National Highway System Designation Act of 1995

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: National Highway System Title II: Transportation Funding Flexibility Title III: Miscellaneous Highway Provisions Title IV: Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge National Highway System Designation Act of 1995 - Title I: National Highway System - Designates the National Highway System (NHS) as submitted by the Secretary of Transportation on November 13, 1995. Authorizes the Secretary to make modifications proposed by a State that meet the criteria established for, and that enhance the national transportation characteristics of, the NHS. Directs the Secretary to submit to specified congressional committees for approval modifications to the NHS that are proposed by a State that consist of connectors to major ports, airports, international border crossings, public transportation and transit facilities, interstate bus terminals, and rail and other intermodal transportation facilities. Permits such modifications to take effect only if approved by law. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) interim eligibility of such an intermodal connector for NHS funds pending such approval; and (2) approval of subsequent modifications by the Secretary. Requires, in proposing modifications: (1) a State to cooperate with local and regional officials; and (2) local officials in urbanized areas to act through the metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) designated for such areas. Requires the Secretary, upon the completion of feasibility studies, to add to the NHS any congressional high priority corridor or segment thereof established by the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) which was not identified on the NHS. Title II: Transportation Funding Flexibility - Directs the Secretary to allocate among the States specified sums for FY 1996 and 1997 for projects eligible for assistance under Federal-aid highway provisions. Specifies allocation percentages by State. Provides that such allocations shall not affect a State's minimum allocation of Federal-aid highway funds or specified allocations under ISTEA. Sets forth provisions regarding the apportionment of such funds, the applicability of obligation limitations of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991, a special rule for determining the percentage of an allocation for obligation in urbanized areas with a population of over 200,000, and limits on the percentage of an allocation that may be used for planning expenditures. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 203) Rescinds funds from specified previously authorized projects and from unobligated balances of funds previously made available and derived from the Highway Trust Fund (HTF). Reduces the authorized funding levels for certain magnetic levitation and highway safety programs funded from the HTF. Transfers certain funds derived from the HTF made available for the Congestion Pricing Pilot Program to carry out projects eligible for assistance under Federal-aid highway provisions. (Sec. 204) Directs the Secretary: (1) to notify each State of the total amount of the reduction in authorized funds for FY 1996 that would have been allocated and apportioned to such State as a result of specified ISTEA provisions; and (2) in determining such amount, to deduct the amount allocated to each State in FY 1996 to carry out Federal-aid highway projects under this Act. Requires: (1) each State to designate unobligated balances of funds apportioned or allocated on or before September 30, 1995, and which are subject to the obligation ceiling, that may be made available to carry out Federal-aid highway projects; and (2) the Secretary to make such funds available to the States. Prohibits unobligated balances of funds attributed to urbanized areas with a population of over 200,000 from being designated by the State without the written concurrence of the MPO designated for such area. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) the use of congestion mitigation and air quality and surface transportation program transportation enhancement activities balances when insufficient project funding is not otherwise available; (2) a limit on the use of unobligated interstate construction balances for other projects; and (3) periods of availability of and applicability of obligation limits to such unobligated balances. (Sec. 205) Authorizes a State to elect, at any time, not to implement, in whole or in part, one or more of specified required management systems. Bars the Secretary from imposing any sanction on, or withholding any benefit from, a State on the basis of such an election. Repeals a requirement under ISTEA that States meet minimum utilization requirements for asphalt pavement containing recycled rubber and the penalties for failure to meet those requirements. Prohibits the Secretary from requiring: (1) the States to expend any Federal or State funds to construct, erect, or otherwise place or modify any highway sign relating to a speed limit, distance, or other measurement using the metric system; or (2) before September 30, 2000, that any State use or plan to use the metric system with respect to designing or advertising, or preparing plans, specifications, estimates, or other documents for, a Federal-aid highway project. Repeals: (1) the national maximum speed limit compliance program (to be effective ten days after the enactment of this Act); and (2) penalties for noncompliance with motorcycle helmet requirements. Title III: Miscellaneous Highway Provisions - Includes among eligible projects for NHS funds capital and operating costs for traffic monitoring, management, and control facilities and programs. (Sec. 302) Permits a State to transfer 50 percent of its apportionment for the highway bridge replacement and rehabilitation program to its NHS or surface transportation program. (Sec. 303) Directs the Secretary to establish programs to require States to: (1) conduct an analysis of the life-cycle costs of each usable project segment on the NHS with a cost of $25 million or more; and (2) carry out a value engineering analysis for all projects on the NHS with an estimated total cost of $25 million or more. (Sec. 304) Requires the Secretary to ensure that the plans and specifications for each proposed highway project provide for a facility that will: (1) adequately serve the existing and planned future traffic of the highway in a manner that is conducive to safety, durability, and economy of maintenance; and (2) be designed and constructed in accordance with criteria best suited to accomplish those objectives and to conform to the particular needs of each locality. Permits a design for new construction, reconstruction, resurfacing (except for maintenance resurfacing), restoration, or rehabilitation of a highway on the NHS (other than a highway also on the Interstate System) to take into account: (1) the constructed and natural environment of the area; (2) the environmental, scenic, aesthetic, historic, community, and preservation impacts of the activity; and (3) access for other modes of transportation. Authorizes the Secretary, in cooperation with State highway departments, to develop criteria to implement such design. Authorizes the Secretary to approve projects for the NHS designed to allow for the preservation of environmental, scenic, or historic values, ensure safe use of the facility, and comply with other specified requirements. (Sec. 305) Specifies that transportation conformity requirements only apply to areas that are designated as nonattainment areas and to areas that have been designated as attainment areas but that are still subject to maintenance requirements under the Clean Air Act (CAA). (Sec. 306) Authorizes States to permit the placement of motorist call boxes on rights-of-way of the NHS, as long as they meet specified requirements to assure that they do not pose a safety hazard to motorists. Allows such boxes to include identification and sponsorship logos, subject to specified requirements. Requires States to place 20 percent of the call boxes displaying sponsorship logos outside of urbanized areas with a population greater than 50,000. (Sec. 307) Sets forth provisions regarding contracting for engineering and design services. Repeals a Pilot Program for Uniform Audit Procedures under ISTEA. (Sec. 308) Authorizes the Secretary to approve advance construction of a project if it is included in the State's transportation improvement program. (Sec. 309) Specifies that a preventive maintenance activity shall be eligible for Federal assistance if the State demonstrates to the Secretary's satisfaction that the activity is a cost-effective means of extending the useful life of a Federal-aid highway. (Sec. 310) Modifies the Federal share of costs for safety rest areas, bicycle transportation facilities and pedestrian walkways, and economic growth center development highways. Sets the Federal share for the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport Connector at 95 percent. (Sec. 311) Authorizes the Secretary to reimburse a State and a public authority for expenses and costs incurred for interest payments, the retirement of principal, the cost of issuance, the cost of sale, and the cost of insurance for a debt financing instrument for an eligible NHS project, subject to specified requirements. (Sec. 312) Allows Iowa to: (1) permit the use of certain motor vehicles over 80,000 pounds on Interstates 29 and 129 in Sioux City; and (2) operate certain longer combination vehicles on such routes. Exempts certain specialized vehicles operating on the 104-mile portion of Wisconsin State Route 78 and U.S. Route 51 from vehicle weight limitations upon the inclusion of the route as part of the Interstate System. (Sec. 313) Specifies that the Federal share for toll highways, bridges, and tunnels shall be a percentage determined by the State not to exceed 80 percent. Permits a State to loan to a public or private entity constructing or proposing to construct a toll facility or non-toll facility with a dedicated revenue source an amount equal to all or part of the Federal share of the cost of the project. Allows Federal participation in the construction of ferry boats and terminal facilities that operate between a State and a point in Canada. Includes the Centennial Bridge, Rock Island, Illinois, under provisions relating to toll agreements. Directs the Secretary, on request of the Governor of Florida, to modify the agreement entered into with Florida's