23 U.S.C. § 204

Federal lands access program

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(a)Use of Funds.—(1)In general.—Funds made available under the Federal lands access program shall be used by the Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of the appropriate Federal land management agency to pay the cost of—(A) transportation planning, research, engineering, preventive maintenance, rehabilitation, restoration, context-sensitive solutions, construction, and reconstruction of Federal lands access transportation facilities located on or adjacent to, or that provide access to, Federal land, and—(i) adjacent vehicular parking areas, including interpretive panels in or adjacent to those areas;(ii) acquisition of necessary scenic easements and scenic or historic sites;(iii) provisions for pedestrians and bicycles;(iv) environmental mitigation in or adjacent to Federal land to improve public safety and reduce vehicle-caused wildlife mortality while maintaining habitat connectivity;(v) construction and reconstruction of roadside rest areas, including sanitary and water facilities;(vi) contextual wayfinding markers;(vii) landscaping;(viii) cooperative mitigation of visual blight, including screening or removal; and(ix) other appropriate public road facilities, as determined by the Secretary;(B) operation and maintenance of transit facilities; and(C) any transportation project eligible for assistance under this title that is within or adjacent to, or that provides access to, Federal land.(2)Contract.—In connection with an activity described in paragraph (1), the Secretary and the Secretary of the appropriate Federal land management agency may enter into a contract or other appropriate agreement with respect to the activity with—(A) a State (including a political subdivision of a State); or(B) an Indian tribe.(3)Administration.—All appropriations for the construction and improvement of Federal lands access transportation facilities shall be administered in conformity with regulations and agreements approved by the Secretary.(4)Cooperation.—(A)In general.—The cooperation of States, counties, or other local subdivisions may be accepted in construction and improvement.(B)Funds received.—Any funds received from a State, county, or local subdivision for a Federal lands access transportation facility project shall be credited to appropriations available under the Federal lands access program.(5)Competitive bidding.—(A)In general.—Subject to subparagraph (B), construction of each project shall be performed by contract awarded by competitive bidding.(B)Exception.—Subparagraph (A) shall not apply if the Secretary or the Secretary of the appropriate Federal land management agency affirmatively finds that, under the circumstances relating to the project, a different method is in the public interest.(6)Native plant materials.—In carrying out an activity described in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall ensure that the entity carrying out the activity considers, to the maximum extent practicable—(A) the use of locally adapted native plant materials; and(B) designs that minimize runoff and heat generation.(b)Program Distributions.—(1)In general.—Funding made available to carry out the Federal lands access program shall be allocated among those States that have Federal land, in accordance with the following formula:(A) 80 percent of the available funding for use in those States that contain at least 1 ½ percent of the total public land in the United States managed by the agencies described in paragraph (2), to be distributed as follows:(i) 30 percent in the ratio that—(I) recreational visitation within each such State; bears to(II) the recreational visitation within all such States.(ii) 5 percent in the ratio that—(I) the Federal land area within each such State; bears to(II) the Federal land area in all such States.(iii) 55 percent in the ratio that—(I) the Federal public road miles within each such State; bears to(II) the Federal public road miles in all such States.(iv) 10 percent in the ratio that—(I) the number of Federal public bridges within each such State; bears to(II) the number of Federal public bridges in all such States.(B) 20 percent of the available funding for use in those States that do not contain at least 1 ½ percent of the total public land in the United States managed by the agencies described in paragraph (2), to be distributed as follows:(i) 30 percent in the ratio that—(I) recreational visitation within each such State; bears to(II) the recreational visitation within all such States.(ii) 5 percent in the ratio that—(I) the Federal land area within each such State; bears to(II) the Federal land area in all such States.(iii) 55 percent in the ratio that—(I) the Federal public road miles within each such State; bears to(II) the Federal public road miles in all such States.(iv) 10 percent in the ratio that—(I) the number of Federal public bridges within each such State; bears to(II) the number of Federal public bridges in all such States.(2)Data source.—Data necessary to distribute funding under paragraph (1) shall be provided by the following Federal land management agencies:(A) The National Park Service.(B) The Forest Service.(C) The United States Fish and Wildlife Service.(D) The Bureau of Land Management.(E) The Corps of Engineers.(c)Programming Decisions Committee.—(1)In general.—Programming decisions shall be made within each State by a committee comprised of—(A) a representative of the Federal Highway Administration;(B) a representative of the State Department of Transportation; and(C) a representative of any appropriate political subdivision of the State.(2)Consultation requirement.—The committee described in paragraph (1) shall cooperate with each applicable Federal agency in each State before any joint discussion or final programming decision.(3)Project preference.—In making a programming decision under paragraph (1), the committee shall give preference to projects that provide access to, are adjacent to, or are located within high-use Federal recreation sites or Federal economic generators, as identified by the Secretaries of the appropriate Federal land management agencies.(Added Pub. L. 112–141, div. A, title I, § 1119(a), July 6, 2012, 126 Stat. 489; amended Pub. L. 117–58, div. A, title I, § 11113(b), Nov. 15, 2021, 135 Stat. 479.)Editorial NotesPrior Provisions

