U.S. Code > Title 23 Highways > CHAPTER 1—FEDERAL-AID HIGHWAYS (§§ 101—181_to_190) > § 118. Availability of funds

§ 118. Availability of funds

(a) Date Available for Obligation.— Except as otherwise specifically provided, authorizations from the Highway Trust Fund (other than the Mass Transit Account) to carry out this title shall be available for obligation on the date of their apportionment or allocation or on October 1 of the fiscal year for which they are authorized, whichever occurs first.
(b) Period of Availability.—
(1) Interstate construction funds.— Funds apportioned or allocated for Interstate construction in a State (other than Massachusetts) shall remain available for obligation in that State until the last day of the fiscal year in which they are apportioned or allocated. Sums not obligated by the last day of the fiscal year in which they are apportioned or allocated shall be allocated to other States, except Massachusetts, at the discretion of the Secretary. All sums apportioned or allocated on or after October 1, 1994, shall remain available in the State until expended. All sums apportioned or allocated to Massachusetts on or after October 1, 1989, shall remain available until expended.
(2) Other funds.— Except as otherwise specifically provided, funds apportioned or allocated pursuant to this title (other than for Interstate construction) in a State shall remain available for obligation in that State for a period of 3 years after the last day of the fiscal year for which the funds are authorized. Any amounts so apportioned or allocated that remain unobligated at the end of that period shall lapse.
(c) Set Asides for Interstate Discretionary Projects.—
(1) In general.— Before any apportionment is made under section 104 (b)(4), the Secretary shall set aside $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2005 through 2009 for obligation by the Secretary for projects for resurfacing, restoring, rehabilitating, and reconstructing any route or portion thereof on the Interstate System (other than any highway designated as a part of the Interstate System under section 139 (as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century)) and any toll road on the Interstate System not subject to an agreement under section 119 (e) (as in effect on December 17, 1991).
(2) Selection criteria.— The amounts set aside under paragraph (1) shall be made available by the Secretary to any State applying for such funds if the Secretary determines that—
(A) the State has obligated or demonstrates that it will obligate in the fiscal year all of its apportionments under section 104 (b)(4) other than an amount that, by itself, is insufficient to pay the Federal share of the cost of a project for resurfacing, restoring, rehabilitating, and reconstructing the Interstate System that has been submitted by the State to the Secretary for approval; and
(B) the applicant is willing and able to—
(i) obligate the funds within 1 year of the date the funds are made available;
(ii) apply the funds to a ready-to-commence project; and
(iii) in the case of construction work, begin work within 90 days after obligation.
(3) Priority consideration for certain projects.— In selecting projects to fund under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall give priority consideration to any project the cost of which exceeds $10,000,000 on any high volume route in an urban area or a high truck-volume route in a rural area.
(4) Period of availability of discretionary funds.— Sums made available pursuant to this subsection shall remain available until expended.
(d) Obligation and Release of Funds.—
(1) In general.— Funds apportioned or allocated to a State for a purpose for any fiscal year shall be considered to be obligated if a sum equal to the total of the funds apportioned or allocated to the State for that purpose for that fiscal year and previous fiscal years is obligated.
(2) Released funds.— Any funds released by the final payment for a project, or by modifying the project agreement for a project, shall be—
(A) credited to the same class of funds previously apportioned or allocated to the State for the project; and
(B) immediately available for obligation.
(3) Net obligations.— Notwithstanding any other provision of law (including a regulation), obligations recorded against funds made available under this subsection shall be recorded and reported as net obligations.
(e)  [1] Funds made available to the State of Alaska and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico under this title may be expended for construction of access and development roads that will serve resource development, recreational, residential, commercial, industrial, or other like purposes.

[1] See 1998 Amendment note below.