Interstate Maintenance Discretionary

Program Information (February 2008)

Background:

The Interstate Maintenance Discretionary (IMD) Program provides funding for resurfacing, restoration, rehabilitation and reconstruction (4R) work, including added lanes to increase capacity, on most existing Interstate System routes. This discretionary program was first established by the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982, where funding was derived from lapsed I-4R apportionments, and was known as the I-4R Discretionary Program. The Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act of 1987 and the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 continued funding with set-asides from I-4R and National Highway System (NHS) authorizations, respectively, for each of fiscal years 1988 through 1997. The 1998 Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) continued this program by authorizing set-asides from the Interstate Maintenance (IM) funds for fiscal years 1998 through 2003. The extensions to TEA-21 continued the program through July 30, 2005. The 2005 Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU, Public Law 109-59) continues the program through 2009.

Statutory References:

23 U.S.C. 118(c); SAFETEA-LU Section 1111(a).

Funding:

Section 118(c)(1) of Title 23 authorizes $100 million for each of fiscal years 2005 through 2009 for the IMD program. Under the provisions of SAFETEA-LU Section 1102(f), Redistribution of Certain Authorized Funds, any funds authorized for the program for the fiscal year, which are not available for obligation due to the imposition of an obligation limitation, are not allocated for the IMD program, but are redistributed to the States by formula as STP funds.

For FY 2008, under the provisions of Section 186 of Division K of the FY 2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act (Public Law 110-161), Congress designated the FY 2008 IMD funds for specific projects listed in the Joint Explanatory Statement accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act. In addition, Section 186 rescinds the excess authorized IMD funds not needed for the designated projects. Therefore, $20,375,000 of the $100 million authorization is rescinded.

In addition, under the provisions of Section 120(e), Redistribution of Certain Authorized Funds, of Division K of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, any authorized funds, which are not available for obligation due to the imposition of an obligation limitation, are not allocated for the IMD program, but are redistributed to the States in accordance with Section 120(e). For FY 2008, the obligation limitation is 92.4 percent. Therefore, only $73,573,500 of the $79,625,000 reduced authorization will be available to fund these FY 2008 designated IMD projects. Each designated amount in the Joint Explanatory Statement has to be proportionally reduced accordingly.

Federal Share:

In accordance with 23 U.S.C. 120, the Federal share of the costs for any project eligible under this program is 90 percent. However, the Federal share is 80 percent on projects, or the portion of projects, for work involving added single-occupancy vehicle lanes to increase capacity. The sliding scale provisions under 23 U.S.C. 120 also apply to the Federal share for these IMD projects.

Obligation Limitation:

The IMD funds are subject to obligation limitation; however, 100 percent obligation authority is provided with the allocation of funds for the selected projects. The obligation limitation reduces the available funding for the program under the provisions of SAFETEA-LU Section 1102(f) discussed above. For FY 2008, these provisions are in Section 120(e) of Division K of the Consolidated Appropriations Act.

Eligibility:

The statutory criteria for eligibility of IMD projects is provided in Section 118(c)(1) of 23 U.S.C., as follows:

IMD funds are available for resurfacing, restoring, rehabilitating and reconstructing (4R) work, including added lanes, on the Interstate System. However, not eligible for allocation of IMD funds are projects on any highway designated as a part of the Interstate System under Section 139 of 23 U.S.C., as in effect before the enactment of TEA-21, and any toll road on the Interstate System not subject to an agreement under Section 119(e) of 23 U.S.C., as in effect on December 17, 1991. Also not eligible are projects on any highway added to the Interstate System under Section 103(c)(4) of 23 U.S.C. and Section 1105(e)(5)(A) of ISTEA. Any proposed or future Interstate route is also not eligible for IMD funds.

For FY 2008, the designated projects, in the Joint Explanatory Statement accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act, must meet the above statutory eligibility criteria in 23 U.S.C. 118(c)(1), because Congress did not include any "notwithstanding any other provision of law" eligibility provision this year.

Selection Criteria:

The statutory selection criteria for the IMD program are found in Section 118(c)(2) of Title 23. A State may be eligible to apply if:

1. 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
2. the applicant is willing and able to
   1. obligate the funds within 1 year of the date the funds are made available;
   2. apply the funds to a ready-to-commence project; and
   3. (iii) in the case of construction work, begin work within 90 days after obligation.

Under the provisions of Section 186 of Division K of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, Congress has statutorily designated the IMD funds for FY 2008 for specific projects listed in the Joint Explanatory Statement. Therefore, the above selection criteria, under Section 118(c)(2) of Title 23, do not apply for FY 2008 IMD funding. So a State does not have to demonstrate how it will obligate all of its IM apportioned funds to be eligible to receive these FY 2008 designated IMD funds, or meet the requirements of under (B) above.

The statutory designation of these FY 2008 IMD funds by Congress also overrides the statutory priority consideration criteria in Section 118(c)(3) of Title 23. Therefore, for FY 2008, a project does not need to have a total cost of at least $10 million, or be on a high volume urban route or a high truck volume rural route.

In 1992, Headquarters established an administrative policy that Interstate 4R discretionary funds would not be allocated to a State that had, in the preceding fiscal year, transferred either NHS or IM funds to the Surface Transportation Program (STP) apportionment. This policy was based on the tremendous Interstate System needs across the country and that the congressional intent for IMD funds was to give priority consideration to high cost projects in States where available apportionments were insufficient to allow such projects to proceed on a timely basis. Because of the statutory designation of FY 2008 IMD funds, this administrative policy also will not apply for these FY 2008 designated projects.

