[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 111 (Thursday, September 5, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8303-S8305]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BINGAMAN:
  S. 2906. A bill to amend title 23, United States Code, to establish a 
program to make allocations to States for projects to expand 2-lane 
highways in rural areas to 4-lane highways; to the Committee on 
Environment and Public Works.
  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Rural 
Four-Lane Highway Safety and Development Act of 2002. The purpose of 
this legislation is to ensure that States have the resources they need 
to upgrade major two-lane roads across the Nation to high-quality four-
lane divided highways. The goals of this bill are to improve the safety 
of our most dangerous highways and to stimulate economic development in 
rural areas.
  I think most Senators would agree that the Dwight D. Eisenhower 
National System of Interstate and Defense Highways is one of the 
transportation marvels of the 20th century. The system's 46,000 miles 
of divided highways interconnect virtually every major urban areas in 
the Nation. The system represents one of the most efficient and safest 
highway systems in the world.
  Unfortunately, when the Interstate System was planned it left many 
rural communities and smaller urban areas without direct links to the 
high-quality transportation network that the interstate highways 
provide. Many of these smaller and rural communities continue to suffer 
economically because of the lack of high-quality four-lane highways.
  To address this issue, in 1995 Congress developed the concept of a 
National Highway System as a way of extending the benefits of an 
efficient highway network to all areas of the country. Congress 
designated the National Highway System to help focus federal resources 
on the nation's most important roads.
  Today there are about 160,000 miles on the National Highway System 
including all of the interstate highways and all other routes that are 
important to the nation's economy, defense, and general mobility. The 
NHS comprises only 4 percent of the nation's roads, but carries more 
than 40 percent of all highway traffic, 75 percent of heavy truck 
traffic and 90 percent of tourist traffic.
  The NHS reaches nearly every part of the nation. According to the 
Federal Highway Administration, about 90 percent of American's 
population lives within 5 miles of an NHS route. All urban areas with a 
population of more than 50,000 and 93 percent with a population of 
between 5,000 and 50,000 are within 5 mile;s of the NHS. Counties with 
NHS highways have 99 percent of all jobs, including 99 percent of all 
manufacturing jobs, 90 percent of mining jobs, and 93 percent of 
agricultural jobs.
  The NHS is the critical transportation link of most of our Nation's 
rural areas. According the Federal Highway Adminstration, of the 
160,000 miles now on the National Highway System, fully 75 percent, or 
119,000 miles, are in rural areas. Of the 1.2 trillion vehicle miles 
traveled in 2000 on NHS roads, about 60 percent were in rural areas.
  I hope all senators will agree that improving highway safety should 
be our top priority. When it comes to highway safety, the fact that 
travel on four-lane roads is safer than two-lane roads. This is 
especially true in rural areas. According to the Bureau of 
Transportation Statistics, in 1998 the rate of traffic fatalities on 
all rural roads was 2.39 per 100-million vehicle miles; however, the 
rate of rural interstate highways was half as high, only 1.23 per 100 
million vehicle-miles.
  The reason for the lower fatality rate on rural interstate highways 
should be obvious. When a road has only one lane in each direction, 
trucks and other slow-moving vehicles increase the hazard of passing. 
Vehicles turning on or off a two-lane road can also increase risk. A 
divided four-lane highway greatly reduces these perils.
  Of the 119,000 miles of rural NHS roads, about 33,000 miles are 
interstates and another 28,000 miles have been upgraded to four or more 
lanes. The remaining 58,000 miles, more than half of this rural highway 
network--are stil only two-lane roads with no central divider. These 
are the most dangerous roads on the National Highway System.
  Unfortunately, there are only very limited funds available to upgrade 
the most dangerous two-lane rural NHS roads to four-lane highways. 
According to a recent GAO study, over two-thirds of all federal 
highways funding between 1992 and 200 has gone either to roads in urban 
areas or to interstate highways. Consequently, there is a continuing 
shortfall in Federal highway funding needed to upgrade the most 
important rural two-lane highways. My bill will help address the 
shortfall so that more rural segments of the NHS can be upgraded to 
four-lane divided highways.
  In my State of New Mexico, we have made some progress toward 
upgrading our rural two-lane highways to four lanes. In recent years, 
US550 from Bernalillo to Farmington and US285 from Interstate 40 to 
Carlsbad have been widened to four lanes. In addition, upgrading of 
US70 from Las Cruces to Clovis and a key segment of US54 from El Paso 
to Alamogordo are nearly completed. But much more remains to be done.
  New Mexico has 2,935 miles of rural roads in the NHS. One thousand of 
these NHS miles are interstates. Of the balance of New Mexico NHS 
highways, 1,755 miles are in the rural parts of my state, especially 
Chaves, Colfax, Eddy, Lincoln, Guadalupe, Otero, Quay, San Juan, and 
Union Counties. And almost 70 percent--1,217 miles, of New Mexico's 
rural NHS highways remain only two-lane roads. These two-lane roads are 
major transportation routes with heavy truck and commercial traffic. In 
2000, a total of 10.3 billion vehicle miles were traveled on New 
Mexico's NHS highways, and about one quarter, or 2.7 billion miles, 
were traveled on these rural NHS roads.
  As in many States, New Mexico's rural counties strongly believe their 
economic future depends on access to safe and efficient four-lane 
highways. Basic transportation infrastructure is one of the critical 
elements companies look for when choosing where to locate. Truck 
drivers and the traveling public prefer the safety and efficiency of a 
four-lane divided highway.
  Thus one of the top priorities for rural cities and counties in my 
State is to complete the four-lane upgrade of such key routes as US54 
from Tularosa to Nara Vista, US62/180 from Carlsbad to the Texas State 
line, US64/87 from Clayton to Raton, US 666 from north to Gallup to 
Shiprock, US285 from Clines Corners to Lamy, and US180 from Deming to 
Silver City. These two-lane rural routes in New Mexico not only bear 
some of the State's heaviest truck and automobile traffic, but also are 
some of the state's most dangerous. In fact, US 666 is considered one 
of the most dangerous two-lane highways in the Nation.
  I ask unanimous consent that a table showing recent accident, 
fatality and injury rates for these major two-lane highways in New 
Mexico be printed in the Record.