transportation department to permit the collection of tolls to liquidate indebtedness incurred to finance any cost associated with a feature of an environmental project that is carried out under State law and approved by the Secretary. (Sec. 314) Allows a State to exclude from designation as a scenic byway for purposes of provisions governing outdoor advertising any segment of a highway that is inconsistent with the State's scenic byway criteria, subject to specified limitations. (Sec. 315) Exempts from requirements of the Uniform Relocations Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 certain qualified organizations from which real property is acquired for conservation purposes in transportation enhancement activities. (Sec. 316) Authorizes the Secretary to advance funds to a State for transportation enhancement activities if the Secretary certifies for the fiscal year that the State has authorized and uses a process for the selection of transportation enhancement projects that involves representatives of affected public entities and private citizens with expertise related to such activities. Limits such advances to amounts necessary to make prompt payment for project costs. Directs the Secretary to develop: (1) categorical exclusions from the requirement that an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement be prepared for such activities; and (2) a nationwide programmatic agreement governing the review of such activities in accordance with provisions of the National Historic Preservation Act and the regulations of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. (Sec. 317) Requires each MPO, in developing transportation plans and programs, to consider recreational travel and tourism. (Sec. 318) Allows any non-Federal funds expended for the seismic retrofit of certain toll bridges to be credited toward the non-Federal share required as a condition of receipt of Federal funds for such retrofit made available after the date of the expenditure. (Sec. 319) Provides that Congestion and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ) funds may be used for projects for: (1) the attainment of air quality standards in nonattainment areas designated in FY 1994; (2) the maintenance of air quality standards in an area so designated but later designated as an attainment by the EPA Administrator; and (3) the establishment and operation of traffic monitoring, management, and control facilities or programs in such an area that are likely to contribute to the attainment of a national ambient air quality standard. (Sec. 320) Requires States to enact and enforce a law providing that operation of a motor vehicle by an individual under age 21 who has a blood alcohol concentration of.02 percent or greater shall be considered to be driving under the influence or driving while intoxicated. Directs the Secretary to withhold five percent of highway construction funds on October 1, 1998, and ten percent on October 1, 1999, and every year thereafter, for noncompliance. (Sec. 321) Requires the Secretary to issue guidance to encourage States to utilize private sector sources for surveying and mapping services. (Sec. 322) Permits States to receive as credit to the non-Federal share of a project the fair market value for donated funds, materials, or services. (Sec. 323) Specifies that data collected for safety reports or surveys shall not be subject to discovery or admitted into evidence in Federal or State court proceedings. (Sec. 324) Provides that a State shall be treated as having met the requirement of having a statewide program for roadside sobriety checkpoints if: (1) the State's highest court certifies that such a program would violate the constitution of the State; and (2) the State demonstrates that over the last three years its alcohol fatal crash involvement rate has declined and has been lower than the average rate for all States. Establishes the blood alcohol concentration limit for minors as a requirement for an alcohol-impaired driving countermeasures basic grant. (Sec. 326) Extends until the reauthorization of the Federal-aid highway and transit programs the temporary waiver from axle weight limitations for any vehicle traveling on the Interstate System which is regularly and exclusively used as an intrastate public agency transit passenger bus. (Sec. 327) Directs the Secretary to develop testing procedures and conduct research to develop performance grade classifications for crumb rubber modifier binders. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to States to develop programs to use crumb rubber from scrap tires to modify asphalt pavements. (Sec. 328) Changes the term "innovative safety barrier" to "innovative crashworthy safety barrier," defined as a barrier, other than a guardrail or guiderail, classified by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) as "experimental" or that was classified as "operational" after January 1, 1985, and that meets or surpasses the requirements of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program 350 for longitudinal barriers. (Sec. 329) Requires New York State, in carrying out improvements regarding the Gowanus Expressway Corridor, to consider the economic and social impacts of the project on the neighboring community. Makes various modifications regarding: (1) the authorization of appropriations and allocation of funds for intermodal facilities in New York City; (2) high cost bridge projects in various States; and (3) congestion relief projects in various States. (Sec. 332) Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) the identification and routing of certain high priority corridors; (2) inclusion of certain route segments on the Interstate System; and (3) feasibility studies for evacuation routes for Louisiana coastal areas and for the East-West Transamerica Corridor. (Sec. 333) Provides a series of technical amendments to rural access, urban access and mobility, innovative, and intermodal projects in ISTEA. (Sec. 337) Amends the National Recreational Trails Program, established in ISTEA, to provide that the Federal share of any trails project funded under the Program will be 50 percent prior to FY 2001 and thereafter a State shall be eligible to receive Federal funds under the Program if the State agrees to provide an amount equal to 20 percent of the amount of Federal funds received by the State. Repeals the existing State fuel tax requirement. Requires States to give consideration to project proposals that provide for the redesign, reconstruction, nonroutine maintenance, or relocation of trails to mitigate and minimize the impact to the environment. Increases the number of members of the National Recreational Trails Advisory Committee to include a member representing the disabled community. Provides funding for the Program. (Sec. 338) Amends ISTEA and other laws to change references to "Intelligent Vehicle-Highway Systems" to "Intelligent Transportation Systems" (ITS). Authorizes the Secretary to carry out collaborative research and development with respect to ITS. Sets forth provisions regarding the obligation and reallocation of funds. (Sec. 339) Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) reconstruction and widening of the Pennsylvania Turnpike and Interstate 95; (2) a prohibition on Federal-aid highway funds to construct Type II noise barriers; and (3) projects in various States, including certain route segments in Wyoming, the Orange Street Bridge in Montana, a National Railroad Passenger Corporation line in Rhode Island, the Pocono Northeast Railway Company Line, the Brightman Street Bridge in Massachusetts, the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Bridge Replacement in Virginia, and the Alameda Transportation Corridor, California. (Sec. 340) Makes technical modifications to certain projects authorized by the Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act of 1987 in various States. (Sec. 341) Amends the Americans With Disabilities Act to change compliance dates to two and three years after issuance of final regulations for large and small over-the-road bus operators, respectively, to comply with accessibility requirements. (Sec. 342) Repeals the preemployment alcohol testing requirement for certain transit workers, railroad employees, operators of commercial vehicles, and employees of air carriers and the Federal Aviation Administration. (Sec. 343) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1996 for the National Driver Register. (Sec. 344) Directs the Secretary, within 270 days, to implement a commercial motor vehicle regulatory relief and safety pilot program to grant and monitor exemptions from Federal requirements. Requires the Secretary to determine whether to exempt some or all of the eligible vehicles operated, and some or all of the drivers of such vehicles employed, by the applicant from such requirements if the applicant has a satisfactory safety rating or meets criteria established by the Secretary and if the applicant and the Secretary enter into an agreement that requires the applicant to: (1) operate safely; (2) provide the Secretary with accident and nonconfidential insurance-related information relevant to the safety performance of the applicant and such vehicles and drivers; (3) use only drivers with good safety records in the preceding 36 months who maintain such records while in the program; and (4) implement such safety management controls as the Secretary deems necessary to carry out program objectives. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) safety management controls; (2) minimization of paperwork; (3) encouragement of advanced technology; (4) approval factors; (5) modifications to reflect changes in regulations; (6) monitoring; (7) termination of participation; (8) emergencies; (9) criteria for implementing the program; (10) eligible vehicles; and (11) review of regulations. (Sec. 345) Sets forth exemptions from requirements relating to commercial motor vehicles and operators regarding: (1) transportation of agricultural commodities and farm supplies (allows drivers transporting agricultural or farm supplies to operate without complying with Federal hours of service regulations if such transportation is limited to an area within a 100 air mile radius); (2) transportation and operation of ground water well drilling rigs; (3) transportation of construction materials and equipment; (4) drivers of utility service vehicles (requires that such a driver permit any period of seven or eight consecutive days to end with the beginning of an off-duty period of 24 or more consecutive hours for the purposes of determining maximum driving and on-duty time); and (5) snow and ice removal. