23 U.S.C. § 117
Section 117 · High priority projects program
Version as of November 15, 2021, with additions and removals from the October 1, 2020 version.
The Secretary may select a project described under this section (other than subsection (e)) for funding under this section only if the Secretary determines that—
the project will generate national or regional economic, mobility, or safety benefits;
the project will be cost effective;
the project will contribute to the accomplishment of 1 or more of the national goals described under section 150 of this title;
the project is based on the results of preliminary engineering;
with respect to related non-Federal financial commitments—
1 or more stable and dependable sources of funding and financing are available to construct, maintain, and operate the project; and
contingency amounts are available to cover unanticipated cost increases;
the project cannot be easily and efficiently completed without other Federal funding or financial assistance available to the project sponsor; and
the project is reasonably expected to begin construction not later than 18 months after the date of obligation of funds for the project.
The Secretary may select a project described under this section (other than subsection (e)) for funding under this section only if the Secretary determines that—
the project will generate national or regional economic, mobility, or safety benefits;
the project will be cost effective;
the project will contribute to the accomplishment of 1 or more of the national goals described under section 150 of this title;
the project is based on the results of preliminary engineering;
with respect to related non-Federal financial commitments—
1 or more stable and dependable sources of funding and financing are available to construct, maintain, and operate the project; and
contingency amounts are available to cover unanticipated cost increases;
the project cannot be easily and efficiently completed without other Federal funding or financial assistance available to the project sponsor; and
the project is reasonably expected to begin construction not later than 18 months after the date of obligation of funds for the project.
Not later than 60 days after the date on which a grant recipient for a project under this section is selected, the Secretary shall provide to each eligible applicant not selected for that grant a written notification that the eligible applicant was not selected.
A written notification under paragraph (1) shall include an offer for a written or telephonic debrief by the Secretary that will provide—
detail on the evaluation of the application of the eligible applicant; and
an explanation of and guidance on the reasons the application was not selected for a grant under this section.
Not later than 30 days after the eligible applicant receives a written notification under paragraph (1), if the eligible applicant opts to receive a debrief described in paragraph (2), the eligible applicant shall notify the Secretary that the eligible applicant is requesting a debrief.
If the eligible applicant submits a request for a debrief under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall provide the debrief by not later than 60 days after the date on which the Secretary receives the request for a debrief.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, not later than 30 days after the date on which the Secretary selects a project for funding under this section, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a report that describes the reasons for selecting the project, based on any criteria established by the Secretary in accordance with this section.
The report submitted under subparagraph (A) shall specify each criterion established by the Secretary that the project meets.
The Secretary shall make available on the website of the Department of Transportation the report submitted under subparagraph (A).
This paragraph applies to all projects described in subparagraph (A) that the Secretary selects on or after October 1, 2021.
The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct an assessment of the establishment, solicitation, selection, and justification process with respect to the funding of projects under this section.
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Act of 2021 and annually thereafter, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a report that describes, for each project selected to receive funding under this section—
the process by which each project was selected;
the factors that went into the selection of each project; and
the justification for the selection of each project based on any criteria established by the Secretary in accordance with this section.
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Act of 2021 and annually thereafter, the Inspector General of the Department of Transportation shall—
conduct an assessment of the establishment, solicitation, selection, and justification process with respect to the funding of projects under this section; and
submit to the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a final report that describes the findings of the Inspector General of the Department of Transportation with respect to the assessment conducted under subparagraph (A).
There is established a pilot program to award grants to eligible applicants for projects eligible for grants under this section (referred to in this subsection as the “pilot program”).
In awarding grants under the pilot program, the Secretary shall give priority to an application that offers a greater non-Federal share of the cost of a project relative to other applications under the pilot program.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Federal share of the cost of a project assisted with a grant under the pilot program may not exceed 50 percent.
For grants awarded under the pilot program, except as provided in clause (ii), an eligible applicant may not use Federal assistance to satisfy the non-Federal share of the cost under subparagraph (A).
An eligible applicant may use funds from a secured loan (as defined in section 601(a)) to satisfy the non-Federal share of the cost under subparagraph (A) if the loan is repayable from non-Federal funds.
Of the amounts made available to provide grants under this section, the Secretary shall reserve for each fiscal year $150,000,000 to provide grants under the pilot program.
In any fiscal year during which applications under this subsection are insufficient to effect an award or allocation of the entire amount reserved under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall use the unutilized amounts to provide other grants under this section.
Of the amounts reserved under paragraph (4)(A), the Secretary shall reserve for each fiscal year not less than 10 percent for projects eligible for a grant under subsection (e).
For a grant awarded from the amount reserved under clause (i)—
the requirements of subsection (e) shall apply; and
the requirements of subsection (g) shall not apply.
Of the amounts reserved under paragraph (4)(A), the Secretary shall reserve for each fiscal year not less than 25 percent for projects eligible for a grant under subsection (i).
For a grant awarded from the amount reserved under clause (i), the requirements of subsection (i) shall apply.
Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Environment and Public Works and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a report that describes the administration of the pilot program, including—
the number, types, and locations of eligible applicants that have applied for grants under the pilot program;
the number, types, and locations of grant recipients under the pilot program;
an assessment of whether implementation of the pilot program has incentivized eligible applicants to offer a greater non-Federal share for grants under the pilot program; and
any recommendations for modifications to the pilot program.
For purposes of this section, the term “multistate corridor organization” means an organization of a group of States developed through cooperative agreements, coalitions, or other arrangements to promote regional cooperation, planning, and shared project implementation for programs and projects to improve transportation system management and operations for a shared transportation corridor.
In addition to amounts made available from the Highway Trust Fund, there are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, to remain available for a period of 3 fiscal years following the fiscal year for which the amounts are appropriated—
$1,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2022;
$1,100,000,000 for fiscal year 2023;
$1,200,000,000 for fiscal year 2024;
$1,300,000,000 for fiscal year 2025; and
$1,400,000,000 for fiscal year 2026.