The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1973 (Public Law 93–87; 87 Stat. 250) is legislation enacted by the United States Congress and signed into law on August 13, 1973, which provided funding for existing interstate and new urban and rural primary and secondary roads in the United States. It also funded a highway safety improvement program, and permitted states for the first time in U.S. history to use Highway Trust Fund money for mass transit.

Legislative history

Beginning in 1964, Congress passed a new highway aid act every two years, authorizing new expenditures and making changes to federal highway policies.

The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1968 and the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1970 had authorized states to issue contracts for construction of the Interstate Highway System and urban and rural primary and secondary roads through June 30, 1974. It also provided funds for these contracts. Congress again attempted to pass legislation (the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1972) in 1972. However, the bill died after a House–Senate conference committee was unable to agree whether to allow Highway Trust Funds to be used for mass transit.

Two important personnel changes occurred in the House after the failure of this legislation. Federal elections for the House and Senate were held in November 1972. First, Democratic Representative William M. Colmer declined to run for office again. He was replaced as chair of the House Rules Committee by the much more liberal Democratic Representative Ray Madden. Second, the death of Democratic Representative Hale Boggs, the House Majority Leader, in a plane crash in Alaska on October 16, 1972, elevated Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill to that position when the new 93rd Congress convened in January 1973.

Congressional action

With federal highway aid to the state scheduled to run out on June 30, 1973, work on a new highway bill began almost immediately in the new Congress.

In the Senate, mass transit advocates won a major victory. On March 14, the Senate voted to give states the authority to use up to $850 million of Highway Trust Fund money in both 1973 and 1974 for the expansion or construction of mass transit. The vote was a close 49-to-44. The Senate bill also proposed spending $18 billion on highway and mass transit over three years, and included no money for highway safety or design improvement programs.

To help reduce the chances that members of the full House would drastically amend the legislation, for the first time in years the Public Works Committee voted on major provisions of the highway bill in open public session. But with states running out of money, the House passed by voice vote a $1.5 billion highway aid continuing resolution.

The conference committee reached agreement on the mass transit issue on July 19, 1973. The key negotiators were Representative Jim Wright and Senator Lloyd Bentsen, both of Texas.

A final Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1973 was reported out of conference committee on July 20. The conference committee had met 29 times over two months, an exceptionally high number of meetings and long period of time. On August 1, the Senate approved the conference report by a vote of 95-to-1. The House followed suit by voice vote on August 3.

The highway bill proved acceptable to President Nixon, and he signed the bill into law on August 13, 1973.

About the act

The legislation reauthorized the Federal-Aid Highway Act through the end of fiscal year 1976 (September 30, 1976). Appropriations were made for interstate highway construction through fiscal year 1979 (September 30, 1979).

  • Connector roads: A new program permitted states to seek federal funding to build roads (not to exceed in length) in high-traffic urban areas, so long as these roads connected with the Interstate Highway System. Funding for such roads was limited to $150 million in fiscal years 1974, 1975, and 1976.

References

Bibliography

  • Dunn, James A. Driving Forces: The Automobile, Its Enemies, and the Politics of Mobility. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, 1998.
  • Office of Technology Assessment. Gearing Up for Safety: Motor Carrier Safety in a Competitive Environment. OTA-SET-382. Washington, D.C.: United States Congress, October 1988.
  • Ward, John W. and Warren, Christian. Silent Victories: The History and Practice of Public Health in Twentieth-Century America. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007.
  • on Congress.gov