Legislative Update: Proposed Transportation Legislation Includes Funding for ADHS through Fiscal Year 2009 May 2003

The Bush administration has proposed a six-year, $247 billion surface transportation reauthorization—the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act of 2003 (SAFETEA)—that includes continued funding for the Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS) through fiscal year 2009.

Unveiled by U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta on May 14, 2003, SAFETEA would provide funding for the ADHS program at a level of $450 million for each fiscal year from 2004 through 2009, for a total of $2.7 billion.

Approximately 2,441 miles of the ADHS's planned 3,025 miles are now open to traffic. The most recent estimate of the cost to complete the ADHS (2002) puts the remaining federal funds needed to complete the system at $4.45 billion in 2000 dollars.