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1943, and to which such Republic and the United States are parties; or any other treaty or international convention establishing similar reciprocal recognition; and

(5) will maintain said road after its completion in proper condition adequately to serve the needs of present and future traffic.

(b) The funds appropriated for such purposes shall be available for expenditure in accordance with the terms of this section for the survey and construction of the said road from San Benito to Rama and for the survey but not for the construction of a road from Rama to El Bluff in the Republic of Nicaragua without being matched by said Republic, and all expenditures made under the provisions of this section for materials, equipment, and supplies shall, whenever practicable, be made for products of the United States or of the Republic of Nicaragua.

(c) The survey and construction work undertaken pursuant to this section shall be under the general supervision of the Secretary.

TITLE III-GENERAL PROVISIONS AND DEFINITIONS

FREEDOM FROM TOLLS

SEC. 301. Except as provided in section 120 with respect to certain toll bridges and toll tunnels, all highways constructed under the provisions of this Act shall be free from tolls of all kinds.

STATE HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT

SEC. 302. (a) Any State desiring to avail itself of the provisions of this Act shall have a State highway department which shall have adequate powers, and be suitably equipped and organized to discharge to the satisfaction of the Secretary the duties required by this Act. Among other things, the organization shall include a secondary road unit.

(b) The State highway department may arrange with a county or group of counties for competent highway engineering personnel suitably organized and equipped to the satisfaction of the State highway department, to supervise construction and maintenance on a county-unit or group-unit basis, for the construction of projects on the Federal-aid secondary system, financed with secondary funds, and for the maintenance thereof.

BUREAU ORGANIZATION

SEC. 303. (a) The Bureau of Public Roads shall continue within the Department of Commerce as a primary unit administered by the Commissioner of Public Roads. The Secretary shall appoint the Commissioner, and is authorized to delegate to him any authority vested in the Secretary by this Act.

(b) The Secretary is authorized to employ such assistants, clerks, and other persons in the city of Washington and elsewhere, to be taken from the eligible lists of the Civil Service Commission, to rent buildings outside of the city of Washington, to purchase such supplies, material, equipment, office fixtures and apparatus, to advertise in the city of Washington for work to be performed in areas adjacent thereto, and to incur, and authorize the incurring of, such travel and other expense as he may deem necessary for carrying out the funetions under this Act.

(c) The Secretary is authorized to procure temporary services in accordance with the provisions of section 15 of the Act of August 2, 1946 (5 U. S. C., 55a), but at rates for individuals not in excess of $100 per diem.

RESEARCH AND PLANNING

SEC. 304. (a) The Secretary is authorized in his discretion to engage in research on all phases of highway construction, modernization, development, design, maintenance, safety, financing, and traffic conditions, including the effect thereon of State laws, and is authorized to test, develop, or assist in the testing and developing of any material, invention, patented article, or process. The Secretary may publish the results of such research. The Secretary may carry out the authority granted hereby, either independently, or in cooperation with any other branch of the Government, State agency, authority, association, institution, corporation (profit or nonprofit), or any other organization, or person. The funds required to carry out the provisions of this subsection shall be taken out of the

administrative and research funds authorized by section 102. The provisions of section 3709 of the Revised Statutes, as amended (41 U. S. C., sec. 5), shall not be applicable to contracts or agreements made under the authority of this subsection.

(b) The Secretary shall include in the highway research program herein authorized studies of economic highway geometrics, structures, and desirable weight and size standards for vehicles using the public highways and of the feasibility of uniformity in State regulations with respect to such standards and he shall report from time to time to the Committees on Public Works of the Senate and of the House of Representatives on the progress and findings with respect to such studies.

(c) Not to exceed 11⁄2 percent of the sums apportioned for any year to any State under section 102 shall be available for expenditure upon request of the State highway department, with the approval of the Secretary, with or without State funds, for engineering and economic surveys and investigations, for the planning of future highway programs and the financing thereof, for studies of the economy, safety, and convenience of highway usage and the desirable regulation and equitable taxation thereof, and for research necessary in connection with the planning, design, construction, and maintenance of highways and highway systems, and the regulation and taxation of their use.