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) preemption; (2) review by the Secretary (authorizes the Secretary to conduct a rulemaking proceeding to determine whether granting an exemption is not in the public interest and would have a significant adverse impact on the safety of commercial motor vehicles and, if so, to prevent the exemption from taking effect, modify it, or revoke it); and (3) reporting requirements. (Sec. 346) Directs the Secretary to develop and implement a pilot program to evaluate waivers of certain regulations and provisions to permit any period of seven or eight consecutive days to end with the beginning of an off-duty period of 24 or more consecutive hours for the purposes of determining maximum on-duty time for drivers of motor vehicles making intrastate home heating oil deliveries that occur within 100 air miles of a central terminal or distribution point of the delivery of such oil. Authorizes the Secretary to approve up to five States to participate in such program during the winter heating season in the six-month period beginning on November 1, 1996. Sets forth provisions regarding approval criteria, program participation, suspension from the program, and review by the Secretary. (Sec. 347) Requires the Secretary, in cooperation with any State which raises any speed limit in such State to a level above that permitted under Federal highway provisions as in effect on September 15, 1994, to prepare and submit to the Congress a study of the costs to such State of deaths and injuries resulting from motor vehicle crashes and the benefits associated with the repeal of the national maximum speed limit. (Sec. 348) Prohibits the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from requiring adoption or implementation by a State of a test-only I-M240 enhanced vehicle inspection and maintenance program as a means of compliance with specified provisions of the CAA, but permits the Administrator to approve such a program if a State chooses to adopt the program as a means of compliance with such provisions. Bars the Administrator from disapproving or applying an automatic discount to a State implementation plan revision on the basis of a policy, regulation, or guideline providing for a discount of emissions credits because the inspection and maintenance program in such plan revision is decentralized or is a test-and-repair program. Authorizes a State to submit an implementation plan revision proposing an interim inspection and maintenance program under the CAA. Requires the Administrator to approve the program based on the full amount of credits proposed by the State for each element of the program if the proposed credits reflect good faith estimates by the State and the revision is otherwise in compliance with such Act. (Sec. 349) Prohibits the Federal Government from taking any action to prepare or implement any regulation concerning rights-of-way across public lands until September 30, 1996. Provides for the transfer of 19 road corridors within the Shenandoah National Park from the Federal Government to the Commonwealth of Virginia. (Sec. 350) Authorizes the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements with up to ten States for the establishment of State infrastructure banks and multistate infrastructure banks for making loans and providing other assistance to public and private entities carrying out or proposing to carry out projects eligible for assistance. Grants consent to two or more of the States, entering into a cooperative agreement with the Secretary for the establishment of a multistate infrastructure bank, to enter into an interstate compact establishing such bank. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) funding (including the maintenance of separate accounts for funds made available from the HTF and from funds made available from the Federal transit program); (2) forms of assistance from infrastructure banks; (3) qualifying projects; (4) infrastructure bank requirements; (5) limits on repayments; and (6) other requirements, including program administration and review by the Secretary. (Sec. 351) Directs the Secretary to ensure that: (1) in implementing the Intelligent Transportation Systems Act of 1991, the national intelligent transportation systems program addresses the use of intelligent transportation technologies to promote safety at railroad-highway grade crossings; and (2) two or more operational tests funded under such Act are designed to promote highway traffic and railroad safety. Requires the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Office of Motor Carriers within the FHWA to cooperate and work, on a continuing basis, with the National Association of Governors' Highway Safety Representatives, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, and Operation Lifesaver, Inc., to improve compliance with and enforcement of laws and regulations pertaining to railroad-highway grade crossings. Sets forth reporting requirements by the Secretary. Declares that: (1) it is in the public interest to promote grade crossing safety and reduce risk at high risk railroad-highway grade crossings; (2) effective programs to reduce the number of unneeded and unsafe railroad-highway grade crossings require the partnership of Federal, State, and local officials and agencies, and affected railroads; and (3) promotion of a balanced national transportation system requires that highway planning specifically take into consideration grade crossing safety. (Sec. 352) Directs that tolls collected for motor vehicles on any bridge connecting the boroughs of Brooklyn and Staten Island, New York, continue to be collected for only those vehicles exiting from such bridge in Staten Island. (Sec. 353) Deems traffic control signs referred to in the experimental project conducted in Oregon in December 1991, and a red, white, and blue center line in Main Street of Bristol, Rhode Island, to comply with Department of Transportation requirements. (Sec. 354) Directs the Secretary to permit the conversion of any safety rest area adjacent to Interstate 95 within Rhode Island that was closed as of May 1, 1995, to use as a motor vehicle emissions testing facility. Specifies that, at the option of the State, vehicles shall be permitted to enter and exit any such testing facility directly from Interstate 95. (Sec. 355) Deems New Hampshire and Maine to meet safety belt use law requirements upon certification by the Secretary that each State has achieved a safety belt use rate: (1) of not less than 50 percent in each of FY 1995 and 1996; and (2) of not less than the national average safety belt use rate in each succeeding fiscal year. Applies this provision retroactively. (Sec. 356) Directs the Secretary to enter into an agreement modifying existing agreements that provide Orange County, California, with contingent lines-of-credit. Allows the Secretary to require an interest rate that is higher than that specified in previous Acts. (Sec. 357) Requires the Secretary to prepare and submit to the Congress a draft legislative proposal of necessary technical and conforming amendments to title 23 of the U.S. Code. (Sec. 358) Directs the Secretary to: (1) conduct a study of technologies and practices to improve the driving performance of older drivers and other special driver groups; (2) undertake, in conducting such study, demonstration activities that incorporate and build upon gerontology research related to the study of the normal aging process; and (3) conduct the study by entering into a cooperative agreement with an institution that has demonstrated competencies in gerontological research, population demographics, human factors related to transportation, and advanced technology applied to transportation. Requires the Secretary: (1) in carrying out the work zone safety program under ISTEA, to utilize a variety of methods to increase safety at highway construction sites; (2) to conduct a study to develop and evaluate radio and microwave technology for a motor vehicle safety warning system in furtherance of safety in all types of motor vehicles; and (3) to conduct a study to evaluate the effectiveness on reducing drunk driving and appropriateness of laws enacted in the States which allow a health care provider who treats an individual involved in a vehicular accident to report the blood alcohol level, if known, of such individual to the local law enforcement agency which has jurisdiction over the accident site if such level exceeds the maximum permitted under State law. (Sec. 359) Directs the Secretary to conduct a study: (1) on the adequacy of and the need for improvements to the Pan American Highway; (2) to determine the cost, need, and efficacy of establishing a highway sign for identifying routes on the NHS; (3) on compliance with the Buy American Act regarding contracts entered into using amounts made available from the HTF; and (4) evaluating the near-term applications of magnetic levitation ground transportation technology in the United States, with particular emphasis in identifying projects which would warrant immediate application of such technology. Sets forth reporting requirements. Title IV: Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge - Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge Authority Act of 1995 - Grants congressional consent to the Capital region jurisdictions (Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia) to enter into an interstate agreement or compact to establish the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge Authority. (Sec. 407) Directs the Secretary to: (1) convey to the Authority all right, title, and interest of the United States in the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge; (2) work with the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge Coordination Committee, or with the Authority, to complete planning, preliminary engineering and design, environmental studies and documentation, and final engineering for the project at the earliest possible date consistent with applicable Federal laws; and (3) obligate such sums as necessary for each of FY 1996 and 1997 for the rehabilitation of the Bridge and for environmental studies and documentation, planning, preliminary engineering and design, and final engineering for a new crossing of the Potomac River as part of the project, subject to specified limitations. (Sec. 411) Makes available certain prior authorizations.

