[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1243 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1243

  To amend title 23, United States Code, to enhance safety on 2-lane 
                            rural highways.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 1, 1997

  Mr. Kerrey introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
        referred to the Committee on Envionment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title 23, United States Code, to enhance safety on 2-lane 
                            rural highways.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Rural Highway Safety Act''.

SEC. 2. RURAL 2-LANE HIGHWAY SAFETY PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 1 of title 23, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 162. Rural 2-lane highway safety program
    ``(a) Establishment.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish a 2-lane 
        rural highway safety program (referred to in this section as 
        the `program') to ensure the systematic reconstruction of rural 
        2-lane arterial and collector highways of substantial length 
        that are not on the National Highway System.
            ``(2) Principles.--Reconstruction under the program shall 
        be carried out in accordance with state-of-the-art principles 
        of--
                    ``(A) safe alignment and cross-section design;
                    ``(B) safe roadside conditions;
                    ``(C) safety appurtenances;
                    ``(D) durable and safe pavement design (especially 
                long-term skid resistance);
                    ``(E) grade crossing safety; and
                    ``(F) traffic engineering.
            ``(3) Cooperation with states and private sector.--The 
        Secretary shall carry out the program in cooperation with State 
        highway departments and private sector experts in highway 
        safety design, including experts in highway safety policy.
    ``(b) Apportionment.--For each fiscal year, the Secretary shall 
apportion--
            ``(1) 50 percent of the amount made available under 
        subsection (e) to the States in the ratio that--
                    ``(A) the number of miles in the State of rural 2-
                lane arterial and collector surface roads that are not 
                on the National Highway System; bears to
                    ``(B) the number of miles in all States of rural 2-
                lane arterial and collector surface roads that are not 
                on the National Highway System; and
            ``(2) 50 percent of the amount made available under 
        subsection (e) to the States in the ratio that--
                    ``(A) the percentage of the population of the State 
                that resides in rural areas; bears to
                    ``(B) the percentage of the population of all 
                States that resides in rural areas.
    ``(c) Selection of Projects.--
            ``(1) In general.--The States shall select projects to 
        receive funding under the program based on--
                    ``(A) criteria established in cooperation with the 
                Secretary and other persons that give priority to 
                highways associated with persistently high rates of 
                fatal and non-fatal injuries due to accidents; and
                    ``(B) to the maximum extent practicable, value 
                engineering and life-cycle cost analysis.
            ``(2) Compatibility with management systems.--To the extent 
        that a State selects projects in accordance with a functioning 
        safety, pavement, bridge, or work zone management system, 
        projects selected under the program shall be compatible with 
        each management system.
            ``(3) Statewide transportation planning.--The selection of 
        projects by a State under the program shall be carried out in a 
        manner consistent with the statewide transportation planning of 
        the State under section 135.
    ``(d) Report to Congress.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than December 31, 2003, the 
        Secretary shall submit a report to Congress on the results of 
        the program.
            ``(2) Contents.--The report shall include--
                    ``(A) detailed travel and accident data by class of 
                vehicle and roadway; and
                    ``(B) an evaluation of the extent to which specific 
                safety design features and accident countermeasures 
                have resulted in lower accident rates, including 
                reduced severity of injuries.
    ``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $150,000,000 for fiscal year 
1998, $125,000,000 for fiscal year 1999, $125,000,000 for fiscal year 
2000, $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2001, $100,000,000 for fiscal year 
2002, and $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2003.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 1 of title 23, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

``162. Rural 2-lane highway safety program.''.
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