23 U.S.C. § 103: National Highway System

For the purposes of this title, the Federal-aid system is the National Highway System, which includes the Interstate System. serve major population centers, international border crossings, ports, airports, public transportation facilities, and other intermodal transportation facilities and other major travel destinations; meet national defense requirements; and serve interstate and interregional travel and commerce. The National Highway System depicted on the map submitted by the Secretary of Transportation to Congress with the report entitled “Pulling Together: The National Highway System and its Connections to Major Intermodal Terminals” and dated May 24, 1996 , and modifications approved by the Secretary before the date of enactment of the MAP–21. Other urban and rural principal arterial routes, and border crossings on those routes, that were not included on the National Highway System before the date of enactment of the MAP–21. Other connector highways (including toll facilities) that were not included in the National Highway System before the date of enactment of the MAP–21 but that provide motor vehicle access between arterial routes on the National Highway System and a major intermodal transportation facility. consists of a network of highways that are important to the United States strategic defense policy, that provide defense access, continuity, and emergency capabilities for the movement of personnel, materials, and equipment in both peacetime and wartime, and that were not included on the National Highway System before the date of enactment of the MAP–21; may include highways on or off the Interstate System; and shall be designated by the Secretary, in consultation with appropriate Federal agencies and the States. consist of highways that provide motor vehicle access between major military installations and highways that are part of the strategic highway network but were not included on the National Highway System before the date of enactment of the MAP–21; and shall be designated by the Secretary, in consultation with appropriate Federal agencies and the States. meets the criteria established for the National Highway System under this title after the date of enactment of the MAP–21; and enhances the national transportation characteristics of the National Highway System; or in the case of the withdrawal of a road, is reasonable and appropriate. In proposing a modification under this paragraph, a State shall cooperate with local and regional officials. In an urbanized area, the local officials shall act through the metropolitan planning organization designated for the area under section 134. The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways within the United States (including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico) consists of highways designed, located, and selected in accordance with this paragraph. Except as provided in clause (ii), highways on the Interstate System shall be designed in accordance with the standards of section 109(b). Highways on the Interstate System in Alaska and Puerto Rico shall be designed in accordance with such geometric and construction standards as are adequate for current and probable future traffic demands and the needs of the locality of the highway. to connect by routes, as direct as practicable, the principal metropolitan areas, cities, and industrial centers; to serve the national defense; and to the maximum extent practicable, to connect at suitable border points with routes of continental importance in Canada and Mexico. To the maximum extent practicable, each route of the Interstate System shall be selected by joint action of the State transportation departments of the State in which the route is located and the adjoining States, in cooperation with local and regional officials, and subject to the approval of the Secretary. The mileage of highways on the Interstate System shall not exceed 43,000 miles, exclusive of designations under paragraph (4). The Secretary may approve or require modifications to the Interstate System in a manner consistent with the policies and procedures established under this subsection. If the Secretary determines that a highway on the National Highway System meets all standards of a highway on the Interstate System and that the highway is a logical addition or connection to the Interstate System, the Secretary may, upon the affirmative recommendation of the State or States in which the highway is located, designate the highway as a route on the Interstate System. Subject to clauses (ii) through (vi), if the Secretary determines that a highway on the National Highway System would be a logical addition or connection to the Interstate System and would qualify for designation as a route on the Interstate System under subparagraph (A) if the highway met all standards of a highway on the Interstate System, the Secretary may, upon the affirmative recommendation of the State or States in which the highway is located, designate the highway as a future Interstate System route. A designation under clause (i) shall be made only upon the written agreement of each State described in that clause that the highway will be constructed to meet all standards of a highway on the Interstate System by not later than the date that is 25 years after the date of the agreement. If a State described in clause (i) has not substantially completed the construction of a highway designated under this subparagraph by the date specified in clause (ii), the Secretary shall remove the designation of the highway as a future Interstate System route. Removal of the designation of a highway under clause (iii) shall not preclude the Secretary from designating the highway as a route on the Interstate System under subparagraph (A) or under any other provision of law providing for addition to the Interstate System. An agreement described in clause (ii) that is entered into before August 10, 2005 , shall be deemed to include the 25-year time limitation described in that clause, regardless of any earlier construction completion date in the agreement. is constructed to the geometric and construction standards for the Interstate System; and has been designated as a route on the Interstate System. Except as provided in this title, the designation of a highway under this paragraph shall create no additional Federal financial responsibility with respect to the highway. Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the Interstate System shall not be considered to be a historic site under section 303 of title 49 or section 138 of this title , regardless of whether the Interstate System or portions or elements of the Interstate System are listed on, or eligible for listing on, the National Register of Historic Places. the Secretary shall determine, through the administrative process established for exempting the Interstate System from section 306108 of title 54 , those individual elements of the Interstate System that possess national or exceptional historic significance (such as a historic bridge or a highly significant engineering feature); and those elements shall be considered to be historic sites under section 303 of title 49 or section 138 of this title , as applicable. Subparagraph (B) does not prohibit a State from carrying out construction, maintenance, preservation, restoration, or rehabilitation activities for a portion of the Interstate System referred to in subparagraph (B) upon compliance with section 303 of title 49 or section 138 of this title , as applicable, and section 306108 of title 54 . to review roads classified as principal arterials in the State that were added to the National Highway System as of October 1, 2012 , so as to comply with section 103 of title 23 , United States Code; and to identify any necessary functional classification changes to rural and urban principal arterials. to assist in the review of roads in accordance with guidance issued under subsection (a); to expeditiously review and facilitate requests from States to reclassify roads classified as principal arterials; and in the case of a State that requests the withdrawal of reclassified roads from the National Highway System under section 103(b)(3) of title 23 , United States Code, to carry out that withdrawal if the inclusion of the reclassified road in the National Highway System is not consistent with the needs and priorities of the community or region in which the reclassified road is located. review the National Highway System modification process described in appendix D of part 470 of title 23, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations); and take any action necessary to ensure that a State may submit to the Secretary a request to modify the National Highway System by withdrawing a road from the National Highway System. each request for reclassification of National Highway System roads; the status of each request; and if applicable, the justification for the denial by the Secretary of a request.” The Secretary [of Transportation] shall establish a real-time system management information program to provide, in all States, the capability to monitor, in real-time, the traffic and travel conditions of the major highways of the United States and to share that information to improve the security of the surface transportation system, to address congestion problems, to support improved response to weather events and surface transportation incidents, and to facilitate national and regional highway traveler information. establish, in all States, a system of basic real-time information for managing and operating the surface transportation system; identify longer range real-time highway and transit monitoring needs and develop plans and strategies for meeting such needs; and provide the capability and means to share that data with State and local governments and the traveling public. Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act [ Aug. 10, 2005 ], the Secretary [of Transportation] shall establish data exchange formats to ensure that the data provided by highway and transit monitoring systems, including statewide incident reporting systems, can readily be exchanged across jurisdictional boundaries, facilitating nationwide availability of information. As State and local governments develop or update regional intelligent transportation system architectures, described in section 940.9 of title 23, Code of Federal Regulations, such governments shall explicitly address real-time highway and transit information needs and the systems needed to meet such needs, including addressing coverage, monitoring systems, data fusion and archiving, and methods of exchanging or sharing highway and transit information. States shall incorporate the data exchange formats established by the Secretary [of Transportation] under subsection (b) to ensure that the data provided by highway and transit monitoring systems may readily be exchanged with State and local governments and may be made available to the traveling public. Subject to project approval by the Secretary [of Transportation], a State may obligate funds apportioned to the State under [former] sections 104(b)(1), 104(b)(2), and 104(b)(3) of title 23, United States Code, for activities relating to the planning and deployment of real-time monitoring elements that advance the goals and purposes described in subsection (a). Nothing in this section shall be construed as altering or otherwise affecting the applicability of the requirements of chapter 1 of title 23, United States Code (including requirements relating to the eligibility of a project for assistance under the program, the location of the project, and the Federal-share payable on account of the project), to amounts apportioned to a State for a program under section 104(b) that are obligated by the State for activities and projects under this section. In this section, the term ‘statewide incident reporting system’ means a statewide system for facilitating the real-time electronic reporting of surface transportation incidents to a central location for use in monitoring the event, providing accurate traveler information, and responding to the incident as appropriate.” Each State shall functionally reclassify the roads and streets in such State in accordance with such guidelines and time schedule as the Secretary may establish in order to carry out the objectives of this section [amending this section and sections 101, 104 and 113 of this title and enacting provisions set out as a note under section 311 of this title ], including the amendments made by this section. Not later than September 30, 1993 , the Secretary shall approve the functional reclassification of roads and streets made by the States pursuant to this subsection and shall submit a report to Congress containing such reclassification. In this subsection, the term ‘State’ has the meaning such term has under section 101 of title 23 , United States Code, and shall include the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas.”