COOPERATION

WITH FEDERAL AND STATE AGENCIES AND FOREIGN COUNTRIES

SEC. 305. (a) The Secretary is authorized to peform by contract or otherwise authorized engineering or other services in connection with the survey, construction, maintenance, or improvement of highways for other Government agencies, cooperating foreign countries, and State cooperating agencies, and reimbursement for such services (which may include depreciation on engineering and roadbuilding equipment used) shall be credited to the appropriation concerned.

(b) Appropriations for the work of the Bureau of Public Roads shall be available for expenses of warehouse maintenance and the procurement, care and handling of supplies, materials, and equipment for distribution to projects under the supervision of the Bureau of Public Roads, or for sale or distribution to other Government agencies, cooperating foreign countries and State cooperating agencies, and the cost of such supplies and materials or the value of such equipment (including the cost of transportation and handling) may be reimbursed to current applicable appropriations.

COOPERATION WITH PAN AMERICAN COUNTRIES

SEC. 306. The President is authorized to utilize the services of the Bureau of Public Roads in fulfilling the obligations of the United States under the Convention on the Pan American Highway Between the United States and Other American Republics (51 Stat. 152), cooperating with several governments, members of the Pan American Union, in connection with the survey and construction of the Inter-American Highway, and for performing engineering service in Pan American countries for and upon the request of any agency or governmental corporation of the United States. Not to exceed $100,000 of administrative funds available in accordance with paragraph (a) of section 102 shall be available annually for the purpose of this section.

DEFENSE

SEC. 307. In order to assure that adequate consideration is given to national and civil defense aspects in the planning and construction of highways constructed with the aid of Federal funds, the Secretary is authorized to consult from time to time with the heads of appropriate defense agencies and the Federal Civil Defense Administrator relative to the national and civil defense aspects of such highways.

HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENTS STRATEGICALLY IMPORTANT TO THE NATIONAL DEFENSE

SEC. 308. Funds made available under paragraph (a) of section 102 may be used to pay the entire engineering costs of the surveys, plans, specifications, estimates, and supervision of construction of projects for such urgent improvements of highways strategically important from the standpoint of the national defense as may be undertaken on the order of the Secretary and as the result of request of the Secretary of Defense or such other official as the President may

designate. With the consent of a State, funds made available under paragraph (b) of section 102 may be used to the extent deemed necessary and advisable by the Secretary to carry out the provisions of this section.

DETAIL OF ARMY AND NAVY OFFICERS

SEC. 309. The Secretary of Defense, upon request of the Secretary, is authorized to make temporary details to the Bureau of Public Roads of officers of the Army and officers of the Navy, without additional compensation, for technical advice and for consultation regarding highway needs for the national defense. Travel and subsistence expenses of officers so detailed shall be paid from appropriations available to the Department of Commerce on the same basis as authorized by law and by regulations of the Department of Defense for officers of the Army and for officers of the Navy.

HIGHWAY SAFETY CONFERENCE

SEC. 310. The Secretary is authorized and directed to assist in carrying out the action program of the President on highway safety, and to cooperate with the State highway departments and other agencies in this program to advance the cause of safety on the highways. Not to exceed $150,000 out of the administrative funds made available in accordance with paragraph (a) of section 102 may be expended annually for the purposes of this section.

RELIEF OF EMPLOYEES IN HAZARDOUS WORK

SEC. 311. The Secretary is authorized in an emergency to use appropriations for carrying out the provisions of this Act for medical supplies, services, and other assistance necessary for the immediate relief of employees of the Bureau of Public Roads engaged in hazardous work.

DETAIL OF EMPLOYEES AS STUDENTS

SEC. 312. During any fiscal year the Secretary is hereby authorized in his discretion to detail not to exceed ten of the regularly employed personnel of the Bureau of Public Roads as students for limited periods at such technical institutions as will enable such personnel to acquire special knowledge which will better fit them for the lines of work to which they are assigned. No expense other than the salaries of such personnel and the cost of tuition and other regular fees required at such institutions shall be incurred by the Secretary under this section.

