Interstate Maintenance Discretionary (IMD) Program Information

Attachment 3, Page 1 of 6
INTERSTATE MAINTENANCE DISCRETIONARY (IMD) PROGRAM
BACKGROUND:
PROGRAM INFORMATION
(January 2010)
The Interstate Maintenance Discretionary (IMD) Program provides funding for resurfacing,
restoration, rehabilitation and reconstruction (4R) work, including added lanes to increase
capacity, on most existing Interstate System routes. This discretionary program was first
established by the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 and was known as the I-4R
Discretionary Program. The Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act of
1987 and the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 continued funding with
set-asides from I-4R and National Highway System (NHS) authorizations, respectively, for each
of fiscal years 1988 through 1997. The 1998 Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century
(TEA-21) and following extensions continued this program by authorizing set-asides from the
Interstate Maintenance (IM) funds from 1998 to mid-2005. The 2005 Safe, Accountable,
Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU, Public Law
109-59) continues the program through 2009. For 2010, the program is being continued through
extension of SAFETEA-LU by the Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2010 (Public Law
111-68), as amended, but the full funding amount for the fiscal year will not be available until
full year authorizing legislation is completed.
STATUTORY REFERENCES:
23 U.S.C. 118(c); SAFETEA-LU Section 1111(a).
FUNDING:
Fiscal Year 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Authorization $100M $100M $100M $100M $100M N.A.
Section 118(c)(1) of Title 23 authorizes $100 million for each of fiscal years 2005 through 2009
for the IMD program. Under the provisions of SAFETEA-LU Section 1102(f), Redistribution of
Certain Authorized Funds, any funds authorized for the program for the fiscal year, which are
not available for obligation due to the imposition of an obligation limitation, are not allocated for
the IMD program, but are redistributed to the States by formula as STP funds. These provisions
have been extended for fiscal year 2010.
For FY 2010, under the provisions of Section 186 of Division A of the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2010 (Public Law 111-68), Congress designated the FY 2010 IMD funds for
specific projects listed in the statement of managers accompanying the Appropriations Act.

Attachment 3, Page 2 of 6
In addition, under the provisions of Section 120(e), Redistribution of Certain Authorized Funds,
of Divisions A of the Appropriations Act, any authorized funds, which are not available for
obligation due to the imposition of an obligation limitation, are not allocated for the IMD
program, but are redistributed to the States in accordance with Section 120(e). Upon receipt of
full year funding authority for the program, the amount of funds that can be awarded for each
designated project will be determined.
FEDERAL SHARE:
In accordance with 23 U.S.C. 120, the Federal share of the costs for most projects eligible under
this program is 90 percent. However, the Federal share is 80 percent on projects, or the portion
of projects, for work involving added single-occupancy vehicle lanes to increase capacity. The
sliding scale provisions under 23 U.S.C. 120 also apply to the Federal share for these IMD
projects.
OBLIGATION LIMITATION:
The IMD funds are subject to obligation limitation; however, 100 percent obligation authority is
provided with the allocation of funds for the selected projects. The obligation limitation reduces
the available funding for the program under the provisions of SAFETEA-LU Section 1102(f)
discussed above. For FY 2010, these provisions are continued in Section 120(e) of Division A of
the Appropriations Act.
ELIGIBILITY:
The statutory criteria for eligibility of IMD projects is provided in Section 118(c)(1) of 23 U.S.C.
IMD funds are available for resurfacing, restoring, rehabilitating and reconstructing (4R) work,
including added lanes, on the Interstate System. However, not eligible for allocation of IMD
funds are projects on any highway designated as a part of the Interstate System under Section
139 of 23 U.S.C., as in effect before the enactment of TEA-21, and any toll road on the Interstate
System not subject to an agreement under Section 119(e) of 23 U.S.C., as in effect on December
17, 1991. Also not eligible are projects on any highway added to the Interstate System under
Section 103(c)(4) of 23 U.S.C. and Section 1105(e)(5)(A) of ISTEA. Any proposed or future
Interstate route is also not eligible for IMD funds.
For FY 2008 to 2010, the designated projects in the statement of managers accompanying the
Appropriations Act must meet the above statutory eligibility criteria in 23 U.S.C. 118(c)(1)
because Congress did not include any additional eligibility provision.
SELECTION CRITERIA:
The statutory selection criteria for the IMD program are found in Section 118(c)(2) of Title 23.
A State may be eligible to apply if:

