What Do I Need To Know before Reading this Justification?
STP funds are generally limited to projects on Federal-aid highways that include those public roads that are not functionally classified as rural minor collectors or local roads. Federal-aid highways are roads on the National Highway System that includes the Interstate system, other arterial roads, urban collectors and major rural collectors. It accounts for approximately one million of the Nation’s four million miles of public roads.
What is the request and what will we get for the funds?
FY 2015 – Surface Transportation Program ($10.3 billion)
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Difference
FY 2014 FY 2015 From FY 2014
PROGRAM ACTIVITY ENACTED REQUEST ENACTED
We request $10.3 billion, which will provide flexible funding that may be used by States and localities for projects to preserve and improve the condition and performance on any federal-aid highway, bridges on any public road, and transit capital projects, including intercity bus
terminals and vehicles.
STP funds can be used to improve highway infrastructure condition and performance on and off the NHS. STP funds will improve access and connectivity to jobs and services in rural areas and reduce congestion and improve quality of life in urban areas. These funds give States the
flexibility to make decisions on transportation investments.
The STP provides funds to the States to invest in Federal-aid eligible highways to replace, rehabilitate, and preserve roads, bridges, and other highway infrastructure and to expand or build new transportation facilities. The STP provides a set-aside to repair or replace bridges on public roads that are not located on a Federal-aid highway. Other illustrative activities include the following: the removal of bottlenecks; projects and strategies to support congestion pricing, electronic toll collection, and travel demand management strategies and programs; collection and dissemination of real-time travel information; deployment and integration of Intelligent
Transportation System (ITS) technologies; and greater use of traffic incident management practices in corridors. These funds will help to enhance access to educational opportunities, health care, recreation, and other quality of life needs in rural areas.
III-47 What is this program?
STP funds are generally limited to projects on Federal-aid highways that include public roads that are not functionally classified as rural minor collectors or local roads. Despite its focus on the higher classification roadways, 23 U.S.C. amended by MAP-21 contains several exceptions that include:
• Set-aside funding for bridges on public roads that are not located on a Federal-aid highway.
• States may use up to 15 percent of the funds suballocated for areas with a population of less than 5,000 on rural minor collectors.
• Funds may be used for Appalachian local access roads designated in 40 U.S.C. 14501.
Eligibility:
• Construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, resurfacing, restoration, preservation, or operational improvements for highways, including designated routes of the Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS) and local access roads under 40 U.S.C. 14501.
• Replacement, rehabilitation, preservation, protection, and anti-icing/deicing for bridges and tunnels on any public road, including construction or reconstruction necessary to accommodate other modes.
• Construction of new bridges and tunnels on a Federal-aid highway.
• Inspection and evaluation of bridges, tunnels and other highway assets as well as training for bridge and tunnel inspectors.
• Capital costs for transit projects eligible for assistance under chapter 53 of title 49, including vehicles and facilities used to provide intercity passenger bus service.
• Carpool projects, fringe and corridor parking facilities and programs, including electric and natural gas vehicle charging infrastructure, bicycle transportation and pedestrian walkways, and modification of public sidewalks to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
• Highway and transit safety infrastructure improvements and programs, installation of safety barriers and nets on bridges, hazard eliminations, mitigation of hazards caused by wildlife, and railway-highway grade crossings.
• Highway and transit research, development, technology transfer.
• Capital and operating costs for traffic monitoring, management, and control facilities and programs, including advanced truck stop electrification.
• Surface transportation planning.
• Projects that are eligible under the Transportation Alternatives Program.
• Transportation control measures.
• Development and establishment of management systems.
• Environmental mitigation efforts.
• Intersections with high accident rates or levels of congestion.
• ITS capital improvements.
• Environmental restoration and pollution abatement.
• Control of noxious weeds and establishment of native species.
• Congestion pricing projects and strategies, including electric toll collection and travel demand management strategies and programs.
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• Recreational trails projects.
• Construction of ferry boats and terminals.
• Border infrastructure projects.
• Truck parking facilities.
• Development and implementation of State asset management plan for the NHS, and similar activities related to the development and implementation of a performance-based management program for other public roads.
• Surface transportation infrastructure modifications within port terminal boundaries, only if necessary to facilitate direct intermodal interchange, transfer, and access into and out of the port.
• Construction and operational improvements for a minor collector in the same corridor and in proximity to an NHS route if the improvement is more cost-effective (as
determined by a benefit-cost analysis) than an NHS improvement and will enhance NHS level of service and regional traffic flow.
• Administrative and stewardship expenses incurred by State DOTs for oversight of locally administered projects.
• Activities to evaluate the potential impacts of climate change and extreme weather events, and develop and apply adaptation strategies at both the project and system levels.
Funding:
FHWA proposes to continue to finance STP from the Highway Account of the Transportation Trust Fund (currently the Highway Trust Fund). Funds are subject to the overall Federal-aid obligation limitation.
The following amounts are set aside from each State’s STP apportionment:
• 2 percent for State Planning and Research (SPR).
• 15 percent of the State’s FY 2009 Highway Bridge Program apportionment for
off-system bridges. This set aside may not be taken from the suballocations described below.
The STP includes a suballocation of 50 percent of a State’s annual apportionment, after the SPR set-aside, to be obligated in the following areas in proportion to their relative shares of a State’s population--
• Urbanized areas with population greater than 200,000 – This portion is divided among those areas based on their relative share of population, unless the Secretary approves a joint request from the State and relevant MPO(s) to use other factors.
• Areas with population greater than 5,000 but less than 200,000.
• Areas with population of 5,000 or less.
The remaining 50 percent may be used in any area of the State.
Federal Share:
The Federal Government will provide up to 80 percent of the total project cost.
III-49 Why Is This Particular Program Necessary?
While the National Highway System (NHS) is the Nation’s Federal-aid system; a second level of roadways plays an important role in funneling the flow of people and goods onto the NHS.
These roads connect the Nation’s communities, high-tech research facilities, farms and recreational areas to the NHS and play an important role in our nation’s vitality and ability to move goods and people efficiently throughout the nation.
An efficient transportation system is critical to maintaining the competitiveness of our economy.
The highly developed U.S. transportation system played a key role in allowing GDP per capita to grow faster in the U.S. than comparable rates abroad. Additional transportation infrastructure investment is needed. This program will give transportation agencies the ability to target funding to state and local priorities.
While both NHPP and STP are apportioned to the States, many states will sub grant STP funds to cities, counties and towns to help them connect to the nation’s transportation system. It provides more flexible funding that can be used to provide transit capital projects. It targets a significant portion of the funds to both urban and rural areas of the States.
How Do You Know The Program Works?
States will identify projects for STP funding in consultation with local transportation officials in rural areas and in cooperation with the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) in
metropolitan areas. It provides funding to help improve the second level of the Nation’s
highways. It builds on the success of similar past programs. In many cases, the work funded by this program is more clearly visible to public.
Why do we want/need to fund the program at the proposed funding level?
In FY 2015, the STP program will need to be funded at $10.3 billion to make progress in achieving improved conditions and performance of Federal-aid highways.
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