RULES, REGULATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

SEC. 313. Except as provided in sections 204 (d), 205 (a), 206 (b), 207 (b), and 208 (c), the Secretary is authorized to prescribe and promulgate all needful rules and regulations for the carrying out of the provisions of this Act. The Secretary may make such recommendations to the Congress and State highway departments as he deems necessary for preserving and protecting the highways and insuring the safety of traffic thereon.

CONSENT BY UNITED STATES TO CONVEYANCE OF PROPERTY

SEC. 314. For the purposes of this Act the consent of the United States is given to any railroad or canal company to convey to the State highway department of any State, or its nominee, any part of its right-of-way or other property in that State acquired by grant from the United States.

APPROPRIATION OF PUBLIC LANDS FOR HIGHWAY PURPOSES

SEC. 315. (a) If the Secretary determines that any part of the public lands or reservations of the Uuited States is reasonably necessary for the right-of-way of any highway, or as a source of materials for the construction or maintenance of any such highway adjacent to such lands or reservations, the Secretary shall file with the Secretary of the Department supervising the administration of such land or reservation a map showing the portion of such lands or reservations which it is desired to appropriate.

(b) If within a period of four months after such filing, the Secretary of such Department shall not have certified to the Secretary that the proposed appropria

tion of such land or material is contrary to the public interest or inconsistent with the purposes for which such land or materials have been reserved, or shall have agreed to the appropriation and transfer under conditions which he deems necessary for the adequate protection and utilization of the reserve, then such land and materials may be appropriated and transferred to the State highway department, or its nominee, for such purposes and subject to the conditions so specified.

(c) If at any time the need for any such lands or materials for such purposes shall no longer exist, notice of the fact shall be given by the State highway department to the Secretary and such lands or materials shall immediately revert to the control of the Secretary of the Department from which they had been appropriated.

(d) The provisions of this section shall apply only to projects constructed on a Federal-aid system or under the provisions of title II.

HIGHWAY RELOCATION DUE TO AIRPORT

SEC. 316. Federal highway funds shall not be used for the reconstruction or relocation of any highway giving access to an airport constructed or extended after December 20, 1944, or for the reconstruction or relocation of any highway which has been or may be closed or the usefulness of which has been or may be impaired by the location or construction of any airport constructed or extended after December 20, 1944, unless, prior to such construction or extension, as the case may be, the State highway department and the Secretary have concurred with the officials in charge of the airport that the location of such airport or extension thereof and the consequent reconstruction or relocation of the highway are in the public interest.

LANDSCAPING

SEC. 317. The construction of highways by the States with sums apportioned in accordance with section 102 may include such roadside and landscape development, including such sanitary and other facilities as may be deemed reasonably necessary to provide for the suitable accommodation of the public, all within the highway right-of-way and adjacent publicly owned or controlled rest and recreational areas of limited size and with provision for convenient and safe access thereto by pedestrian and vehicular traffic, as may be approved by the Secretary. Such construction likewise may include the purchase of such adjacent strips of land of limited width and primary importance for the preservation of the natural beauty through which highways are constructed, as may be approved by the Secretary. Not to exceed 3 per centum of such sums, apportioned to a State in any fiscal year in accordance with section 102, may be used by it for the purchase of such adjacent strips of land without being matched by such State.

AVAILABILITY OF APPROPRIATIONS

SEC. 318. The appropriations heretofore and hereafter made for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of prior Acts and of this Act shall be available for the purpose of discharging the contractual obligations created under the provisions of this Act, and prior Acts.

GREAT RIVER ROAD

SEC. 319. To expedite the interstate planning and coordination of a continuous Great River Road and appurtenances thereto traversing the Mississippi Valley from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico in general conformity with the provisions of this Act and with the recommended plan set forth in the joint report submitted to the Congress November 28, 1951, by the Secretary and the Secretary of the Interior, pursuant to the Act of August 24, 1949 (Public Law 262, Eightyfirst Congress), the Secretary may expend not to exceed $250,000 from administrative funds, made available in accordance with paragraph (a) of section 102.