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: National Highway System Title II: Highway Funding Restoration Title III: Miscellaneous Provisions National Highway System Designation Act of 1995 - Title I: National Highway System - Designates the National Highway System (NHS) as submitted by the Secretary of Transportation on September 1, 1995. Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to submit to specified congressional committees for approval a proposed modification of the NHS, subject to specified requirements, which shall take effect only if a law has been enacted approving such modification. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) initial proposed modifications to the NHS; (2) congressional high priority corridors; and (3) interim eligibility for Federal highway funds. Title II: Highway Funding Restoration - Highway Funding Restoration Act of 1995 - Directs the Secretary to allocate among the States specified amounts for Interstate highway substitute, NHS, surface transportation program, Interstate, congestion mitigation and air quality improvement program, bridge, hazard elimination, and rail- highway crossings projects (State High Priority Project Restoration Program, hereinafter referred to as the High Priority Program) for FY 1996 and 1997. Specifies allocation percentages by State. Provides that such allocations shall not effect a State's minimum allocation of Federal-aid highway funds or specified allocations under the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA). Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) the period of availability; (2) a special rule for the obligation of allocations in urbanized areas with a population of over 200,000; and (3) limits on planning expenditures. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 204) Rescinds funds from various previously authorized projects and from unobligated balances of funds previously made available and derived from the Highway Trust Fund (HTF). Reduces the authorized funding levels for certain programs (regarding magnetic levitation and highway safety) funded from the HTF. Transfers certain funds (regarding the Congestion Pricing Pilot Program) derived from the HTF made available for such fiscal years to carry out the High Priority Program. (Sec. 205) Directs the Secretary: (1) to notify each State of the total amount of the reduction in authorized funds for FY 1996 that would have been allocated and apportioned to such State, as a result of specified ISTEA provisions; and (2) in determining such amount, to deduct the amount allocated to each State in FY 1996 pursuant to the High Priority Program and certain other amounts available for FY 1996. Requires: (1) each State to designate on or before November 1, 1995, or as soon as possible thereafter, unobligated balances of funds apportioned or allocated on or before September 30, 1995, and which are subject to the obligation ceiling, that may be made available for any purpose currently eligible under the Minimum Allocation Program; and (2) the Secretary to make such funds available to the States before November 15, 1995, or as soon as possible thereafter. Prohibits unobligated balances of funds attributed to urbanized areas with a population of over 200,000 from being designated by the State without the concurrence, in writing, of the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) designated for such area. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) congestion mitigation and air quality balances; (2) interstate construction balances; (3) periods of availability; and (4) limits on statutory construction. (Sec. 206) Revises provisions regarding the method of distribution of funds made available under the Minimum Allocation Program in FY 1996 and 1997. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) a special rule for urbanized areas of over 200,000 in FY 1996 and 1997; and (2) funding. (Sec. 207) Prohibits the Secretary from penalizing States for failure to implement various highway and transportation management systems during FY 1996. Repeals a requirement that States meet minimum utilization requirements for asphalt pavement containing recycled rubber and the penalties for failure to meet those requirements. Title III: Miscellaneous Provisions - Directs the Secretary to distribute the limitation imposed on transit operating assistance so that: (1) each urbanized area that had a population of less than 200,000 under the 1990 decennial census will receive for each of FY 1996 and 1997, 75 percent of the amount the area received under such distribution for FY 1995; and (2) an urbanized area that had a population under the 1980 decennial census of more than one million and has a population under the 1990 decennial census of less than one million will receive under the distribution of such limitation for each of FY 1996 and 1997, 90 percent of the amount of funds apportioned in FY 1982 under specified provisions of the Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964 to such area. Requires the Secretary, in the distribution of such limitation to urbanized areas that had a population under such census of one million or more, to direct each such area to give priority consideration to the impact of reductions in operating assistance on smaller transit authorities operating within the area and to consider the needs and resources of such authorities when the limitation is distributed among all transit authorities operating in the area. (Sec. 302) Directs the Secretary to: (1) require each recipient of Federal financial assistance for a highway or transit project with an estimated total cost of $1 billion or more to submit to the Secretary an annual financial plan, which shall be based on detailed annual estimates of the cost to complete the remaining elements of the project and on reasonable assumptions (as determined by the Secretary) of future increases in the cost to complete the project; (2) make a recommendation to the Congress on whether or not future Federal assistance should be withheld regarding any such project for which an annual financial plan is not submitted or for which the Secretary determines that the estimates or assumptions are not reasonable; and (3) submit to the Congress an annual report on the financial plans submitted and any such recommendation. (Sec. 303) Prohibits the Secretary of Transportation, after this Act's enactment and before the date on which Federal-aid highway and transit programs are reauthorized, from issuing a letter of intent, or entering into a full financing grant agreement or early systems work agreement for a project or operable segment of a project unless the full amount of Federal financial responsibility for the project or segment has been included in an authorization law. Makes such prohibition inapplicable to any project: (1) for which a letter of intent was issued before this Act's enactment date; and (2) included as an element of an interrelated project which also includes another project for which a letter of intent was issued before such date. (Sec. 304) Requires an annual report on Capital Projects for Fixed Guideway Systems and Extensions of Existing Fixed Guideway Systems to include: (1) an analysis of potential funding requirements of the project in the succeeding five fiscal years; and (2) a description of the planning and study process undertaken to select the locally preferred alternative, and of efforts undertaken to seek alternative funding sources, for the project. (Sec. 305) Repeals the authorization for the Long Beach Metro Link Fixed Rail Project. Reduces the authorization for the Honolulu Rapid Transit Project. (Sec. 306) Modifies various previously authorized transit projects and makes funds available for certain additional projects. Revises provisions regarding the financing for the suspended light rail system technology pilot project. Directs the Secretary: (1) within 60 days, to complete the national competition initiated by selecting the public entity with which to make a full financing grant agreement; and (2) following such selection, to make specified payments in the form of grants to such entity and, upon completion of preliminary engineering and design, to negotiate and enter into such an agreement. (Sec. 307) Adds consideration of recreational travel and tourism to the metropolitan planning process under the transit program. (Sec. 308) Requires that any contract or subcontract awarded for engineering and design services, whether funded in whole or in part with Federal transit funds, be performed and audited in compliance with cost principles contained in the Federal acquisition regulations. Requires the recipient of Federal funds to: (1) accept and use indirect cost rates established by a government agency in accordance with such regulations for one-year applicable accounting periods in estimating, negotiating, and administering contracts; (2) notify affected firms before requesting and using the cost and rate data; and (3) keep such data confidential. Makes this section effective two years after this Act's enactment, but grants a State the option of adopting by statute an alternative process intended to promote engineering and design quality and to ensure maximum competition by professional companies of all sizes providing engineering and design services. (Sec. 309) Allows Federal participation in the construction of ferry boats and terminal facilities that operate between a State and a point in Canada. (Sec. 310) Directs the Secretary to issue guidance to encourage States to utilize private sector sources for surveying and mapping services for highway projects. (Sec. 311) Specifies that the hiring of law enforcement or security personnel is an eligible expense under the transit security program. Allows half of the publicly funded ferry boat service provided to the City of Avalon, California, to be counted under the formula grant transit program. (Sec. 312) Amends the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 to require that accessibility requirements for private over-the-road buses be met by small providers within three years, and by other providers within two years, after the issuance of final regulations. (Sec. 313) Makes the Alaska Railroad eligible for certain fixed guideway modernization funds for improvements to its passenger operations. (Sec. 314) Amends Federal transportation law to authorize (current law requires) preemployment alcohol testing of: (1) mass transit, railroad, air carrier, and Federal Aviation Administration employees responsible for safety-sensitive functions; and (2) operators of commercial motor vehicles. (Sec. 315) Provides that a State shall be treated as having met the requirement of having a statewide program for roadside sobriety checkpoints if such a program would violate the constitution of the State and if the State meets certain other safety requirements. Moves from the Supplemental Grants Program to the Basic Grants Program the requirement that a State provide that any person under age 21 with a blood alcohol concentration of.02 percent or greater when driving a motor vehicle shall be deemed to be driving while intoxicated. (Sec. 316) Directs the Secretary to: (1) conduct a study of technologies and practices to improve the driving performance of older drivers and other special driver groups; (2) undertake demonstration activities which incorporate and build upon gerontology research related to the study of the normal aging process, and initially implement such activities in States