Attachment 3, Page 3 of 6
(A) the State has obligated or demonstrates that it will obligate in the fiscal year all of its
apportionments under Section 104(b)(4) other than an amount that, by itself, is
insufficient to pay the Federal share of the cost of a project for resurfacing, restoring,
rehabilitating, and reconstructing the Interstate System that has been submitted by the
State to the Secretary for approval; and
(B) the applicant is willing and able to—
(i) obligate the funds within 1 year of the date the funds are made available;
(ii) apply the funds to a ready-to-commence project; and
(iii) in the case of construction work, begin work within 90 days after obligation.
Under the provisions of Section 186 of Division A of the Appropriations Act, Congress has
statutorily designated the IMD funds for FY 2010 for specific projects listed in the statement of
managers. Therefore, the above selection criteria, under Section 118(c)(2) of title 23, do not
apply for FY 2010 IMD project selection. So a State does not have to demonstrate how it will
obligate all of its IM apportioned funds to be eligible to receive these FY 2010 designated IMD
funds, or meet the requirements of under (B) above.
The statutory designation of these FY 2010 IMD funds by Congress also overrides the statutory
priority consideration criteria in Section 118(c)(3) of Title 23. Therefore, for FY 2010, a project
does not need to have a total cost of at least $10 million, or be on a high volume urban route or a
high truck volume rural route.
In 1992, Headquarters established an administrative policy that Interstate 4R discretionary funds
would not be allocated to a State that had, in the preceding fiscal year, transferred either NHS or
IM funds to the Surface Transportation Program (STP) apportionment. This policy was based on
the tremendous Interstate System needs across the country and that the congressional intent for
IMD funds was to give priority consideration to high cost projects in States where available
apportionments were insufficient to allow such projects to proceed on a timely basis. Because of
the statutory designation of FY 2010 IMD funds, this administrative policy also will not apply
for these designated projects.
Also, because of the statutory designation of FY 2010 IMD funds, previously developed
administrative selection criteria for the IMD program, such as leveraging of private or other
public funding, State priorities, expeditious completion of a project, or the transportation benefits
of the project, will also not be considered.
SOLICITATION PROCEDURE:
For FY 2010, applications are only being solicited for congressionally designated projects. As
indicated previously, these designated projects must still meet the eligibility requirements under
Section 118(c)(1) of Title 23.

Attachment 3, Page 4 of 6
A memorandum is issued by the FHWA Headquarters Office of Program Administration to the
FHWA division offices requesting submission of applications. The division offices send the
memo to the State DOTs, who are responsible for submitting the applications to FHWA.
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS:
Only State DOTs may submit applications for funding under this program. Because Congress
designated the projects to be funded in FY 2010, a short application form will be used. The
application for each project must include the following information (12 items). Those
applications that do not include these items are considered incomplete and funding will not be
available for those projects until an acceptable application is submitted. The application for each
project must be submitted electronically in MS Word format, and be limited to two pages.
1. State in which the project is located.
2. County in which the project is located.
3. U.S. Congressional District No.(s) in which the project is located. This is the
U.S. Congressional District, not the State district.
4. U.S. Senators and Congressional District Member’s Names. This is the U.S.
Senators and Congressional District representative, not the State legislature.
5. Project Designation (Title) - This should be the description of the project as
listed in the explanatory statement accompanying the Consolidated
Appropriations Act.
6. Project Location - Describe the specific location of the project, including route
number and termini, if applicable. Also include appropriate local jurisdiction in
which the project is located.
7. Proposed Work - Describe the scope of work including the project limits where
these funds are to be used. Describe whether this is a complete project or part of a
larger project. Please ensure that the proposed work falls within the description of
the designated project (Item 5 above) and within eligible limits for such funding.
8. Eligibility - Describe how the proposed project meets the statutory eligibility
requirements of 23 U.S.C. 118(c)(1). Include the legislative provision under
which the route was added to the Interstate system. If the project does not meet
these eligibility requirements, please note that here. The Interstate Route Log
located at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/highwayhistory/data/02.cfm can provide
assistance in this determination.
9. Project Purpose & Benefits - Transportation benefits that will result from
completion of the project, such as improved public safety, economic