[[Page S8304]]



          EXHIBIT 1.--MAJOR TWO-LANE NHS HIGHWAYS IN NEW MEXICO
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        Crashes   Fatalities   Injuries
  Two-lane NHS routes in New Mexico    1998-2000   1998-2000   1998-2000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
US 62/180 Carlsbad to Texas State             55           2          34
 Line 30 miles......................
US 54, Tularosa to Texas State Line          364          12         217
 SPIRIT High Priority Corridor 214
 miles..............................
US 64/87 Raton to Clayton Ports-to-          163           5         157
 Plains High Priority Corridor 74
 miles..............................
US 666 North of Gallup to Shiprock           148          12         166
 59 miles...........................
US 180 Deming to Silver City 40.5             60           3          50
 miles..............................
US 285 Clines Corners to Lamy 37              42           0          26
 miles..............................
US 60/84 Santa Rosa to Ft. Sumner to          97           6          54
 Clovis 89 miles....................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: New Mexico State Highway and Transportation Department.

  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, New Mexico is not alone in needing to 
upgrade two-lane roads on the National Highway System. Just last month 
my good friend Senator Reid of Nevada, chaired a hearing of the 
Transportation, Infrastructure and Nuclear Safety Subcommittee of the 
Environment and Public Works Committee on the topic of western 
transportation issues. One of the witnesses, Tom Stephens, Director of 
Nevada's Department of Transportation, testified that rural two-lane 
highways are of special concern in Nevada. He indicated that the number 
of head-on accidents, which almost always include at least on vehicle 
with no fault, were especially troublesome in his state. I would note 
that Nevada has about 1,300 miles of rural two-lane NHS highways. 
Excluding interstates, 92 percent of the rural NHS miles in Nevada are 
still only two-lane roads.
  Along with Nevada, many other States have long stretches of two-lane 
NHS roads. For example, Texas has over 3,400 miles of rural two-lane 
NHS roads. In Montana, 95 percent of all rural NHS roads are still only 
two lanes. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a table showing 
the number of miles of rural two-lane highways in selected States be 
printed at this point in the Record.