with the highest population of aging citizens for whom driving a motor vehicle is their primary mobility mode; and (3) carry out the study by entering into a cooperative agreement with an institution that has demonstrated competencies in specified fields. Requires the Secretary: (1) in carrying out the work zone safety program under ISTEA, to utilize a variety of methods to increase safety at highway construction sites, including conferences, creation of a national clearinghouse, and a national promotional campaign; and (2) to conduct a study to develop and evaluate radio and microwave technology for a motor vehicle safety warning system in furtherance of safety in all types of motor vehicles, and determine whether such technology has other appropriate safety applications. (Sec. 317) Amends ISTEA to extend until the reauthorization of the Federal-aid highway and transit programs a temporary waiver from axle weight limitations for any vehicle regularly and exclusively used as an intrastate public agency transit passenger bus. (Sec. 318) Freezes funding allocations under the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Program (CMAQ) at the FY 1994 levels for the remaining years of ISTEA, and provides that CMAQ funds may be used for projects for the maintenance of air quality standards. Provides that certain funding equity provisions will not be affected by this section. (Sec. 319) Directs the Secretary to establish a program to require States to conduct an analysis of the life-cycle costs of, and carry out a value engineering analysis for, all projects on the NHS with an estimated total cost of $25 million or more. (Sec. 320) Specifies that transportation conformity requirements only apply to areas that are designated as nonattainment areas and to areas that have been designated as attainment areas but that are still subject to maintenance requirements under the Clean Air Act. (Sec. 322) Exempts certain specialized vehicles operating on the 104-mile portion of Wisconsin State Route 78 and U.S. Route 51 from vehicle weight limitations upon the inclusion of the route as part of the Interstate System. (Sec. 322) Sets forth provisions regarding contracting for engineering and design services funded in whole or in part with Federal-aid highway funds (analogous to provisions under Sec. 308). Repeals a pilot program under ISTEA for uniform audit procedures. (Sec. 323) Includes the Centennial Bridge, Rock Island, Illinois, under provisions relating to toll agreements. (Sec. 324) Prohibits the Secretary, before September 30, 1997, from requiring the States to expend any Federal or State funds to construct, erect, or otherwise place, or modify, a highway sign relating to any speed limit, distance, or other measurement using the metric system. (Sec. 325) Specifies that the Federal ban on outdoor advertising on scenic highways does not restrict the authority of a State with respect to commercial and industrial areas along a scenic byway, nor does it prevent a State from establishing standards stricter than those in Federal law. (Sec. 326) Adds recreational travel and tourism to the factors that must be considered by MPOs in developing transportation plans and programs. (Sec. 327) Allows any non-Federal funds expended for the seismic retrofit of certain toll bridges to be credited toward the non-Federal share required as a condition of receipt of Federal funds for such retrofit made available after the date of the expenditure. (Sec. 328) Specifies that data collected for safety reports or surveys shall not be subject to discovery or admitted into evidence in Federal or State court proceedings. (Sec. 329) Revises the National Recreational Trails Program under ISTEA, including a provision requiring States to provide 20 percent of the program costs in the sixth year of the program. Requires a State to give priority to projects which mitigate and minimize impacts to the environment. Permits a State to apply to the Secretary for an exemption from requirements for the distribution of Federal trail program funds. (Sec. 330) Revises ISTEA regarding the routing of certain existing high priority corridors and adds additional high priority corridors. Designates certain of these routes as future Interstate routes, if they are not already designated, when the Secretary determines that such routes meet Interstate standards and connect to an existing Interstate segment. (Sec. 331) Amends ISTEA to authorize a feasibility study to identify routes that will expedite future emergency evacuations of coastal areas of Louisiana. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study to determine the feasibility of establishing a route for the East-West Transamerica Corridor in West Virginia and Virginia. (Sec. 334) Delineates the route of the East-West Transamerica High Priority Corridor. (Sec. 341) Amends the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 to make the High Street to Causeway Street section of Central Artery project eligible for Interstate construction funds. Requires a project authorized by the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 to include reconstruction and widening to six lanes of existing Interstate 95 and of a specified segment of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, including the structure over the Delaware River. Prohibits the use of Federal funds to construct Type II noise barriers, other than for projects already approved. (Sec. 342) Directs the Secretary to enter into an agreement modifying an existing agreement that provides Orange County, California, with a line of credit. Allows the Secretary to require an interest rate higher than that previously specified. (Sec. 343) Directs the Secretary to conduct a study: (1) and report to the Congress on the adequacy of and the need for improvements to the Pan American Highway; (2) to determine the cost, need, and efficacy of establishing a highway sign for identifying routes on the NHS; and (3) and report to the Congress on compliance with the Buy American Act with respect to contracts entered into using amounts made available from the HTF. (Sec. 344) Provides that tolls collected for motor vehicles on any bridge connecting the boroughs of Brooklyn and Staten Island, New York, shall continue to be collected for only those vehicles exiting from such bridge in Staten Island. (Sec. 345) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1996 for the National Driver Register. (Sec. 346) Modifies ISTEA provisions to: (1) provide that not less than two and a half percent of the mileage of new or replacement permanent or temporary crashworthy barriers included in awarded contracts along Federal-aid highways within the boundaries of a State in each calendar year shall be innovative crashworthy safety barriers; and (2) define "innovative crashworthy safety barrier" as a barrier, other than a guardrail or guiderail, classified by the Federal Highway Administration as experimental or classified as operational after January 1, 1985, which meets or surpasses the requirements of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program 350 for longitudinal barriers. (Sec. 347) Allows signs, displays, and devices identifying and announcing free motorists aid call boxes and their sponsorship by corporations or other organizations in areas adjacent to the Interstate System and the primary system. (Sec. 348) Repeals: (1) the national maximum speed limit and all related enforcement requirements; and (2) the penalty States face for not having a law requiring individuals on motorcycle to wear a motorcycle helmet. (Sec. 350) Adds safety rest areas to the list of safety projects that qualify for 100 percent Federal funding. (Sec. 351) Sets forth exemptions from requirements relating to commercial motor vehicles and operators, regarding: (1) transportation of agricultural commodities and farm supplies (specifies that drivers transporting agricultural or farm supplies may operate without complying with Federal hours of service regulations if such transportation is limited to an area within a 100 mile radius); (2) transportation and operation of groundwater well drilling rigs; (3) transportation of construction materials and equipment; (4) drivers of utility service vehicles (modifies Federal hours of service regulations for such drivers by providing that their limits on maximum driving and on-duty time be reset whenever they have an off-duty period of 24 consecutive hours); and (5) snow and ice removal. Authorizes the Secretary: (1) to conduct a rulemaking proceeding to determine whether granting any such exemption is not in the public interest and would have a significant adverse impact on the safety of commercial motor vehicles; and (2) if so, to prevent the exemption from going into effect, modify it, or revoke it). (Sec. 352) Deems traffic control signs referred to in the experimental project conducted in the State of Oregon in December 1991 to comply with requirements of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices of the Department of Transportation. (Sec. 353) Allows the Brightman Street Bridge in Fall River Harbor, Massachusetts, to be reconstructed to result in a clear channel width of less than 300 feet. (Sec. 354) Directs the Secretary to exempt, upon application, an operator of motor vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of at least 10,001 pounds but not more than 26,000 pounds from specified Federal safety regulations if the Secretary finds that such applicant: (1) has a current satisfactory safety fitness rating; and (2) will implement a program of safety management controls designed to achieve a level of operational safety equal to or greater than that resulting from compliance with the Federal regulations. Directs the Secretary to: (1) periodically monitor the safety of vehicles and drivers exempted from the regulations; and (2) revoke the exemption if the operator has exceeded the average ratio of preventable accidents to vehicle miles travelled for a period of 12 months for such class of vehicles or if such operator's exemption is not in the public interest and would result in a significant adverse impact on the safety of commercial motor vehicles. Prohibits the Secretary from granting exemptions to vehicles designed to transport more than 15 passengers (including the driver) or used in transporting material found by the Secretary to be hazardous and transported in a quantity requiring placarding. (Sec. 356) Requires the Secretary, in cooperation with each State that increases its speed limit above the national maximum speed limit in effect on September 15, 1995, to prepare and submit to the Congress a study of: (1) the costs to such State of deaths and injuries resulting from motor vehicle crashes; and (2) the benefits associated with the repeal of the national maximum speed limit. (Sec. 357) Requires the Secretary to withhold five percent of the amount required to be appropriated to any State for FY 1999, and ten percent for each fiscal year thereafter, if the State has not enacted and is not enforcing a law that makes the operation of a motor vehicle by an individual under age 21 who has a blood alcohol concentration of.02 percent or greater unlawful. (Sec. 358) Directs the Secretary to evaluate the effectiveness on reducing drunk driving of State laws which allow a health care provider who treats an individual involved in a vehicular accident to report the individual's blood alcohol level to the local law enforcement agency if it exceeds the maximum level permitted under State law.

