall be allocated to other States for the purpose 

7 of funding eligible projects located in national chokepoint 

8 regions at the discretion of the Secretary. 

9 SEC. 7. PROJECT SELECTION AND ELIGIBILITY. 

10 (a) SELECTION PROCESS GUIDELINES.—Not later 

11 than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

12 the Secretary shall issue project selection guidelines for 

13 a State department of transportation to follow in selecting 

14 eligible projects for which grants may be made under this 

15 Act. 

16 (b) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.—The selection guide17 lines issued by the Secretary pursuant to subsection (a) 

18 shall include a requirement that a State department of 

19 transportation— 

20 (1) consult with local governments, port au21 thorities, and regional planning organizations during 

22 the project selection process; 

23 (2) adhere to applicable metropolitan and state24 wide planning processes, including sections 134 and 

25 135 of title 23, United States Code, in selecting 


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1 projects for which grants may be made under this 

2 Act; 

3 (3) develop and implement a selection process 

4 that is in writing and available to the public; 

5 (4) develop and implement a process for rating 

6 proposed projects for which grants may be made 

7 under this Act; and 

8 (5) identify the basis for rating projects under 

9 paragraph (4). 

10 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 

11 In this Act, the following definitions apply: 

12 (1) ELIGIBLE PROJECT.—The term ‘‘eligible 

13 project’’ means a project or activity eligible for as14 sistance under chapter 1 of title 23, United States 

15 Code. 

16 (2) FEDERAL-AID HIGHWAY.—The term ‘‘Fed17 eral-aid highway’’ has the meaning such term has 

18 under section 101 of title 23, United States Code. 

19 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

20 the Secretary of Transportation. 

21 (4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any of 

22 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto 

23 Rico. 

24 (5) STATE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPOR25 TATION.—The term ‘‘State department of transporVerDate Nov 24 2008 04:32 Oct 07, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3725.IH H3725

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1 tation’’ has the meaning such term has under sec2 tion 101 of title 23, United States Code. 

3 SEC. 9. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING PERFORMANCE 

4 MEASURES AND QUANTITATIVE GOALS FOR 

5 STATE DOTS. 

6 It is the sense of Congress that— 

7 (1) States should adopt both interim and long8 term objectives for significantly reducing traffic con9 gestion at chokepoint areas within each State; and 

10 (2) establishing performance measures and 

11 quantitative goals will allow State departments of 

12 transportation to use available resources as effi13 ciently as possible on projects that have the max14 imum impact in reducing traffic congestion and im15 proving mobility. 

16 SEC. 10. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON NONAUTOMOTIVE TRAV17 EL MODES, TRAVEL DEMAND MANAGEMENT, 

18 GROWTH MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES, AND 

19 GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE. 

20 It is the sense of Congress that alleviating traffic con21 gestion requires that the House of Representatives and the 

22 Senate commit to authorizing and funding— 

23 (1) nonautomotive modes of travel, including 

24 intercity passenger rail, commuter rail, light rail, 

25 heavy rail, bus transit, and bikeways; 


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1 (2) travel demand management strategies, in2 cluding ridesharing, dedicated highway lanes for 

3 high occupancy vehicles, staggered work hour initia4 tives, and telecommuting; 

5 (3) growth management and land use strate6 gies; and 

7 (4) strategies that promote the inclusion of 

8 trees and green infrastructure along transportation 

9 corridors, which has been shown to reduce air pollu10 tion by removing airborne contaminants and to re11 duce congestion by calming traffic and creating safer 

12 roadways. 

13 SEC. 11. RITA STUDY OF CONGESTION PRICING. 

14 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

15 of this Act, the Administrator of the Research and Innova16 tive Technology Administration, through the Volpe Na17 tional Transportation Systems Center, shall— 

18 (1) study the extent to which congestion pricing 

19 can provide an incentive for travelers to drive during 

20 off-peak hours or to change their mode of transpor21 tation for time-sensitive journeys; 

22 (2) study the potential for congestion pricing to 

23 generate revenue and thus require less tax-based 

24 funding; 


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1 (3) study foreign congestion pricing practices, 

2 such as those utilized in London, England, and 

3 Stockholm, Sweden, and the cost and feasibility of 

4 implementing selected best practices in the United 

5 States; and 

6 (4) report the results of the study to the Com7 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 

8 House of Representatives and the Committee on 

9 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen10 ate. 

11 SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

12 There are authorized to be appropriated from the 

13 Highway Trust Fund such sums as may be necessary to 

14 carry out this Act for fiscal years 2010 through 2015. 

Æ 


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