23 U.S.C. § 119 National Highway Performance Program

• Library: United States Statutes
• Edition: 2023
• Currency: Current through P.L. 118-34 (published on www.congress.gov on 12/26/2023), except for [P. L. 118-31]
• Year: 2023
• Citation: 23 U.S.C. § 119

(a) ESTABLISHMENT.-The Secretary shall establish and implement a national highway performance program under this section.

(b) PURPOSES.-The purposes of the national highway performance program shall be-

(1) to provide support for the condition and performance of the National Highway System;

(2) to provide support for the construction of new facilities on the National Highway System;

(3) to ensure that investments of Federal-aid funds in highway construction are directed to support progress toward the achievement of performance targets established in an asset management plan of a State for the National Highway System; and

(4) to provide support for activities to increase the resiliency of the National Highway System to mitigate the cost of damages from sea level rise, extreme weather events, flooding, wildfires, or other natural disasters.

(c) ELIGIBLE FACILITIES.-Except as provided in subsection (d), to be eligible for funding apportioned under section 104(b)(1) to carry out this section, a facility shall be located on the National Highway System, as defined in section 103.

(d) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.-Funds apportioned to a State to carry out the national highway performance program may be obligated only for a project on an eligible facility that is-

(1)

(A) a project or part of a program of projects supporting progress toward the achievement of national performance goals for improving infrastructure condition, safety, congestion reduction, system reliability, or freight movement on the National Highway System; and

(B) consistent with sections 134 and 135; and

(2) for 1 or more of the following purposes:

(A) Construction, reconstruction, resurfacing, restoration, rehabilitation, preservation, or operational improvement of segments of the National Highway System.

(B) Construction, replacement (including replacement with fill material), rehabilitation, preservation, and protection (including scour countermeasures, seismic retrofits, impact protection measures, security countermeasures, and protection against extreme events) of bridges on the National Highway System.

(C) Construction, replacement (including replacement with fill material), rehabilitation, preservation, and protection (including impact protection measures, security countermeasures, and protection against extreme events) of tunnels on the National Highway System.

(D) Inspection and evaluation, as described in section 144, of bridges and tunnels on the National Highway System, and inspection and evaluation of other highway infrastructure assets on the National Highway System, including signs and sign structures, earth retaining walls, and drainage structures.

(E) Training of bridge and tunnel inspectors, as described in section 144.

(F) Construction, rehabilitation, or replacement of existing ferry boats and ferry boat facilities, including approaches, that connect road segments of the National Highway System.

(G) Construction, reconstruction, resurfacing, restoration, rehabilitation, and preservation of, and operational improvements for, a Federal-aid highway not on the National Highway System, and construction of a transit project eligible for assistance under chapter 53 of title 49, if-

(i) the highway project or transit project is in the same corridor as, and in proximity to, a fully access-controlled highway designated as a part of the National Highway System;

(ii) the construction or improvements will reduce delays or produce travel time savings on the fully access-controlled highway described in clause (i) and improve regional traffic flow; and

(iii) the construction or improvements are more cost-effective, as determined by benefit-cost analysis, than an improvement to the fully access-controlled highway described in clause (i).

(H) Bicycle transportation and pedestrian walkways in accordance with section 217.

(I) Highway safety improvements for segments of the National Highway System.

(J) Capital and operating costs for traffic and traveler information monitoring, management, and control facilities and programs.

(K) Development and implementation of a State asset management plan for the National Highway System in accordance with this section, including data collection, maintenance, and integration and the cost associated with obtaining, updating, and licensing software and equipment required for risk-based asset management and performance-based management.

(L) Infrastructure-based intelligent transportation systems capital improvements, including the installation of vehicle-to-infrastructure communication equipment.

(M) Environmental restoration and pollution abatement in accordance with section 328.

(N) Control of noxious weeds and aquatic noxious weeds and establishment of native species in accordance with section 329.

(O) Environmental mitigation efforts related to projects funded under this section, as described in subsection (g).

(P) Construction of publicly owned intracity or intercity bus terminals servicing the National Highway System.

(Q) Undergrounding public utility infrastructure carried out in conjunction with a project otherwise eligible under this section.

(R) Resiliency improvements on the National Highway System, including protective features described in subsection (k)(2).

(S) Implement activities to protect segments of the National Highway System from cybersecurity threats.

(e) STATE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT.-

(1) IN GENERAL.-A State shall develop a risk-based asset management plan for the National Highway System to improve or preserve the condition of the assets and the performance of the system.

(2) PERFORMANCE DRIVEN PLAN.-A State asset management plan shall include strategies leading to a program of projects that would make progress toward achievement of the State targets for asset condition and performance of the National Highway System in accordance with section 150(d) and supporting the progress toward the achievement of the national goals identified in section 150(b).

(3) SCOPE.-In developing a risk-based asset management plan, the Secretary shall encourage States to include all infrastructure assets within the right-of-way corridor in such plan.

(4) PLAN CONTENTS.-A State asset management plan shall, at a minimum, be in a form that the Secretary determines to be appropriate and include-

(A) a summary listing of the pavement and bridge assets on the National Highway System in the State, including a description of the condition of those assets;

(B) asset management objectives and measures;

(C) performance gap identification;

(D) lifecycle cost and risk management analyses, both of which shall take into consideration extreme weather and resilience;

(E) a financial plan; and

(F) investment strategies.

(5) REQUIREMENT FOR PLAN.-

(A) IN GENERAL.-Notwithstanding section 120, each fiscal year, if the Secretary determines that a State has not developed and implemented a State asset management plan consistent with this section, the Federal share payable on account of any project or activity for which funds are obligated by the State in that fiscal year under this section shall be 65 percent.

(B) DETERMINATION.-The Secretary shall make the determination under subparagraph (A) for a fiscal year not later than the day before the beginning of such fiscal year.

(6) CERTIFICATION OF PLAN DEVELOPMENT PROCESS.-

(A) IN GENERAL.-Not later than 90 days after the date on which a State submits a request for approval of the process used by the State to develop the State asset management plan for the National Highway System, the Secretary shall-