§ 212. — InterAmerican Highway.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 23USC212]
TITLE 23--HIGHWAYS
CHAPTER 2--OTHER HIGHWAYS
Sec. 212. Inter-American Highway
(a) Funds appropriated for the Inter-American Highway shall be used
to enable the United States to cooperate with the Governments of the
American Republics situated in Central America--that is, with the
Governments of the Republic of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala,
Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama--in the survey and construction of the
Inter-American Highway within the borders of the aforesaid Republics,
respectively. Not to exceed one-third of the appropriation authorized
for each fiscal year may be expended without requiring the country or
countries in which such funds may be expended to match any part thereof,
if the Secretary of State shall find that the cost of constructing said
highway in such country or countries will be beyond their reasonable
capacity to bear. The remainder of such authorized appropriations shall
be available for expenditure only when matched to the extent required by
this section by the country in which such expenditure may be made.
Expenditures from the funds available on a matching basis shall not be
made for the survey and construction of any portion of said highway
within the borders of any country named herein unless such country shall
provide and make available for expenditure in conjunction therewith a
sum equal to at least one-third of the expenditures that may be incurred
by that Government and the United States on such portion of the highway.
All expenditures by the United States under the provisions of this
section for material, equipment, and supplies shall, whenever
practicable, be made for products of the United States or of the country
in which such survey or construction work is being carried on.
Construction work to be performed under contract shall be advertised for
a reasonable period by the Minister of Public Works, or other similar
official, of the government concerned in each of the participating
countries and contracts shall be awarded pursuant to such advertisements
with the approval of the Secretary. No part of the appropriations
authorized shall be available for obligation or expenditure for work on
said highway in any cooperating country unless the government of said
country shall have assented to the provisions of this section; shall
have furnished satisfactory assurances that it has an organization
adequately qualified to administer the functions required of such
country under the provisions hereof; and then only as such country may
submit requests, from time to time, for the construction of any portion
of the highway to standards adequate to meet present and future traffic
needs. No part of said appropriations shall be available for obligation
or expenditure in any such country until the government of that country
shall have entered into an agreement with the United States which shall
provide, in part, that said country--
(1) will provide, without participation of funds authorized, all
necessary rights-of-way for the construction of said highway, which
rights-of-way shall be of a minimum width where practicable of one
hundred meters in rural areas and fifty meters in municipalities and
shall forever be held inviolate as a part of the highway for public
use;
(2) will not impose any highway toll, or permit any such toll to
be charged, for use by vehicles or persons of any portion of said
highway constructed under the provisions of this section;
(3) will not levy or assess, directly or indirectly, any fee,
tax, or other charge for the use of said highway by vehicles or
persons from the United States that does not apply equally to
vehicles or persons of such country;
(4) will continue to grant reciprocal recognition of vehicle
registration and drivers' licenses in accordance with the provisions
of the Convention for the Regulation of Inter-American Automotive
Traffic, which was opened for signature at the Pan American Union in
Washington on December 15, 1943, and to which such country and the
United States are parties, or of any other treaty or international
convention establishing similar reciprocal recognition; and
(5) will provide for the maintenance of said highway after its
completion in condition adequately to serve the needs of present and
future traffic.
(b) The survey and construction work authorized by this section
shall be under the administration of the Secretary, who shall consult
with the appropriate officials of the Department of State with respect
to matters involving the foreign relations of this Government, and such
negotiations with the Governments of the American Republics named in
subsection (a) of this section as may be required to carry out the
purposes of this section shall be conducted through, or as authorized
by, the Department of State.
(c) The provisions of this section shall not create nor authorize
the creation of any obligations on the part of the Government of the
United States with respect to any expenditures for highway construction
or survey heretofore or hereafter undertaken in any of the countries
enumerated in subsection (a) of this section, other than the
expenditures authorized by the provisions of this section.
(d) Appropriations made pursuant to any authorizations heretofore,
or hereafter enacted for the Inter-American Highway shall be considered
available for expenditure by the Secretary for necessary administrative
and engineering expenses in connection with the Inter-American Highway
program.
(Pub. L. 85-767, Aug. 27, 1958, 72 Stat. 909.)
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in section 216 of this title.
