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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 701r-1. Utilization of public roads
(a) Definitions
When used in this section -
(1) The term "Agency" means the Corps of Engineers, United
States Army or the Bureau of Reclamation, United States
Department of the Interior, whichever has jurisdiction over the
project concerned.
(2) The term "head of the Agency concerned" means the Chief of
Engineers or the Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, or their
respective designees.
(3) The term "water resources projects to be constructed in the
future" includes all projects not yet actually under
construction, and, to the extent of work remaining to be
completed, includes projects presently under construction where
road relocations or identifiable components thereof are not
complete as of the date of this section.
(4) The term "time of the taking" is the date of the relocation
agreement, the date of the filing of a condemnation proceeding,
or a date agreed upon between the parties as the date of taking.
(b) Improvement, reconstruction, and maintenance
Whenever, in connection with the construction of any authorized
flood control, navigation, irrigation, or multiple purpose project
for the development of water resources, the head of the Agency
concerned determines it to be in the public interest to utilize
existing public roads as a means of providing access to such
projects during construction, such Agency may improve, reconstruct,
and maintain such roads and may contract with the local authority
having jurisdiction over the roads to accomplish the necessary
work. The accomplishment of such work of improvement may be carried
out with or without obtaining any interest in the land on which the
road is located in accordance with mutual agreement between the
parties: Provided, (1) That the head of the Agency concerned
determines that such work would result in a saving in Federal cost
as opposed to the cost of providing a new access road at Federal
expense, (2) that, at the completion of construction, the head of
the Agency concerned will, if necessary, restore the road to at
least as good condition as prior to the beginning of utilization
for access during construction, and (3) that, at the completion of
construction, the responsibility of the Agency for improvement,
reconstruction, and maintenance shall cease.
(c) Replacement roads; construction to higher standards
For water resources projects to be constructed in the future,
when the taking by the Federal Government of an existing public
road necessitates replacement, the substitute provided will, as
nearly as practicable, serve in the same manner and reasonably as
well as the existing road. The head of the agency concerned is
authorized to construct such substitute roads to the design
standards which the State or owning political division would use in
constructing a new road under similar conditions of geography and
under similar traffic loads (present and projected). In any case
where a State or political subdivision thereof requests that such a
substitute road be constructed to a higher standard than that
provided for in the preceding provisions of this subsection, and
pays, prior to commencement of such construction, the additional
costs involved due to such higher standard, such agency head is
authorized to construct such road to such higher standard. Federal
costs under the provisions of this subsection shall be part of the
nonreimbursable project costs.
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