Sec. 1306. Gridlock reduction grant program
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/bill/116/hr/2/ih/section-1306A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
The Secretary of Transportation shall establish a gridlock reduction program to make grants, on a competitive basis, for projects to reduce, and mitigate the adverse impacts of, traffic congestion. To be eligible for a grant under this section, an applicant shall submit to the Secretary an application in such form, at such time, and containing such information as the Secretary determines appropriate. The Secretary may make grants under this section to an applicant that is serving an urbanized area, as designated by the Bureau of the Census, with a population of not less than 1,000,000 and that is— a metropolitan planning organization; a unit of local government or a group of local governments; a multijurisdictional group of entities described in paragraphs
(1)and (2); or a State that is in partnership with an entity described in paragraph (1), (2), or (3). The Secretary may award grants under this section to applicants that submit a comprehensive program of surface transportation-related projects to reduce traffic congestion and related adverse impacts, including a project for 1 or more of the following: Transportation systems management and operations. Intelligent transportation systems. Real-time traveler information. Traffic incident management. Active traffic management. Traffic signal timing. Multimodal travel payment systems. Transportation demand management, including employer-based commuting programs such as carpool, vanpool, transit benefit, parking cashout, shuttle, or telework programs. A project to provide transportation options to reduce traffic congestion, including— a project under chapter 53 of title 49, United States Code; and a bicycle or pedestrian project, including a project to provide safe and connected active transportation networks. Any other project, as determined appropriate by the Secretary. In selecting grants under this section, the Secretary shall prioritize applicants serving urbanized areas, as described in subsection (c), that are experiencing a high degree of recurrent transportation congestion, as determined by the Secretary. In selecting grants under this section, the Secretary shall also consider the extent to which the project would— reduce traffic congestion and improve the reliability of the surface transportation system; mitigate the adverse impacts of traffic congestion on the surface transportation system, including safety and environmental impacts; maximize the use of existing capacity; and employ innovative, integrated, and multimodal solutions to the items described in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C). The Federal share of the cost of a project carried out under this section may not exceed 60 percent. Federal assistance other than a grant for a project under this section may be used to satisfy the non-Federal share of the cost of such project, except that the total Federal assistance provided for a project receiving a grant under this section may not exceed 80 percent of the total project cost. Funds made available for a project under this section may be used for— development phase activities, including planning, feasibility analysis, revenue forecasting, environmental review, preliminary engineering and design work, and other preconstruction activities; and construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, acquisition of real property (including land related to the project and improvements to the land), environmental mitigation, construction contingencies, acquisition of equipment, and operational improvements. A grant under this section shall be in an amount not less than $10,000,000 and not more than $50,000,000. Funds made available under this program shall be available until expended. The Secretary shall set aside not less than 50 percent of the funds made available to carry out this section for grants for freight projects under this subsection. The Secretary shall provide funds set aside under this subsection to applicants that submit a comprehensive program of surface transportation-related projects to reduce freight-related traffic congestion and related adverse impacts, including— freight intelligent transportation systems; real-time freight parking information; real-time freight routing information; freight transportation and delivery safety projects; first-mile and last-mile delivery solutions; shifting freight delivery to off-peak travel times; reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution from freight transportation and delivery, including through the use of innovative vehicles that produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions; use of centralized delivery locations; designated freight vehicle parking and staging areas; curb space management; and other projects, as determined appropriate by the Secretary. In providing funds set aside under this section, the Secretary shall prioritize applicants serving urbanized areas, as described in subsection (c), that are experiencing a high degree of recurrent congestion due to freight transportation, as determined by the Secretary. In providing funds set aside under this subsection, the Secretary shall consider the extent to which the proposed project— reduces freight-related traffic congestion and improves the reliability of the freight transportation system; mitigates the adverse impacts of freight-related traffic congestion on the surface transportation system, including safety and environmental impacts; maximizes the use of existing capacity; employs innovative, integrated, and multimodal solutions to the items described in clauses
(i)through (iii); and leverages Federal funds with non-Federal contributions. If the Secretary determines that there are insufficient qualified applicants to use the funds set aside under this subsection, the Secretary may use such funds for grants for any projects eligible under this section. The Secretary shall ensure that not later than 2 years after the Secretary awards grants under this section, the recipient of each such grant submits to the Secretary a report that contains— information on each activity or project that received funding under this section; a summary of any non-Federal resources leveraged by a grant under this section; any statistics, measurements, or quantitative assessments that demonstrate the congestion reduction, reliability, safety, and environmental benefits achieved through activities or projects that received funding under this section; and any additional information required by the Secretary. Not later than 6 months after the date specified in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Environment and Public Works, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate, and make publicly available on a website, a report detailing— a summary of any information provided under paragraph (1); and recommendations and best practices to— reduce traffic congestion, including freight-related traffic congestion, and improve the reliability of the surface transportation system; mitigate the adverse impacts of traffic congestion, including freight-related traffic congestion, on the surface transportation system, including safety and environmental impacts; and employ innovative, integrated, and multimodal solutions to the items described in clauses
(i)and (ii). Not later than 3 business days before awarding a grant under this section, the Secretary shall notify the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Environment and Public Works, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate of the intention to award such a grant. The Secretary shall, with respect to a project funded by a grant under this section, apply— the requirements of title 23, United States Code, to a highway project; the requirements of chapter 53 of title 49, United States Code, to a public transportation project; and the requirements of section 22905 of title 49, United States Code, to a passenger rail or freight rail project. Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, if an eligible project is a multimodal project, the Secretary shall— determine the predominant modal component of the project; and apply the applicable requirements of such predominant modal component to the project. For any passenger or freight rail component of a project, the requirements of section 22907(j)(2) of title 49, United States Code, shall apply. For any public transportation component of a project, the requirements of section 5333 of title 49, United States Code, shall apply. In applying the Buy American requirements under section 313 of title 23, United States Code, and sections 5320, 22905(a), and 24305(f) of title 49, United States Code, to a multimodal project under this paragraph, the Secretary shall— consider the various modal components of the project; and seek to maximize domestic jobs. Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection, the Secretary shall require recipients of grants under this section to comply with subsection
(a)of section 113 of title 23, United States Code, with respect to public transportation projects, passenger rail projects, and freight rail projects, in the same manner that recipients of grants are required to comply with such subsection for construction work performed on highway projects on Federal-aid highways. Except as provided in subsection (l), funds authorized for the purposes described in this section shall be available for obligation in the same manner as if the funds were apportioned under chapter 1 of title 23, United States Code.