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 Infra-
structure 
A BILL 
To establish a grant program to improve safety on high 
risk rural roads, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘High Risk Rural Roads 
Safety Grant Program Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. HIGH RISK RURAL ROADS SAFETY GRANT PRO-
GRAM. 
Chapter 1 of title 23, United States Code, is amended 
by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘§ 171. High risk rural roads safety grant program 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab-
lish a program to award grants, on a competitive basis, 
to eligible entities for projects to improve safety on high 
risk rural roads in the United States. 
‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity may use 
funds provided under this section only for a project 
described in paragraph (2) that makes improvements 
to a high risk rural road. 
‘‘(2) PROJECTS
DESCRIBED.—A project re-
ferred to in paragraph (1) only includes 1 or more 
of the following activities: 
‘‘(A) A road safety audit. 
‘‘(B) An intersection safety improvement. 
‘‘(C) Installation of rumble strips or an-
other warning device, if the rumble strips or 
other warning devices do not adversely affect 
the safety or mobility of bicyclists, pedestrians, 
and individuals with disabilities. 
‘‘(D) Activities that improve the safety of 
pedestrians, bicyclists, or individuals with dis-
abilities. 
‘‘(E) Construction of a railway-highway 
crossing safety feature, including installation of 
protective devices. 
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‘‘(F) Construction of a traffic calming fea-
ture. 
‘‘(G) Improvement of highway signage and 
pavement markings, including to meet min-
imum levels of retroreflectivity established by 
the Department of Transportation. 
‘‘(H) Installation of a priority control sys-
tem for emergency vehicles at signalized inter-
sections. 
‘‘(I) Installation of a traffic control or 
other warning device at a location with high ac-
cident potential. 
‘‘(J) Installation of guardrails, barriers 
(including barriers between construction work 
zones and traffic lanes for the safety of motor-
ists and workers), and crash attentuators. 
‘‘(K) The addition or retrofitting of struc-
tures or other measures to eliminate or reduce 
accidents involving vehicles and wildlife. 
‘‘(L) Installation and maintenance of signs 
(including flurorescent, yellow-green signs) at 
pedestrian-bicycle crossings and in school zones. 
‘‘(M) Installation of a skid-resistant sur-
face at any intersection or other location with 
a high frequency of accidents. 
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‘‘(N) Improvement of an edge drop-off that 
is greater than 4 inches. 
‘‘(O) Spot pavement and shoulder wid-
ening. 
‘‘(P) Elimination of a roadside obstacle. 
‘‘(Q) Systemic improvements focusing on 
low-cost safety infrastructure investments. 
‘‘(R) Traffic enforcement or other activi-
ties relating to work zone safety. 
‘‘(S) Installation of vehicle-to-infrastruc-
ture communication equipment. 
‘‘(T) Installation or improvement of high-
way signage and pavement markings to accom-
modate advanced technologies to assist with the 
deployment of automated and connected vehi-
cles. 
‘‘(c) SET-ASIDE.—Of the total amounts made avail-
able under this section for each fiscal year, not less than 
$100,000,000 shall be for grants to Indian Tribes. 
‘‘(d) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the 
cost of a project carried out with funds made available 
under this section may be 100 percent. 
‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en-
tity’ means— 
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