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Highway Provisions Title II: National Capital Region Interstate Transportation Authority Title III: Federal Highway and Railroad Grade Crossing Safety National Highway System Designation Act of 1995 - Title I: Highway Provisions - Designates the most recent National Highway System (as of the date of this Act's enactment) as submitted by the Secretary of Transportation to be the National Highway System (NHS). Authorizes the Secretary, at the request of a State, to add a new route segment to the NHS (including a new intermodal connection) or delete a route segment in existence on the date of the request if the total mileage of the NHS will not exceed 165,000 miles. Requires each State making a request for a change in the NHS to establish that each change has been identified by the State, in cooperation with local officials, pursuant to applicable transportation planning activities for metropolitan areas and statewide planning processes. Authorizes the Secretary to approve such a request upon determining that the change meets the criteria established for, and enhances the national transportation characteristics of, the NHS. Directs the Secretary to cooperate with the State of Wyoming in monitoring the changes in growth along, and traffic patterns of, specified route segments in Wyoming for the purpose of future consideration of the addition of such segments to the NHS. (Sec. 102) Authorizes the obligation of funds for capital and operating costs for traffic monitoring, management, and control facilities and programs (currently, for startup costs for traffic management and control if such costs are limited as specified). Includes among eligible projects for the NHS: (1) construction, resurfacing of, and operational improvements for public highways connecting the NHS to ports, airports, intermodal freight transportation facilities, and public transportation facilities; and (2) construction of, and operational improvements for, the Alameda Transportation Corridor, California. (Sec. 103) Increases (from 40 to 60) the percentage of specified Federal-Aid Highway apportionments (railway-highway crossings, highway bridge replacement and rehabilitation program, hazard elimination program) that may be transferred from one such apportionment of a State to another. (Sec. 104) Revises design criteria for the NHS. Directs the Secretary to ensure that the plans and specifications for each proposed highway project provide for a facility that will: (1) adequately serve the existing and planned future traffic of the highway; and (2) be designed and constructed in accordance with criteria best suited to accomplish specified objectives and conform to the particular needs of each locality. Specifies that a design for new construction, reconstruction, resurfacing (except for maintenance resurfacing), restoration, or rehabilitation of a highway on the NHS (other than a highway also on the Interstate System) shall take into account: (1) the constructed and natural environment of the area; (2) the environmental, scenic, aesthetic, historic, community, and preservation impacts of the activity; and (3) as appropriate, access for other modes of transportation. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop criteria to implement such provisions; and (2) develop and promulgate guidelines to assure that constructed highways are consistent with any approved plan for the implementation of a national ambient air quality standard for which an area is designated as a nonattainment area under the Clean Air Act (CAA), or the maintenance of a national ambient air quality standard in an area that was designated as a nonattainment area but later redesignated as an attainment area that is required to develop a maintenance plan. Revises provisions of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) regarding the use of asphalt pavement containing recycled rubber. Directs the Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) to: (1) develop testing procedures and conduct research to develop performance grade classifications for crumb rubber modifier binders; and (2) make grants to States to develop programs to use crumb rubber from scrap tires to modify asphalt pavements. Modifies Federal highway provisions regarding: (1) funding for the applied research and technology program; (2) limits on advance construction; and (3) payments to States for bond and other debt instrument financing. (Sec. 108) Makes a preventive maintenance activity eligible for Federal assistance if the State demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Secretary that the activity is a cost-effective means of extending the life of a Federal-aid highway. (Sec. 110) Revises provisions regarding the Federal share for highways, bridges, and tunnels to make such share a percentage determined by the State, but not to exceed 80 percent. (Sec. 111) Specifies that, in the case of certain transportation enhancement activities, if real property (or an interest therein) is to be acquired from a qualified organization exclusively for conservation purposes, the organization shall be considered to be the owner of the property for the purpose of the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970. Directs that, for purposes of such Act, if: (1) Federal approval of the acquisition predates the involvement of a qualified organization in the acquisition of the property, the organization shall be considered to be an acquiring agency or person; and (2) a qualified organization has contracted with a State highway administration or other recipient of Federal funds to acquire the property or interest on behalf of the recipient, the organization shall be considered to be an agent of the recipient. (Sec. 112) Authorizes the Secretary to advance funds to a State for transportation enhancement activities under specified circumstances. Directs: (1) the Secretary to develop categorical exclusions from the requirement that an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement be prepared for transportation enhancement activities; and (2) the FHA Administrator to develop a nationwide programmatic agreement governing the review of such activities. (Sec. 113) Sets forth provisions regarding the non-Federal share for certain toll bridge projects. (Sec. 114) Revises provisions regarding the congestion mitigation and air quality improvement program, including the removal of certain funding limitations. Makes a project to construct new capacity for the Orange Street Bridge in Missoula, Montana, eligible for funding under the congestion mitigation and air quality improvement program. Specifies that any limitation under this section or an amendment made by this section on an apportionment otherwise authorized under ISTEA shall not affect any hold harmless apportionment adjustment under the Act. (Sec. 115) Limits the national maximum speed limit to commercial motor vehicles. (Sec. 116) Revises provisions establishing the 80 percent Federal share for bicycle transportation facilities and pedestrian walkways to make such share a sum to be determined according to a specified formula applicable to other highway projects. (Sec. 117) Repeals certain requirements regarding management systems. Authorizes a State to elect at any time to implement specified management systems. Prohibits the Secretary from imposing any sanction on, or withholding any benefit from, a State on the basis of such election. (Sec. 118) Amends ISTEA to authorize the Secretary to carry out collaborative research and development. Sets time limits with respect to the obligation and reallocation of funds for intelligent transportation systems projects. (Sec. 119) Authorizes individuals to donate funds, materials, or services in connection with activities eligible for Federal assistance under Federal highway provisions. (Sec. 120) Bars a State from being required to: (1) erect a highway sign that establishes any speed limit, distance, or other measurement using the metric system; or (2) modify any highway sign that establishes any such measurement so that the sign uses the metric system. Directs the Secretary to waive, upon receipt of a written notification by a State and with respect to such State, any requirement that the State use or plan to use the metric system in designing, preparing plans, specifications, and estimates, advertising, or taking any other action with respect to Federal-aid highway projects or activities utilizing authorized funds. Specifies that such waiver shall remain effective for such State until it notifies the Secretary to the contrary, and that a waiver granted by the Secretary will be in effect until September 30, 2000. (Sec. 121) Modifies ISTEA provisions regarding: (1) high priority corridors, including the route the corridor should follow in various States and designation of specified segments for inclusion in the Interstate System (including providing for the routing of Interstate 73-74 in North Carolina and South Carolina and extending High Priority Corridor 18); and (2) authority for a specified project in Florida and a priority intermodal project in California. Includes the Dalton Highway in Alaska in the designation of the NHS. (Sec. 124) Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) National Recreational Trails funding under ISTEA; (2) grants to the National Railroad Passenger Corporation for an intermodal facility in