BRIDGES ON FEDERAL DAMS

SEC. 320. (a) Each executive department, independent establishment, office, board, bureau, commission, authority, administration, corporation wholly owned or controlled by the United States, or other agency of the Government of the United States, hereinafter collectively and individually referred to as “agency," which on or after July 29, 1946, has jurisdiction over and custody of any dam constructed or to be constructed and owned by or for the United States, is

authorized, with any funds available to it, to design and construct any such dam in such manner that it will constitute and serve as a suitable and adequate foundation to support a public highway bridge upon and across such dam, and to design and construct upon the foundation thus provided a public highway bridge upon and across such dam. The highway department of the State in which such dam shall be located, jointly with the Secretary, shall first determine and certify to such agency that such bridge is economically desirable and needed as a link in the State or Federal-aid highway systems, and shall request such agency to design and construct such dam so that it will serve as a suitable and adequate foundation for a public highway bridge and to design and construct such public highway bridge upon and across such dam, and shall agree to reimburse such agency pursuant to paragraph (d) for any additional costs which it may be required to incur because of the design and construction of such dam so that it will serve as a foundation for a public highway bridge and for any expenditures which it may find it necessary to make in designing and constructing such public highway bridge upon and across such dam. In no case shall the design and construction of a bridge upon and across any such dam be undertaken hereunder except by the agency having jurisdiction over and custody of the dam, acting directly or through contractors employed by it, and after such agency shall determine that it will be structurally feasible and will not interfere with the proper functioning and operation of the dam.

(b) Construction of any bridge upon and across any dam pursuant to this section shall not be commenced unless and until the State in which such bridge is to be located, or the appropriate subdivision of such State, shall enter into an agreement with such agency and with the Secretary to construct, or cause to be constructed, with or without the aid of Federal funds, the approach roads necessary to connect such bridge with existing public highways and to maintain, or cause to be maintained, such approach roads from and after their completion. Such agreement may also provide for the design and construction of such bridge upon and across the dam by such agency of the United States and for reimbursing such agency the costs incurred by it in the design and construction of the bridge as provided in paragraph (d) hereof. Any such agency is hereby authorized to convey to the State, or to the appropriate subdivision thereof, without cost, such easements and rights-of-way in its custody or over lands of the United States in its custody and control as may be necessary, convenient, or proper for the location, construction, and maintenance of the approach roads referred to in this section, including such roadside parks or recreational areas of limited size as may be deemed necessary for the accommodation of the traveling public. Any bridge constructed pursuant to this section upon and across a dam in the custody and jurisdiction of any agency of the United States, including such portion thereof, if any, as may extend beyond the physical limits of the dam, shall constitute and remain a part of said dam and be maintained by the agency. Any such agency may enter into any such contracts and agreements with the State or its subdivisions respecting public use of any bridge so located and constructed as may be deemed appropriate, but no such bridge shall be closed to public use by the agency except in cases of emergency or when deemed necessary in the interest of national security.

(c) All costs and expenses incurred and expenditures made by any agency in the exercise of the powers and authority conferred by this section (but not including any costs, expenses, or expenditures which would have been required in any event to satisfy a legal road or bridge relocation obligation or to meet operating or other agency needs) shall be recorded and kept separate and apart from the other costs, expenses, and expenditures of such agency, and no portion thereof shall be charged or allocated to flood control, navigation, irrigation, fertilizer production, the national defense, the development of power, or other program, purpose, or function of such agency.

(d) Not to exceed $10,000,000 of any money heretofore or hereafter appropriated for expenditure in accordance with the provisions of this Act or prior Acts shall be available for expenditure by the Secretary in accordance with the provisions of this section, as an emergency fund, to reimburse any agency for any additional costs or expenditures which it may be required to incur because of the design and construction of any such dam so that it will constitute and serve as a foundation for a public highway bridge upon and across such dam and to reimburse any such agency for any costs, expenses, or expenditures which it may be required to make in designing and constructing any such bridge upon and across a dam in accordance with the provisions of this section, except such costs, expenses, or expenditures as would have been required

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