                              EXHIBIT 2.--RURAL TWO- AND FOUR-LANE ROADS ON THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY SYSTEM FOR SELECTED STATES
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                        Total rural NHS    Rural Interstate     All other rural   Two-lane rural NHS   Percent Rural Two
                        State                                miles             NHS miles           NHS miles             miles               Lane
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arkansas............................................               2,253                 467               1,786               1,465                 83%
California..........................................               5,031               1,357               3,674               2,433                 66%
Colorado............................................               2,598                 767               1,831               1,286                 70%
Idaho...............................................               2,188                 526               1,662               1,471                 89%
Illinois............................................               3,358               1,515               1,843               1,407                 76%
Iowa................................................               2,672                 635               2,037               1,547                 76%
Kansas..............................................               3,352                 694               2,658               2,293                 86%
Michigan............................................               3,048                 741               2,307               1,753                 76%
Minnesota...........................................               2,213                 557               2,581               1,897                 73%
Missouri............................................               3,385                 806               2,579               1,853                 72%
Montana.............................................               3,739               1,134               2,605               2,469                 95%
Nebraska............................................               2,686                 437               2,249               1,964                 87%
Nevada..............................................               1,921                 480               1,441               1,317                 92%
New Mexico..........................................               2,647                 892               1,775               1,217                 69%
North Dakota........................................               2,619                 531               2,088               1,659                 79%
Oklahoma............................................               2,836                 721               2,115               1,105                 52%
Oregon..............................................               3,259                 581               2,678               2,197                 82%
Pennylvania.........................................               3,459               1,207               2,252               1,426                 63%
South Dakota........................................               2,822                 629               2,193               1,938                 88%
Texas...............................................               8,736               2,213               6,523               3,465                 53%
Wisconsin...........................................               3,240                 580               2,660               1,702                 64%
Wyoming.............................................               2,784                 826               1,958               1,924                 98%
U.S. total..........................................             118,878              33,048              85,830              58,444                 68%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: FHWA, Highway Statistics 2000, Tables HM-15 and HM-35

  Mr. BINGAMAN. Of course, two-lane rural NHS roads are not unique to 
the large western states. Even in the East, where states are smaller, 
many NHS routes remain only two lanes. In Vermont, 78 percent of rural 
NHS roads are only two lanes, in New Hampshire it's 84 percent and 99 
percent in Maine.
  Mr. President, I do believe it is time Congress took action to 
improve the safety of cars and trucks on these important two-lanes 
roads. This year, I secured $1 million in federal funding to begin the 
upgrade of US64/87 between Clayton and Raton, which is part of the 
Ports-to-Plains High Priority Corridor on the National Highway System.
  In addition, Senator Roberts and I have introduced legislation to 
designate US Highway 54 from El Paso, Texas, through New Mexico, Texas, 
and Oklahoma to Wichita, Kansas as the SPIRIT High Priority Corridor. 
Our bipartisan bill has three cosponsors. A high-priority corridor 
designation provides no additional federal funding, but helps focus 
attention on the need to upgrade the nation's major two-lanes routes. 
The sponsors of the bill have joined me in urging the Environment and 
Public Works Committee to act promptly on our bill.