New York; (3) street marking in Bristol, Rhode Island; (4) public use of rest areas in Rhode Island; (5) the collection of tolls to finance certain environmental projects in Florida; and (6) hours of service of drivers of ground water well drilling rigs. (Sec. 131) Adds Tarrant County in Texas to the list of counties that may be included in rural access projects. (Sec. 132) Directs the Secretary to include High Priority Corridor 18 in Texas on the approved NHS after completion of the required feasibility study by the States. (Sec. 133) Expresses the sense of the Senate that the designation of the NHS does not assume the continuation or the elimination of the current Federal-State relationship nor preclude a re-evaluation of the Federal-State relationship in transportation. (Sec. 134) Sets forth or revises provisions regarding: (1) contracting for engineering and design services; (2) vehicle weight limitations in Wisconsin (makes certain vehicle weight limitations inapplicable if a certain route in Wisconsin is designated as part of the Interstate System) and for Sioux City, Iowa (permits the full implementation of a border city agreement by exempting vehicles using certain routes between Sioux City and the borders between Iowa and South Dakota and between Iowa and Nebraska from the overall gross weight limitation applicable to vehicles using the Interstate System and by permitting longer combination vehicles on the routes); (3) authority for a specified congestion relief project in California; (4) a prohibition of new highway demonstration projects; (5) the Centennial Bridge, Rock Island, Illinois agreement; (6) a moratorium on certain emissions testing requirements; (7) elimination of penalties for noncompliance with the motorcycle helmet use requirement; (8) eligibility for funding regarding improvements to the former Pocono Northeast Railway Company freight rail line; (9) toll roads, bridges, tunnels, non-toll roads that have a dedicated revenue source and ferries (authorizes a State to loan an amount equal to all or part of the Federal share of a toll project or a non-toll project that has a dedicated revenue source, specifically dedicated to such project or projects, to a public entity constructing or proposing to construct a toll facility or non-toll facility with a dedicated revenue source); (10) the transfer of funds between certain demonstration projects in Louisiana; (11) the Federal share for the Northwest Arkansas regional airport connector and for economic growth center development highways; (12) intercity rail infrastructure investment (interstate rail compacts, financing, eligibility of passenger rail as a Surface Transportation Project and under the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program, and permitting the use of assistance provided from the Mass Transit Account of the Highway Trust Fund to a State that does not have Amtrak service for capital improvements to and operating support for intercity passenger rail service); (13) the operation of motor vehicles by intoxicated minors (requires the withholding of Federal highway funds if a State fails to provide that any minor in the State who operates a motor vehicle and has a blood alcohol concentration above a specified level shall be considered to be driving while intoxicated or driving under the influence of alcohol); (14) contingent commitments (authorizes the Secretary to enter future obligations in excess of 50 percent of the uncommitted cash allowance for the purpose of contingent commitments for specified authorized projects); (15) the availability of certain funds for a Boston-to-Portland rail corridor; (16) authorization of appropriations for regionally significant ground transportation projects in Hawaii; (17) a feasibility study for evacuation routes for Louisiana coastal areas; (18) the 34th Street Corridor Project in Moorhead, Minnesota; (19) safety belt use law requirements for New Hampshire and Maine; (20) a report on accelerated vehicle retirement programs; and (21) a moratorium on regulations addressing certain rights-of-way. Title II: National Capital Region Interstate Transportation Authority - National Capital Region Interstate Transportation Authority Act of 1995 - Grants congressional consent to Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia to enter into an interstate agreement or compact to establish the National Capital Region Interstate Transportation Authority. (Sec. 208) Requires the Authority to take such action as necessary to address the need of the National Capital Region for an enhanced southern Capital Beltway crossing of the Potomac River that serves the traffic corridor of the Bridge. Grants the Authority sole responsibility for the ownership, construction, operation, and maintenance of a new crossing of the Potomac River. (Sec. 207(sic)) Directs the Secretary to convey all right, title, and interest of the Department of Transportation in and to the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge to the Authority. Sets forth provisions regarding interim responsibilities for the Bridge pending completion of a new Potomac River crossing, conveyance by the Secretary of the Interior of land under or adjacent to the Bridge, and the Federal share of the cost under the agreement. (Sec. 210) Requires the Secretary: (1) before making Federal-aid highway apportionments, to set aside specified sums for FY 1996 and 1997 for the rehabilitation of the Bridge and for the planning, preliminary design, engineering, and acquisition of a right-of-way for, and construction of, a new crossing of the Potomac River; and (2) to prepare and submit to the Congress a report identifying the necessary Federal share of the cost of capital improvements and construction. (Sec. 211) Directs that any funds made available for the rehabilitation of the Bridge under ISTEA continue to be available after the conveyance of the Bridge to the Authority. Title III: Federal Highway and Railroad Grade Crossing Safety - Federal Highway and Railroad Grade Crossing Safety Act of 1995 - Directs the Secretary, in implementing the Intelligent Vehicle-Highway Systems Act of 1991, to ensure that the National Intelligent Vehicle-Highway Systems Program addresses, in a comprehensive and coordinated manner, the use of intelligent vehicle-highway technologies to promote safety at railroad-highway grade crossings. Requires the Secretary to ensure that two or more operational tests funded under such Act promote highway traffic safety and railroad safety. (Sec. 303) Directs the Secretary to conduct a rulemaking proceeding to amend specified regulations to require that each highway safety management system developed, established, and implemented by a State include: (1) public railroad-highway grade-crossing closure plans aimed at eliminating high-risk or redundant crossings; (2) railroad-highway grade-crossing policies that limit the creation of new at-grade crossings; and (3) plans for State policies, programs, and resources to further reduce death and injury at high-risk railroad-highway grade crossings. (Sec. 304) Requires the Secretary to issue regulations establishing sanctions and penalties relating to violations, by persons operating commercial motor vehicles, of laws and regulations pertaining to railroad-highway grade crossings which, at a minimum, require that: (1) the penalty for a single violation shall not be less than a 60-day disqualification of the driver's commercial driver's license; and (2) any employer that knowingly allows, permits, authorizes, or requires an employee to operate a commercial motor vehicle in violation of such a law or regulation shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $10,000. Requires States to adopt and enforce such regulations. (Sec. 305) Requires the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Office of Motor Carriers within the FHA on a continuing basis to cooperate and work with the National Association of Governors' Highway Safety Representatives, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, and Operation Lifesaver, Inc., to improve compliance with and enforcement of laws and regulations pertaining to railroad- highway grade crossings. Sets forth reporting requirements by the Secretary to the Congress regarding such cooperation and how resources are being allocated. (Sec. 306) Declares that: (1) railroad-highway grade crossings present inherent hazards to the safety of railroad operations and to the safety of persons using those crossings; (2) it is in the public interest to eliminate redundant and high risk railroad-highway crossings and to limit the creation of new crossings; (3) effective programs to reduce unneeded crossings and to close those that cannot be made reasonably safe require the partnership of Federal, State, and local officials and agencies and affected railroads; and (4) promotion of a balanced national transportation system requires that highway planning specifically take into consideration the interface between highways and the national railroad system. Directs the Secretary to: (1) foster such a partnership and to make provisions for periodic review; (2) impose a limit on the maximum number of public railroad-highway grade crossings in a State that has failed to make substantial, continued progress toward achievement of the purposes of this section, subject to specified limitations; and (3) issue regulations to carry out this section.

