§ 116. — Maintenance.
[Laws in effect as of January 7, 2003]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 7, 2003 and December 19, 2003]
[CITE: 23USC116]
TITLE 23--HIGHWAYS
CHAPTER 1--FEDERAL-AID HIGHWAYS
SUBCHAPTER I--GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 116. Maintenance
(a) It shall be the duty of the State transportation department to
maintain, or cause to be maintained, any project constructed under the
provisions of this chapter or constructed under the provisions of prior
Acts. The State's obligation to the United States to maintain any such
project shall cease when it no longer constitutes a part of a Federal-
aid system.
(b) In any State wherein the State transportation department is
without legal authority to maintain a project constructed on the
Federal-aid secondary system, or within a municipality, such highway \1\
department shall enter into a formal agreement for its maintenance with
the appropriate officials of the county or municipality in which such
project is located.
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\1\ So in original. Probably should be ``transportation''. See 1998
Amendment note.
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(c) If at any time the Secretary shall find that any project
constructed under the provisions of this chapter, or constructed under
the provisions of prior Acts, is not being properly maintained, he shall
call such fact to the attention of the State transportation department.
If, within ninety days after receipt of such notice, such project has
not been put in proper condition of maintenance, the Secretary shall
withhold approval of further projects of all types in the State highway
district, municipality, county, other political or administrative
subdivision of the State, or the entire State in which such project is
located, whichever the Secretary deems most appropriate, until such
project shall have been put in proper condition of maintenance.
(d) Preventive Maintenance.--A preventive maintenance activity shall
be eligible for Federal assistance under this title if the State
demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Secretary that the activity is a
cost-effective means of extending the useful life of a Federal-aid
highway.
(Pub. L. 85-767, Aug. 27, 1958, 72 Stat. 896; Pub. L. 86-70,
Sec. 21(d)(2), (e)(3), June 25, 1959, 73 Stat. 145, 146; Pub. L. 90-495,
Sec. 26, Aug. 23, 1968, 82 Stat. 829; Pub. L. 95-599, title I,
Sec. 124(d), Nov. 6, 1978, 92 Stat. 2705; Pub. L. 97-424, title I,
Sec. 114, Jan. 6, 1983, 96 Stat. 2107; Pub. L. 100-17, title I,
Sec. 125(b)(2), Apr. 2, 1987, 101 Stat. 167; Pub. L. 104-59, title III,
Sec. 309, Nov. 28, 1995, 109 Stat. 582; Pub. L. 105-178, title I,
Sec. 1212(a)(2)(A)(i), June 9, 1998, 112 Stat. 193.)
Amendments
1998--Subsecs. (a) to (c). Pub. L. 105-178 substituted ``State
transportation department'' for ``State highway department''.
1995--Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 104-59 added subsec. (d).
1987--Subsecs. (d), (e). Pub. L. 100-17 struck out subsecs. (d) and
(e) which read as follows:
``(d) The Secretary in consultation with the State highway
departments and interested and knowledgeable private organizations and
individuals shall as soon as possible establish national bridge
inspection standards in order to provide for the proper safety
inspection of bridges. Such standards shall specify in detail the method
by which inspections shall be conducted by the State highway
departments, the maximum time lapse between inspections and the
qualifications for those charged with the responsibility for carrying
out such inspections. Each State shall be required to maintain written
reports to be available to the Secretary pursuant to such inspections
together with a notation of the action taken pursuant to the findings of
such inspections. Each State shall be required to maintain a current
inventory of all bridges.
``(e) The Secretary shall establish in cooperation with the State
highway departments a program designed to train appropriate employees of
the Federal Government and the State governments to carry out bridge
inspections. Such a program shall be revised from time to time in light
of new or improved techniques. For the purposes of this section the
Secretary may use funds made available pursuant to the provisions of
section 104(a) and section 307(a) of this title.''
1983--Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 97-424 substituted ``State highway
district, municipality, county, other political or administrative
subdivision of the State, or the entire State in which such project is
located, whichever the Secretary deems most appropriate,'' for ``entire
State'' after ``all types in the'', and struck out exception for a
situation where such project was subject to an agreement pursuant to
subsection (b) of this section, in which case approval was to have been
withheld only for secondary or urban projects in the county or
municipality where such project is located.
1978--Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 95-599 struck out provisions limiting
provisions of the subsection to the Federal-aid system.
1968--Subsecs. (d), (e). Pub. L. 90-495 added subsecs. (d) and (e).
1959--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 86-70, Sec. 21(e)(3), substituted ``It''
for ``Except as provided in subsection (d) of this section, it''.
Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 86-70, Sec. 21(d)(2), repealed subsec. (d)
which related to expenditure of funds apportioned to the Territory of
Alaska and contributed by the Territory for the maintenance of roads.
Effective Date of 1968 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 90-495 effective Aug. 23, 1968, see section 37
of Pub. L. 90-495, set out as a note under section 101 of this title.
Effective Date of 1959 Amendment
Amendment by section 21(d)(2) of Pub. L. 86-70 effective July 1,
1959, see section 21(d) of Pub. L. 86-70, set out as a note under
section 103 of this title.
Amendment by section 21(e)(3) of Pub. L. 86-70 effective July 1,
1959, see section 21(e) of Pub. L. 86-70, set out as a note under
section 101 of this title.
Establishment of Minimum Federal Guidelines for Maintenance; Study by
National Academy of Sciences and Report
Section 163 of Pub. L. 100-17 directed Secretary to enter into
appropriate arrangements with the National Academy of Sciences to
conduct a complete investigation of the appropriateness of establishing
minimum Federal guidelines for maintenance of the Federal-aid primary,
secondary, and urban systems and, not later than 18 months after
entering into appropriate arrangements, the National Academy of Sciences
was to submit to Secretary and Congress a report on the results of the
investigation and study together with recommendations (including
legislative and administrative recommendations) concerning establishment
of minimum Federal guidelines for maintenance of the Federal-aid
primary, secondary, and urban systems.