Also, because of the statutory designation of FY 2008 IMD funds, previously developed administrative selection criteria for the IMD program, such as leveraging of private or other public funding, State priorities, expeditious completion of a project, or the transportation benefits of the project, will also not be considered.

Solicitation Procedure:

For FY 2008, since all IMD funding has been designated by Congress for specific projects, applications will only be solicited for those projects. As indicated previously, these designated projects must still meet the eligibility requirements under Section 118(c)(1) of Title 23.

A memorandum is issued by the FHWA Headquarters Office of Program Administration to the FHWA division offices requesting submission of applications. The division offices send the memo to the State DOTs, who are responsible for submitting the applications to FHWA.

Submission Requirements:

Only State DOTs may submit applications for funding under this program. Because Congress designated the projects to be funded in FY 2008, a short application form will be used. The application for each project must include the following information (12 items). Those applications that do not include these items are considered incomplete and funding will not be available for those projects until an acceptable application is submitted. The application for each project must be submitted electronically in MS Word format, and be limited to two pages .

1. State in which the project is located.
2. County in which the project is located.
3. U.S. Congressional District No.(s) in which the project is located. This is the U.S. Congressional District, not the State district.
4. U.S. Congressional District Member's Name(s) . This is the U.S. Congressional District representative, not the State legislature.
5. Project Designation (Title) - This should be the description of the project as listed in the Joint Explanatory Statement accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act.
6. Project Location - Describe the specific location of the project, including route number and termini, if applicable. Also include appropriate local jurisdiction in which the project is located.
7. Proposed Work - Describe the project work that is to be completed under this particular request, and whether this is a complete project or part of a larger project. Please ensure that the proposed work falls within the description of the designated project (Item 5 above).
8. Eligibility - Describe how the proposed project meets the statutory eligibility requirements of 23 U.S.C. 118(c)(1). If the project does not meet these eligibility requirements, please note that here.
9. Project Purpose & Benefits - Transportation benefits that will result from completion of the project, such as improved public safety, economic development, congestion relief, community enhancement, etc., should be described. Specifics, such as anticipated reductions in accident rates, etc. should be provided if available.
10. Total Project Cost - Indicate the total estimated cost of the project.
11. Amount of Federal IMD Funds Requested - Indicate the amount of Federal IMD funds being requested for the fiscal year. This should be the reduced award amount shown in Attachment 1 to the solicitation memo. This reduced amount is the result of the rescission and the obligation limitation applied to the IMD funds in FY 2008.
12. Project Schedule - The anticipated project schedule is required. The schedule should indicate the proposed date that funds will be obligated, when construction will commence, and the anticipated completion date.

Announcement of Awards / Allocation of Funds

After the applications are received, it is required that Congress be notified before the funds are allocated to the States. When this Congressional notification process is completed, the Office of Program Administration will issue an announcement by email to all FHWA division offices, announcing the IMD projects that will be funded and the amount of funding for each project.

At that time, States may request that funds be allocated for any projects for which the funds are ready to be obligated. The State transportation agency shall send an email to the FHWA division office indicating the project, the amount requested for allocation, and the date by which the funds will be obligated. The Office of Program Administration will issue the allocation memorandum within a few days of receiving the allocation request.

State Transportation Agency Responsibilities:

1. Coordinate with local governments and MPOs within the State to develop project applications.
2. Ensure that the applications are completed for candidate projects in accordance with the submission requirements outlined above.
3. Submit the applications electronically to the local FHWA division office on time so that the submission deadline can be met.
4. Submit request to FHWA division office for allocation of funds, after awards are announced and when project funds are ready to be obligated.

FHWA Division Office Responsibilities:

1. Provide the solicitation memorandum and this program information to the State transportation agency electronically to facilitate their electronic submission of applications.
2. Request candidate projects be submitted by the State to the FHWA division office electronically to meet the submission deadline established in the solicitation.
3. Review all candidate applications submitted by the State prior to sending them to FHWA Headquarters to ensure that they are complete and meet the submission requirements.
4. Submit the candidate applications electronically to FHWA Headquarters Office of Program Administration as outlined in the solicitation memorandum. Include the following with the transmitting email message:
   1. Statement from the division office that the State's submittal has been reviewed by the division office and that it meets the submission requirements.
   2. State transportation department submission email or letter to the FHWA division office. (This will document that all applications were submitted by the State transportation department, as required.)
   3. Each MS Word two-page application as a separate attachment.
5. Forward award announcement to the State.
6. Forward allocation requests from State to the Office of Program Administration, via email to Larry Beidel (larry.beidel@dot.gov).

FHWA Headquarters Program Office Responsibilities:

1. Solicit applications from the States through annual solicitation memorandum.
2. Review applications and compile appropriate program and project information for the Office of the Federal Highway Administrator.
3. Issue award announcement via email to all FHWA division offices.
4. Allocate funds upon receipt of request from State through the FHWA division office.

FHWA Headquarters Program Office Contact:

Larry Beidel, Highway Engineer, Office of Program Administration
Phone: (202) 366-4653
Fax: (202) 366-3988
Email: beidel@dot.gov