A prior section 204, Pub. L. 85–767, Aug. 27, 1958, 72 Stat. 907; Pub. L. 97–424, title I, § 126(b), Jan. 6, 1983, 96 Stat. 2114; Pub. L. 100–17, title I, § 133(b)(13), (14), Apr. 2, 1987, 101 Stat. 172; Pub. L. 102–240, title I, §§ 1030, 1032(b), title VI, § 6004(c), Dec. 18, 1991, 105 Stat. 1970, 1974, 2169; Pub. L. 105–178, title I, § 1115(d), (e)(4), title V, § 5119(a), June 9, 1998, 112 Stat. 156, 158, 452; Pub. L. 109–59, title I, § 1119(h)–(k), Aug. 10, 2005, 119 Stat. 1187–1189, related to Federal lands highways program, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 112–141, div. A, title I, § 1119(a), July 6, 2012, 126 Stat. 473.

Amendments

2021—Subsec. (a)(1)(A). Pub. L. 117–58, § 11113(b)(1)(A), inserted “context-sensitive solutions,” after “restoration,” in introductory provisions.

Subsec. (a)(1)(A)(i). Pub. L. 117–58, § 11113(b)(1)(B), inserted “, including interpretive panels in or adjacent to those areas” after “areas”.

Subsec. (a)(1)(A)(vi) to (ix). Pub. L. 117–58, § 11113(b)(1)(C)–(E), added cls. (vi) to (viii) and redesignated former cl. (vi) as (ix).

Subsec. (a)(6). Pub. L. 117–58, § 11113(b)(2), added par. (6).

Statutory Notes and Related SubsidiariesEffective Date of 2021 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 117–58 effective Oct. 1, 2021, see section 10003 of Pub. L. 117–58, set out as a note under section 101 of this title.

Effective Date

Section effective Oct. 1, 2012, see section 3(a) of Pub. L. 112–141, set out as an Effective and Termination Dates of 2012 Amendment note under section 101 of this title.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 7 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1994–2025 · leading case: Blaze Constr. Co. v. Taxation & Revenue Dep't, 884 P.2d 803 (N.M. 1994).

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Blaze Constr. Co. v. Taxation & Revenue Dep't, 884 P.2d 803 (N.M. 1994). · cites it 2× “1 The roads were to be built pursuant to the Federal Lands Highways Program, 23 U.S.C. § 204 (1988). 2 Each tribe helped plan the route the roads would traverse across tribal land and also provided water and some materials for the construction.”

Lundeen v. Mineta, 291 F.3d 300 (5th Cir. 2002). “See 23 U.S.C. §§ 204 , 205, 210, 212, 215, 216, and 218 (2000).”

State v. Blaze Const. Co., Inc., 947 P.2d 836 (Ariz. Ct. App. 1997). · cites it 3× “The authorization for the funding was the Federal Lands Highway Program, 23 U.S.C. § 204 (1994). That statute authorizes the United States Government to establish a coordinated program for highways on federal lands, including forest highways, public-lands highways, park roads,…”

Arizona Dep't of Revenue v. Blaze Constr. Co., 526 U.S. 32 (1999). “Various federal agencies oversee the planning of particular projects and the allocation of funding to them. §§202(d), 204.”

United States v. Union Cnty. 16.29 Acres of Land, 35 F. Supp. 2d 773 (D. Or. 1997). · cites it 6× “However, they deny that the government has such power in this situation and assert as an affirmative defense that: Union County owns the road and the United States would be taking the land for the county, the State of Oregon has not concurred in the taking, as 23 U.S.C. § 204…”

United States v. Town of Lac Du Flambeau (W.D. Wis. 2025). “23 U.S.C. § 204 (a)(1) (1983–2012). Further, if Congress wanted to condition being on the Inventory and under a Federal-aid system with having a separate grant under the ROW Act, it could have.”

Anderson, Gordon v. Newland, Bryan (W.D. Wis. 2025). “23 U.S.C. § 204 (a)(1) (1983–2012). Further, if Congress wanted to condition being on the Inventory and under a Federal-aid system with having a separate grant under the ROW Act, it could have.”

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