SURFACE TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH.

SEC. 5102. SURFACE TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH. Chapter 5 of title 23, United States Code (as added by section 5101 of this title), is amended by adding at the end the following: 112 STAT. 423 “§502. Surface transportation research “(a) General Authority.— “(1) Research, development, and technology transfer activities.— The Secretary may carry out research, development, and technology transfer activities with respect to— “(A) motor carrier transportation; “(B) all phases of transportation planning and development (including construction, operation, modernization, development, design, maintenance, safety, financing, and traffic conditions); and “(C) the effect of State laws on the activities described in subparagraphs (A) and (B). “(2) Tests and development.— The Secretary may test, develop, or assist in testing and developing any material, invention, patented article, or process. “(3) Cooperation, grants, and contracts.— The Secretary may carry out this section— “(A) independently; “(B) in cooperation with other Federal departments, agencies, and instrumentalities and Federal laboratories; or “(C) by making grants to, or entering into contracts, cooperative agreements, and other transactions with, the National Academy of Sciences, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, or any Federal laboratory, State agency, authority, association, institution, for-profit or nonprofit corporation, organization, foreign country, or person. “(4) Technological innovation.— The programs and activities carried out under this section shall be consistent with the surface transportation research and technology development strategic plan developed under section 508. “(5) Funds.— “(A) Special account.— In addition to other funds made available to carry out this section, the Secretary shall use such funds as may be deposited by any cooperating organization or person in a special account of the Treasury established for this purpose. “(B) Use of funds.— The Secretary shall use funds made available to carry out this section to develop, administer, communicate, and promote the use of products of research, development, and technology transfer programs under this section. “(b) Collaborative Research and Development.— “(1) In general.— To encourage innovative solutions to surface transportation problems and stimulate the deployment of new technology, the Secretary may carry out, on a cost-shared basis, collaborative research and development with— “(A) non-Federal entities, including State and local governments, foreign governments, colleges and universities, corporations, institutions, partnerships, sole proprietorships, and trade associations that are incorporated or established under the laws of any State; and “(B) Federal laboratories. “(2) Agreements.— In carrying out this subsection, the Secretary may enter into cooperative research and development 112 STAT. 424agreements (as defined in section 12 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3710a)). “(3) Federal share.— “(A) In general.— The Federal share of the cost of activities carried out under a cooperative research and development agreement entered into under this subsection shall not exceed 50 percent, except that if there is substantial public interest or benefit, the Secretary may approve a greater Federal share. “(B) Non-federal share.— All costs directly incurred by the non-Federal partners, including personnel, travel, and hardware development costs, shall be credited toward the non-Federal share of the cost of the activities described in subparagraph (A). “(4) Use of technology.— The research, development, or use of a technology under a cooperative research ana development agreement entered into under this subsection, including the terms under which the technology may be licensed and the resulting royalties may be distributed, shall be subject to the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3701etseq.). “(5) Waiver of advertising requirements.— Section 3709 of the Revised Statutes (41 U.S.C. 5) shall not apply to a contract or agreement entered into under this chapter. “(c) Contents of Research Program.— The Secretary shall include in surface transportation research, technology development, and technology transfer programs carried out under this title coordinated activities in the following areas: “(1) Development, use, and dissemination of indicators, including appropriate computer programs for collecting and analyzing data on the status of infrastructure facilities, to measure the performance of the surface transportation systems of the Unite a States, including productivity, efficiency, energy use, air quality, congestion, safety, maintenance, and other factors that reflect system performance. “(2) Methods, materials, and testing to improve the durability of surface transportation infrastructure facilities and extend the life of bridge structures, including— “(A) new and innovative technologies to reduce corrosion; “(B) tests simulating seismic activity, vibration, and weather; and “(C) the use of innovative recycled materials. “(3) Technologies and practices that reduce costs and minimize disruptions associated with the construction, rehabilitation, and maintenance of surface transportation systems, including responses to natural disasters. “(4) Development of nondestructive evaluation equipment for use with existing infrastructure facilities and with next generation infrastructure facilities that use advanced materials. “(5) Dynamic simulation models of surface transportation systems for— “(A) predicting capacity, safety, and infrastructure durability problems; “(B) evaluating planned research projects; and “(C) testing the strengths and weaknesses of proposed revisions to surface transportation operations programs. 112 STAT. 425 “(6) Economic highway geometries, structures, and desirable weight and size standards for vehicles using the public highways and the feasibility of uniformity in State regulations with respect to such standards. “(7) Telecommuting and the linkages between transportation, information technology, and community development and the impact of technological change and economic restructuring on travel demand. “(8) Expansion of knowledge of implementing life cycle cost analysis, including— “(A) establishing the appropriate analysis period and discount rates; “(B) learning how to value and properly consider use costs; “(C) determining tradeoffs between reconstruction and rehabilitation; and “(D) establishing methodologies for balancing higher initial costs of new technologies and improved or advanced materials against lower maintenance costs. “(9) Standardized estimates, to be developed in conjunction with the National Institute of Standards and Technology and other appropriate organizations, of useful life under various conditions for advanced materials of use in surface transportation. “(10) Evaluation of traffic calming measures that promote community preservation, transportation mode choice, and safety. “(11) Development and implementation of safety-enhancing equipment, including unobtrusive eyetracking technology. “(d) Advanced Research.— “(1) In general.— The Secretary shall establish an advanced research program, consistent with the surface transportation research and technology development strategic plan developed under section 508, that addresses longer-term, higher-risk research that shows potential benefits for improving the durability, efficiency, environmental impact, productivity, and safety (including bicycle and pedestrian safety) of highway and intermodal transportation systems. In carrying out the program, the Secretary shall strive to develop partnerships with the public and private sectors. “(2) Research areas.— In carrying out the program, the Secretary may make grants and enter into cooperative agreements and contracts in such areas as the Secretary determines appropriate, including the following: “(A) Characterization of materials used in highway infrastructure, including analytical techniques, microstructure modeling, and the deterioration processes. “(B) Diagnostics for evaluation of the condition of bridge and pavement structures to enable the assessment of risks of failure, including from seismic activity, vibration, and weather. “(C) Design and construction details for composite structures. “(D) Safety technology-based problems in the areas of pedestrian and bicycle safety, roadside hazards, and composite materials for roadside safety hardware. 112 STAT. 426 “(E) Environmental research, including particulate matter source apportionment and model development. “(F) Data acquisition techniques for system condition and performance monitoring. “(G) Human factors, including prediction of the response of travelers to new technologies. “(e) Long-Term Pavement Performance Program.— “(1) Authority.— The Secretary shall complete the longterm pavement performance program tests initiated under the strategic highway research program established under section 307(d) (as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this section) and continued by the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (105 Stat. 1914 et seq.) through the midpoint of a planned 20-year life of the longterm pavement performance program. “(2) Grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts.— Under the program, the Secretary shall make grants and enter into cooperative agreements and contracts to— “(A) monitor, material-test, and evaluate highway test sections in existence as of the date of the grant, agreement, or contract; “(B) analyze the data obtained in carrying out subparagraph (A); and “(C) prepare products to fulfill program objectives and meet future pavement technology needs. “(f) Seismic Research Program.— “(1) Establishment.— The Secretary shall establish a program to study the vulnerability of the Federal-aid highway system and other surface transportation systems to seismic activity and to develop and implement cost-effective methods to reduce such vulnerability. “(2) Cooperation with national center for earthquake engineering research.— The Secretary shall conduct the program in cooperation with the National Center for Earthquake Engineering Research at the University of Buffalo. “(3) Cooperation with agencies participating in national earthquake hazards reduction program.— The Secretary shall conduct the program in consultation and cooperation with Federal departments and agencies participating in the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program established by section 5 of the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 (42 U.S.C. 7704) and shall take such actions as may be necessary to ensure that the program is consistent with— “(A) planning and coordination activities of the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency under section 5(b)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 7704(b)(1); and “(B) the plan developed by the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency under section 8(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 7705b(b)). “(g) Infrastructure Investment Needs Report.— “(1) In general.— Not later than January 31, 1999, and January 31 of every second year thereafter, the Secretary shall report to the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives on— 112 STAT. 427 “(A) estimates of the future highway and bridge needs of the United States; and “(B) the backlog of current highway and bridge needs. “(2) Comparison with prior reports.— Each report under paragraph (1) shall provide the means, including all necessary information, to relate and compare the conditions and service measures used in the 3 biannual reports published prior to the date of enactment of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century. ”.