  Mr. President, the purpose of the bill I am introducing today, the 
Rural Four-Lane Highway Safety and Development Act of 2002, is to 
provide direct federal funding to states to upgrade existing two-lane 
roads in rural areas to safe and efficient four-lane divided highways. 
The states would determine which two-lane roads they wanted to upgrade. 
To be eligible for funding, the highway must be on the National Highway 
System or a congressionally designated High Priority Corridor. In my 
bill, priority for funding is given to upgrading the most dangerous 
two-lane highways, routes most affected by increased traffic as a 
result of NAFTA, highways that have high levels of commercial traffic, 
and projects that will help stimulate regional economic growth. Total 
funding for six years is $1.8 billion from the highway trust fund.
  Mr. President, I continue to believe strongly in the important role 
of highway infrastructure to economic development. Even in this age of 
the so-called ``new'' economy and high-speed digital communications, 
roads continue to link our communities together and to carry the 
commercial goods and products our citizens need. Safe and efficient 
highways are especially important to citizens in the rural parts of our 
country.
  I recognize that the funding level in this bill is not large enough 
to upgrade all of the remaining two-lane routes on the NHS in the 
course of the next six years. Upgrading an existing two-lane road to a 
full four-lane divided highway can cost upward of one million dollars 
per mile.
  Moreover, some of the existing two-lane roads probably don't have 
sufficient traffic to justify upgrading at this time. In addition, some 
two-lane NHS routes pass through scenic areas where it may not be 
appropriate to upgrade to four lanes. However, I do believe the funding 
in this bill will take us a long way toward ensuring the most critical 
projects are completed in the next six years.
  Mr. President, next year Congress must take up the reauthorization of 
the comprehensive six-year transportation bill, TEA-21. I am 
introducing this bill today to help ensure that the issue of the safety 
of rural two-lane NHS routes will receive the attention it deserves in 
the debate on reauthorization. I look forward to working with the 
chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, Senator 
Jeffords, and Senator Smith, the ranking member, as well as Senators 
Reid and Inhofe of the Transportation, Infrastructure and Nuclear 
Safety Subcommittee, to find a way to ensure additional federal 
resources are in place to begin the work of upgrading existing two-lane 
NHS roads to safe, efficient four-lane divided highways.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a copy of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

[[Page S8305]]

       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 Four-Lane Highway 
     Safety and Development Act of 2002''.

     SEC. 2. RURAL 4-LANE HIGHWAY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.

       (a) In General.--Title 23, United States Code, is amended 
     by inserting after section 138 the following:

     ``Sec. 139. Rural 4-lane highway development program

       ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
       ``(1) 2-lane highway.--The term `2-lane highway' means a 
     highway that has not more than 1 lane of traffic in each 
     direction.
       ``(2) 4-lane highway.--The term `4-lane highway' means a 
     highway that has 2 lanes of traffic in each direction.
       ``(b) Establishment of Program.--The Secretary shall 
     establish and carry out a program to make allocations to 
     States for projects, consisting of planning, design, 
     environmental review, and construction, to expand eligible 2-
     lane highways in rural areas to 4-lane highways.
       ``(c) Applications.--To be eligible to receive an 
     allocation under this section, a State shall submit to the 
     Secretary an application at such time, in such form, and 
     containing such information as the Secretary may require.
       ``(d) Eligible Highways.--The Secretary may make 
     allocations under this section only for projects to expand 2-
     lane highways that are on--
       ``(1) the National Highway System; or
       ``(2) a high priority corridor identified under section 
     1105(c) of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency 
     Act of 1991 (105 Stat. 2032).
       ``(e) Priority in Selection.--In making allocations under 
     this section, the Secretary shall give priority to--
       ``(1) projects to improve highway safety on the most 
     dangerous rural 2-lane highways on the National Highway 
     System;
       ``(2) projects carried out on rural highways with respect 
     to which the annual volume of commercial vehicle traffic--
       ``(A) has increased since the date of enactment of the 
     North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (107 
     Stat. 2057); or
       ``(B) is expected to increase after the date of enactment 
     of this section;
       ``(3) projects carried out on rural highways with high 
     levels of commercial truck traffic; and
       ``(4) projects on highway corridors that will help 
     stimulate regional economic growth and development in rural 
     areas.
       ``(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated from the Highway Trust Fund (other than 
     the Mass Transit Account) to carry out this section 
     $300,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 through 2009.''.
       (b) Conforming Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 1 of 
     title 23, United States Code, is amended by inserting after 
     the item relating to section 138 the following:

``139. Rural 4-lane highway development program.''.
                                 ______