High Risk Rural Roads Safety Grant Program Act of 2021

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- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘High Risk Rural Roads 4 Safety Grant Program Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. HIGH RISK RURAL ROADS SAFETY GRANT PRO- 6 GRAM. 7 Chapter 1 of title 23, United States Code, is amended 8 by adding at the end the following: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:02 Jun 05, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2481.IH H2481 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2481 IH ‘‘§ 171. High risk rural roads safety grant program 1 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab- 2 lish a program to award grants, on a competitive basis, 3 to eligible entities for projects to improve safety on high 4 risk rural roads in the United States. 5 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.— 6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity may use 7 funds provided under this section only for a project 8 described in paragraph (2) that makes improvements 9 to a high risk rural road. 10 ‘‘(2) PROJECTS DESCRIBED.—A project re- 11 ferred to in paragraph (1) only includes 1 or more 12 of the following activities: 13 ‘‘(A) A road safety audit. 14 ‘‘(B) An intersection safety improvement. 15 ‘‘(C) Installation of rumble strips or an- 16 other warning device, if the rumble strips or 17 other warning devices do not adversely affect 18 the safety or mobility of bicyclists, pedestrians, 19 and individuals with disabilities. 20 ‘‘(D) Activities that improve the safety of 21 pedestrians, bicyclists, or individuals with dis- 22 abilities. 23 ‘‘(E) Construction of a railway-highway 24 crossing safety feature, including installation of 25 protective devices. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:02 Jun 05, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2481.IH H2481 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2481 IH ‘‘(F) Construction of a traffic calming fea- 1 ture. 2 ‘‘(G) Improvement of highway signage and 3 pavement markings, including to meet min- 4 imum levels of retroreflectivity established by 5 the Department of Transportation. 6 ‘‘(H) Installation of a priority control sys- 7 tem for emergency vehicles at signalized inter- 8 sections. 9 ‘‘(I) Installation of a traffic control or 10 other warning device at a location with high ac- 11 cident potential. 12 ‘‘(J) Installation of guardrails, barriers 13 (including barriers between construction work 14 zones and traffic lanes for the safety of motor- 15 ists and workers), and crash attentuators. 16 ‘‘(K) The addition or retrofitting of struc- 17 tures or other measures to eliminate or reduce 18 accidents involving vehicles and wildlife. 19 ‘‘(L) Installation and maintenance of signs 20 (including flurorescent, yellow-green signs) at 21 pedestrian-bicycle crossings and in school zones. 22 ‘‘(M) Installation of a skid-resistant sur- 23 face at any intersection or other location with 24 a high frequency of accidents. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:02 Jun 05, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2481.IH H2481 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2481 IH ‘‘(N) Improvement of an edge drop-off that 1 is greater than 4 inches. 2 ‘‘(O) Spot pavement and shoulder wid- 3 ening. 4 ‘‘(P) Elimination of a roadside obstacle. 5 ‘‘(Q) Systemic improvements focusing on 6 low-cost safety infrastructure investments. 7 ‘‘(R) Traffic enforcement or other activi- 8 ties relating to work zone safety. 9 ‘‘(S) Installation of vehicle-to-infrastruc- 10 ture communication equipment. 11 ‘‘(T) Installation or improvement of high- 12 way signage and pavement markings to accom- 13 modate advanced technologies to assist with the 14 deployment of automated and connected vehi- 15 cles. 16 ‘‘(c) SET-ASIDE.—Of the total amounts made avail- 17 able under this section for each fiscal year, not less than 18 $100,000,000 shall be for grants to Indian Tribes. 19 ‘‘(d) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the 20 cost of a project carried out with funds made available 21 under this section may be 100 percent. 22 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 23 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en- 24 tity’ means— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:02 Jun 05, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2481.IH H2481 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2481 IH ‘‘(A) a unit of local government; 1 ‘‘(B) a special purpose district or public 2 authority with a transportation function; 3 ‘‘(C) a metropolitan planning organization 4 (as defined in section 134(b)); 5 ‘‘(D) a regional transportation authority; 6 or 7 ‘‘(E) an Indian Tribe (as defined in section 8 102 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe 9 List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5130)). 10 ‘‘(2) HIGH RISK RURAL ROAD.—The term ‘high 11 risk rural road’ means any roadway functionally 12 classified as a rural major or minor collector or a 13 rural local road with respect to which— 14 ‘‘(A) there is a significant likelihood of ac- 15 cidents resulting in fatalities or incapacitating 16 injuries; or 17 ‘‘(B) there is a physical condition that pre- 18 sents to users of the roadway an increased risk 19 of an accident, including an accident resulting 20 in serious injury. 21 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 22 is authorized to be appropriated out of the Highway Trust 23 Fund (other than the Mass Transit Account) to carry out 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:02 Jun 05, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2481.IH H2481 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2481 IH this section $600,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 1 through 2027, to remain available until expended.’’. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:02 Jun 05, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2481.IH H2481 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS