HCS CSSB 263(TRA): "An Act relating to secondary roads and to the statewide transportation improvement program; and providing for an effective date."
00HOUSE CS FOR CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 263(TRA) 01 "An Act relating to secondary roads and to the statewide transportation 02 improvement program; and providing for an effective date." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 44.42 is amended by adding a new section to read: 05 Sec. 44.42.090. Statewide transportation improvement program. (a) The 06 department shall prepare a statewide transportation improvement program that includes 07 the following transportation categories: national highway system, trails and recreation 08 access to Alaska projects, and community transportation. Federal funds allocated to 09 the national highway system may not exceed 65 percent of the federal highway 10 funding available, averaged over three consecutive years. Federal funds allocated to 11 the trails and recreation access to Alaska projects may not exceed 7.3 percent of the 12 federal highway funding available, averaged over three consecutive years. The 13 program shall be prepared and revised as frequently as necessary for state participation 14 in federal highway, transit, and transportation programs or, in the absence of a federal
01 requirement, as frequently as the commissioner otherwise determines appropriate. The 02 program must include a priority list of transportation projects in each transportation 03 category to be carried out in each of, at least, the first three years of the program. The 04 department shall evaluate and rank proposed transportation projects in each category 05 in accordance with the process and standards established by the department by 06 regulation, except the department shall evaluate and rank proposed transportation 07 projects in the community transportation category in accordance with (b) - (d) of this 08 section. 09 (b) Projects included in the community transportation category are those 10 projects, as determined by the department, in one of the following subcategories: rural 11 and urban streets and roads, remote roads and trails, transit projects, and Alaska marine 12 highway system. The department may not include a project in the community 13 transportation category if the project is eligible for evaluation under the national 14 highway system category or the trails and recreation access to Alaska projects 15 category. 16 (c) The department shall rank community transportation projects proposed to 17 be undertaken in each year of the statewide transportation improvement program in 18 accordance with the priority of the project. The department shall give priority to 19 upgrading a substandard or hot asphaltic road if the department receives a request by 20 a municipality for the transfer of the road or a portion of the road to the municipality 21 and, after the upgrading is completed, the department shall transfer to the municipality 22 the road or the portion of it that is within the boundaries of the municipality. 23 (d) The department shall allocate, for planning purposes under this section, at 24 least 60 percent of the anticipated appropriations, averaged over three consecutive 25 years of the program, for the community transportation category for projects in the 26 rural and urban streets and roads subcategory. The department may allocate the 27 remainder of the anticipated appropriations for the community transportation category 28 among the other subcategories. If the department finds that there are not enough 29 eligible projects within a subcategory to fully use the amount of the anticipated 30 appropriations allocated to that subcategory, the department shall redistribute the 31 excess allocation equally among the other subcategories.
01 (e) The department may not fund transportation projects that are eligible under 02 federal law as transportation enhancement projects with federal funds from other 03 funding categories. 04 * Sec. 2. SECONDARY ROADS. (a) The Department of Transportation and Public 05 Facilities shall adopt regulations establishing design and construction standards for secondary 06 roads that are reasonably uniform throughout the state, shall identify substandard secondary 07 roads, and shall rank those substandard secondary roads in the order in which they should be 08 upgraded by the department. Regulations establishing standards for secondary roads adopted 09 under this subsection need not conform to standards adopted by the American Association of 10 State Highway and Transportation Officials. 11 (b) A municipality may request the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities 12 to transfer to the municipality the ownership of a secondary road or that portion of the road 13 that is within the boundaries of the municipality. If the secondary road meets the standards 14 established under (a) of this section, the department may transfer the road or a portion of the 15 road to the municipality. The department shall give priority to upgrading a substandard 16 secondary road if the department receives a request for the transfer of that road or a portion 17 of the road to a municipality under this subsection. 18 (c) Each fiscal year, $20,000,000 may be appropriated from federal or other funds to 19 the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities for upgrading substandard secondary 20 roads and for the costs of transferring the ownership of secondary roads to municipalities 21 under this section. 22 (d) For purposes of this section, "substandard secondary road" means a dirt or gravel 23 road or a road that has received a cold asphaltic application, and that 24 (1) is dedicated to public use; 25 (2) is used by automotive equipment; 26 (3) is under the control of the Department of Transportation and Public 27 Facilities; 28 (4) is not part of the national highway system or the trails and recreation 29 access to Alaska projects program; and 30 (5) does not meet the regulations establishing standards under (a) of this 31 section for secondary roads.
01 * Sec. 3. Section 2 of this Act is repealed June 30, 2003. 02 * Sec. 4. Notwithstanding other provisions of state law, not less than one percent of the 03 total federal highway funds apportioned and available to the state for obligation in the 04 statewide transportation improvement program for federal fiscal years 1998 - 2003 shall be 05 used by the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities for federally eligible new 06 bridge construction across waterways that provide direct access to airports and other areas. 07 * Sec. 5. This Act takes effect July 1, 1998.