Federal Lands Highway Programs

Approximately 30 percent of the land in the United States is under jurisdiction of the Federal government. The Federal Lands Highway Program (FLHP) was created with the 1982 Surface Transportation Assistance Act. The primary purpose of the FLHP is to provide funding for a coordinated program of public roads that serve the transportation needs of the Federal lands which are not a State or local government responsibility.

The FLHP was continued under the Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act of 1987. The Intermodal Surface Transportation and Efficiency Act (ISTEA) of 1991 and the Transportation Efficiency Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) of 1998 expanded the requirements, increased flexibility of the program, and increased program funding levels. This program contains five categories funded under the Highway Trust Fund:

The FLHP roads serve recreational travel and tourism, protect and enhance natural resources, provide sustained economic development in rural areas, and provide needed transportation access for Native Americans.

The FLHP statutory provisions are contained in 23 United States Code, Sections 201 through 204. The FLHP is administered through partnerships and interagency agreements among the FHWA, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Other Federal land management agencies such as the Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command, and the Bureau of Reclamation also participate in the program.

The FLHP also has the responsibility for administering the Emergency Relief program for federal roads (ERFO), Defense Access Roads, and for promoting the development of new technology including the Coordinated Federal Lands Highway Technology Implementation Program (CTIP). CTIP is a cooperative technology deployment and sharing program between the FHWA Federal Lands Highway office and the Federal land management agencies.