23 U.S.C. § 320 : US Code - Section 320: Bridges on Federal dams

Search 23 U.S.C. § 320 : US Code - Section 320: Bridges on Federal dams

(a) Each executive department, independent establishment, office,
board, bureau, commission, authority, administration, corporation
wholly owned or controlled by the United States, or other agency of
the Government of the United States, hereinafter collectively and
individually referred to as "agency", which on or after July 29,
1946, has jurisdiction over and custody of any dam constructed or
to be constructed and owned by or for the United States, is
authorized, with any funds available to it, to design and construct
any such dam in such manner that it will constitute and serve as a
suitable and adequate foundation to support a public highway bridge
upon and across such dam, and to design and construct upon the
foundation thus provided a public highway bridge upon and across
such dam. The highway department of the State in which such dam
shall be located, jointly with the Secretary, shall first determine
and certify to such agency that such bridge is economically
desirable and needed as a link in the State or Federal-aid highway
systems, and shall request such agency to design and construct such
dam so that it will serve as a suitable and adequate foundation for
a public highway bridge and to design and construct such public
highway bridge upon and across such dam, and shall agree to
reimburse such agency pursuant to subsection (d) of this section
for any additional costs which it may be required to incur because
of the design and construction of such dam so that it will serve as
a foundation for a public highway bridge and for expenditures which
it may find it necessary to make in designing and constructing such
public highway bridge upon and across such dam. In no case shall
the design and construction of a bridge upon and across such dam be
undertaken hereunder except by the agency having jurisdiction over
and custody of the dam, acting directly or through contractors
employed by it, and after such agency shall determine that it will
be structurally feasible and will not interfere with the proper
functioning and operation of the dam.
(b) Construction of any bridge upon and across any dam pursuant
to this section shall not be commenced unless and until the State
in which such bridge is to be located, or the appropriate
subdivision of such State, shall enter into an agreement with such
agency and with the Secretary to construct, or cause to be
constructed, with or without the aid of Federal funds, the approach
roads necessary to connect such bridge with existing public
highways and to maintain, or cause to be maintained, such approach
roads from and after their completion. Such agreement may also
provide for the design and construction of such bridge upon and
across the dam by such agency of the United States and for
reimbursing such agency the costs incurred by it in the design and
construction of the bridge as provided in subsection (d) of this
section. Any such agency is hereby authorized to convey to the
State, or to the appropriate subdivision thereof, without costs,
such easements and rights-of-way in its custody or over lands of
the United States in its custody and control as may be necessary,
convenient, or proper for the location, construction, and
maintenance of the approach roads referred to in this section
including such roadside parks or recreational areas of limited size
as may be deemed necessary for the accommodation of the traveling
public. Any bridge constructed pursuant to this section upon and
across a dam in the custody and jurisdiction of any agency of the
United States, including such portion thereof, if any, as may
extend beyond the physical limits of the dam, shall constitute and
remain a part of said dam and be maintained by the agency. Any such
agency may enter into any such contracts and agreements with the
State or its subdivisions respecting public use of any bridge so
located and constructed as may be deemed appropriate, but no such
bridge shall be closed to public use by the agency except in cases
of emergency or when deemed necessary in the interest of national
security.
(c) All costs and expenses incurred and expenditures made by any
agency in the exercise of the powers and authority conferred by
this section (but not including any costs, expenses, or
expenditures which would have been required in any event to satisfy
a legal road or bridge relocation obligation or to meet operating
or other agency needs) shall be recorded and kept separate and
apart from the other costs, expenses, and expenditures of such
agency, and no portion thereof shall be charged or allocated to
flood control, navigation, irrigation, fertilizer production, the
national defense, the development of power, or other program,
purpose, or function of such agency.
(d) Not to exceed $65,000,000 of any money heretofore or
hereafter appropriated for expenditure in accordance with the
provisions of this title or prior Acts shall be available for
expenditure by the Secretary in accordance with the provisions of
this section, as an emergency fund, to reimburse any agency for any
additional costs or expenditures which it may be required to incur
because of the design and construction of any such dam so that it
will constitute and serve as a foundation for a public highway
bridge upon and across such dam and to reimburse any such agency
for any costs, expenses, or expenditures which it may be required
to make in designing and constructing any such bridge upon and
across a dam in accordance with the provisions of this section,
except such costs, expenses, or expenditures as would have been
required of such agency in any event to satisfy a legal obligation
to relocate a highway or bridge or to meet operating or other
agency needs, and there is authorized to be appropriated any sum or
sums necessary to reimburse the funds so expended by the Secretary
from time to time under the authority of this section. Of each
bridge constructed upon and across a dam under the provisions of
this section, there may be financed wholly with Federal funds that
portion thereof which is located within the physical limits of the
masonry structure, or structures, of the dam, and the Secretary
shall in his sole discretion determine what additional portion of
the bridge, if any, may be so financed, such determination to be
final and conclusive. The remainder of the bridge, and any
necessary related approach roads, shall be financed by the State or
its appropriate subdivision with or without the aid of Federal
funds; but said portion of the bridge so financed by the State or
its subdivisions, including such portion thereof, if any, as may
extend beyond the physical limits of the dam, shall nevertheless be
designed and constructed solely by the agency having custody and
jurisdiction of the dam as provided in subsection (a) of this
section.
(e) In making, reviewing, or approving the design of any bridge
or approach structure to be constructed under this section, the
agency shall, in matters relating to roadway design, loadings,
clearances and widths, and traffic safeguards, give full
consideration to and be guided by the standards and advice of the
Secretary.
(f) The authority conferred by this section shall be in addition
to and not in limitation of authority conferred upon any agency by
any other law, and nothing in this section contained shall affect
or be deemed to relate to any bridge, approach structure, or
highway constructed or to be constructed by any such agency in
furtherance of its lawful purposes and requirements or to satisfy a
legal obligation incurred independently of this section.