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Highway Provisions Title II: National Capital Region Interstate Transportation Authority National Highway System Designation Act of 1995 - Title I: Highway Provisions - Designates the most recent National Highway System (as of the date of this Act's enactment) as submitted by the Secretary of Transportation to be the National Highway System (NHS). Authorizes the Secretary, at the request of a State, to add a new route segment to the NHS (including a new intermodal connection) or delete a route segment in existence on the date of the request if the total mileage of the NHS will not exceed 165,000 miles. Requires each State making a request for a change in the NHS to establish that each change has been identified by the State, in cooperation with local officials, pursuant to applicable transportation planning activities for metropolitan areas and statewide planning processes. Authorizes the Secretary to approve such a request upon determining that the change meets the criteria established for, and enhances the national transportation characteristics of, the NHS. (Sec. 102) Authorizes the obligation of funds for capital and operating costs for traffic monitoring, management, and control facilities and programs (currently, for startup costs for traffic management and control if such costs are limited as specified). Includes among eligible projects for the NHS: (1) construction, resurfacing of, and operational improvements for public highways connecting the NHS to ports, airports, intermodal freight transportation facilities, and public transportation facilities; and (2) construction of, and operational improvements for, the Alameda Transportation Corridor, California. (Sec. 103) Increases (from 40 to 60) the percentage of specified Federal-Aid Highway apportionments (railway-highway crossings, highway bridge replacement and rehabilitation program, hazard elimination program) that may be transferred from one such apportionment of a State to another. (Sec. 104) Revises design criteria for the NHS. Directs the Secretary to ensure that the plans and specifications for each proposed highway project provide for a facility that will: (1) adequately serve the existing and planned future traffic of the highway; and (2) be designed and constructed in accordance with criteria best suited to accomplish specified objectives and conform to the particular needs of each locality. Specifies that a design for new construction, reconstruction, resurfacing (except for maintenance resurfacing), restoration, or rehabilitation of a highway on the NHS (other than a highway also on the Interstate System) shall take into account: (1) the constructed and natural environment of the area; (2) the environmental, scenic, aesthetic, historic, community, and preservation impacts of the activity; and (3) as appropriate, access for other modes of transportation. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop criteria to implement such provisions; and (2) develop and promulgate guidelines to assure that constructed highways are consistent with any approved plan for the implementation of a national ambient air quality standard for which an area is designated as a nonattainment area under the Clean Air Act (CAA), or the maintenance of a national ambient air quality standard in an area that was designated as a nonattainment area but later redesignated as an attainment area that is required to develop a maintenance plan. Revises provisions of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) regarding the use of asphalt pavement containing recycled rubber. Directs the Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) to: (1) develop testing procedures and conduct research to develop performance grade classifications for crumb rubber modifier binders; and (2) make grants to States to develop programs to use crumb rubber from scrap tires to modify asphalt pavements. Modifies Federal highway provisions regarding: (1) funding for the applied research and technology program; (2) inapplicability of the Davis-Bacon Act; (3) limits on advance construction; and (4) payments to States for bond and other debt instrument financing. (Sec. 109) Makes a preventive maintenance activity eligible for Federal assistance if the State demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Secretary that the activity is a cost-effective means of extending the life of a Federal-aid highway. (Sec. 111) Revises provisions regarding the Federal share for highways, bridges, and tunnels to make such share a percentage determined by the State, but not to exceed 80 percent. (Sec. 112) Authorizes the Secretary to advance funds to a State for transportation enhancement activities under specified circumstances. Directs: (1) the Secretary to develop categorical exclusions from the requirement that an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement be prepared for transportation enhancement activities; and (2) the FHA Administrator to develop a nationwide programmatic agreement governing the review of such activities. (Sec. 113) Sets forth provisions regarding the non-Federal share for certain toll bridge projects. Revises provisions regarding the congestion mitigation and air quality improvement program, including the removal of certain funding limitations. (Sec. 115) Repeals the national maximum speed limit. (Sec. 116) Revises provisions establishing the 80 percent Federal share for bicycle transportation facilities and pedestrian walkways to make such share a sum to be determined according to a specified formula applicable to other highway projects. (Sec. 117) Repeals certain restrictions on toll facilities and certain requirements regarding management systems. (Sec. 119) Amends ISTEA to authorize the Secretary to carry out collaborative research and development. Sets time limits with respect to the obligation and reallocation of funds for intelligent vehicle-highway systems projects. (Sec. 120) Authorizes individuals to donate funds, materials, or services in connection with activities eligible for Federal assistance under Federal highway provisions. (Sec. 121) Bars a State from being required to: (1) erect a highway sign that establishes any speed limit, distance, or other measurement using the metric system; or (2) modify any highway sign that establishes any such measurement so that the sign uses the metric system. (Sec. 122) Modifies ISTEA provisions regarding: (1) high priority corridors, including the route the corridor should follow in various States and designation of specified segments for inclusion in the Interstate System; and (2) authority for a specified project in Florida and a priority intermodal project in California. (Sec. 125) Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) National Recreational Trails funding under ISTEA; (2) grants to the National Railroad Passenger Corporation for an intermodal facility in New York; (3) street marking in Bristol, Rhode Island; (4) public use of rest areas in Rhode Island; (5) the collection of tolls to finance certain environmental projects in Florida; and (6) hours of service of drivers of ground water well drilling rigs. Title II: National Capital Region Interstate Transportation Authority - National Capital Region Interstate Transportation Authority Act of 1995 - Grants congressional consent to Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia to enter into an interstate agreement or compact to establish the National Capital Region Interstate Transportation Authority. (Sec. 208) Requires the Authority to take such action as necessary to address the need of the National Capital Region for an enhanced southern Capital Beltway crossing of the Potomac River that serves the traffic corridor of the Bridge. Grants the Authority sole responsibility for the ownership, construction, operation, and maintenance of a new crossing of the Potomac River. (Sec. 207(sic)) Directs the Secretary to convey all right, title, and interest of the Department of Transportation in and to the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge to the Authority. Sets forth provisions regarding interim responsibilities for the Bridge pending completion of a new Potomac River crossing, conveyance by the Secretary of the Interior of land under or adjacent to the Bridge, and the Federal share of the cost under the agreement. (Sec. 210) Requires the Secretary: (1) before making Federal-aid highway apportionments, to set aside specified sums for FYs 1996 and 1997 for the rehabilitation of the Bridge and for the planning, preliminary design, engineering, and acquisition of a right-of-way for, and construction of, a new crossing of the Potomac River; and (2) to prepare and submit to the Congress a report identifying the necessary Federal share of the cost of capital improvements and construction. (Sec. 211) Directs that any funds made available for the rehabilitation of the Bridge under ISTEA continue to be available after the conveyance of the Bridge to the Authority.

National Highway System Designation Act of 1995 - Designates the most recent National Highway System (as of the date of this Act's enactment) as submitted by the Secretary of Transportation to be the National Highway System (NHS). Authorizes the Secretary, at the request of a State, to add a new route segment to the NHS (including a new intermodal connection) or delete a route segment in existence on the date of the request if the total mileage of the NHS, including any route segment or connection proposed to be added, does not exceed 165,000 miles. Requires each State making a request for a change in the NHS to establish that each change has been identified by the State, in cooperation with local officials, pursuant to applicable transportation planning activities for metropolitan areas and statewide planning processes. Authorizes the Secretary to approve such a request upon determining that the change meets the criteria established for, and enhances the national transportation characteristics of, the NHS. Authorizes the obligation of funds for capital and operating costs for traffic monitoring, management, and control facilities and programs (currently, for startup costs for traffic management and control if such costs are limited as specified). Increases the percentage (from 40 to 60) of apportionments that may be transferred from the apportionment under one section to the apportionment under any other if requested by the State highway department and approved by the Secretary as being in the public interest. Revises provisions regarding the Federal share for: (1) highways, bridges, and tunnels to make such share a percentage determined by the State, but not to exceed 80 percent; and (2) bicycle transportation facilities and pedestrian walkways to make such share a sum to be determined according to a specified formula. Authorizes individuals to donate funds, materials, or services in connection with activities eligible for Federal assistance under Federal highway provisions. Directs that, in the case of such an activity with respect to which the Federal Government and the State share in paying the cost, any donated funds or the fair market value of any donated materials or services that are accepted and incorporated into the activity by the State highway agency shall be credited against the State share. Bars any State from being required to: (1) erect any highway sign that establishes any speed limit, distance, or other measurement using the metric system; or (2) modify any highway sign that establishes any such measurement so that the sign uses the metric system. Amends the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 to set a time limit for obligation of funds for intelligent vehicle-highway systems projects. Authorizes the Secretary to reallocate such funds if they are not obligated by the specified date.