great river road

great river road Sec. 129. (a) Section 14 of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1954, as amended (68 State. 70; Public Law 83–350), is amended by striking out “$500,000” and inserting in lieu thereof “$600,000”. “(b) Chapter 1 of title 23 of the United States Code is amended by inserting at the end thereof a new section as follows: “§ 148. Development of a national scenic and recreational highway “(a) As soon as possible after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall establish criteria for the location and construction or reconstruction of the Great River Road by the ten States bordering the Mississippi River. Such criteria shall include requirements that— “(1) priority be given in the location of the Great River Road near or easily accessible to the larger population centers of the State and further priority be given to the construction and improvement of the Great River Road in the proximity of the confluence of the Mississippi River and the Wisconsin River; “(2) the Great River Road be connected with other Federal-aid highways and preferably with the Interstate System; “(3) the Great River Road be marked with uniform identifying signs; “(4) effective control, as defined in section 131 of this title, of signs, displays, and devices will be provided along the Great River Road; “(5) the provisions of section 129(a) of this title shall not apply to any bridge or tunnel on the Great River Road and no fees shall be charged for the use of any facility constructed with assistance under this section. “(b) For the purpose of this section, the. term ‘construction’ includes the acquisition of areas of historical, archeological, or scientific interest, necessary easements for scenic purposes, and the construction or reconstruction of roadside rest areas (including appropriate recreational facilities), scenic viewing areas, and other appropriate facilities as determined by the Secretary. “(c) Highways constructed or reconstructed pursuant to this section (except subsection (f)) shall be part of the Federal-aid system. “(d) Funds appropriated for each fiscal year pursuant to subsection (g) shall be apportioned among the ten States bordering the Mississippi River on the basis of their relative needs as determined by the Secretary for payments to carry out this section. 87 Stat. 266 “(e) The Federal share of the cost of any project for any construction or reconstruction pursuant to the preceding subsections of this section shall be that provided in section 120 of this title for the Federal-aid system on which such project is located, and if such project is not on such a system, such share shall be 70 per centum of such cost. “(f) The Secretary is authorized to consult with the heads of other Federal departments and agencies having jurisdiction over Federal lands open to the public in order to enter into appropriate arrangements for necessary construction of reconstruction of highways on such lands to carry out this section. Highways constructed or reconstructed by a State pursuant to this section which are not on a Federal-aid system, and highways constructed or reconstructed under this subsection, shall be subject to the criteria applicable to highways constructed or reconstructed pursuant to subsection (c) of this section. Funds authorized pursuant to subsection (g) shall be used to pay the entire cost of construction or reconstruction pursuant to the first sentence of this subsection. “(g) There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, out of the Highway Trust Fund, for construction or reconstruction of roads on a Federal-aid highway system, not to exceed $10,000,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1974, $25,000,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1975, and $25,000,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1976, for allocations to the States pursuant to this section, and there is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, not to exceed $10,000,000 for each of the fiscal years ending June 30, 1974, June 30, 1975, and June 30, 1976, for construction and reconstruction of roads not on a Federal-aid highway system.” (c) The table of contents of chapter 1 of title 23 of the United States Code is amended by inserting at the end thereof the following: “148. Development of a national scenic and recreational highway.”.