Attachment 3, Page 5 of 6
development, congestion relief, community enhancement, etc., should be
described. Specifics, such as anticipated reductions in accident rates, etc. should
be provided if available.
10. Total Project Cost – Indicate the total estimated cost of the project within the
scope of the eligible project. For example, only include the cost of a new or
modified interchange. Do not include cost of extensions or relocations of non-
Interstate routes related to the interchange.
11. Amount of Federal IMD Funds Requested - Indicate the amount of Federal
IMD funds being requested for the fiscal year. This should be the award amount
shown in Attachment 1 to the solicitation memo.
12. Project Schedule – The anticipated project schedule is required. The schedule
should indicate the proposed date that funds will be obligated, when construction
will commence, and the anticipated completion date.
ANNOUNCEMENT OF AWARDS / ALLOCATION OF FUNDS
After the applications are received, it is required that Congress be notified before the funds are
allocated to the States. When this Congressional notification process is completed, the Office of
Program Administration will issue an announcement by email to all FHWA division offices,
announcing the IMD projects that will be funded and the amount of funding for each project.
This announcement will not occur until a full year program authorization has become law.
At that time, States may request that funds be allocated for any projects for which the funds are
ready to be obligated. Awarded projects can be found at the website
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/discretionary/recaward.cfm. The State transportation agency shall send
an email to the FHWA division office indicating the project, the amount requested for allocation,
and the date by which the funds will be obligated. The Office of Program Administration will
issue the allocation memorandum within a few days of receiving the allocation request. It
should be noted that these funds subject to August redistribution of obligation authority and
therefore any allocated funds must be obligated by the end of the fiscal year.
STATE TRANSPORTATION AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES:
1. Coordinate with local governments and MPOs within the State, as necessary, to develop
project applications.
2. Ensure that the applications are completed for candidate projects in accordance with the
submission requirements outlined above.
3. Submit the applications electronically to the local FHWA division office on time so that
the submission deadline can be met.
4. Submit request to FHWA division office for allocation of funds, after awards are
announced and when project funds are ready to be obligated.

FHWA DIVISION OFFICE RESPONSIBILITIES:
Attachment 3, Page 6 of 6
1. Provide the solicitation memorandum and this program information to the State
transportation agency electronically to facilitate their electronic submission of
applications.
2. Request candidate projects be submitted by the State to the FHWA division office
electronically to meet the submission deadline established in the solicitation.
3. Review all candidate applications submitted by the State prior to sending them to FHWA
Headquarters to ensure that they are complete and meet the eligibility and submission
requirements.
4. Submit the candidate applications electronically to FHWA Headquarters Office of
Program Administration as outlined in the solicitation memorandum. Include the
following with the transmitting email message:
a. Statement from the division office that the State’s submittal has been reviewed by
the division office and that it meets the submission requirements. Include any
concerns about eligibility of the project.
b. State transportation department submission email or letter to the FHWA division
office. (This will document that all applications were submitted by the State
transportation department, as required.)
c. Each MS Word two-page application as a separate attachment.
5. Forward award announcement to the State.
6. Forward allocation requests from State to the Office of Program Administration, via
email to Tony DeSimone (Anthony.DeSimone@dot.gov).
FHWA HEADQUARTERS PROGRAM OFFICE RESPONSIBILITIES:
1. Solicit applications from the States through annual solicitation memorandum.
2. Review applications and compile appropriate program and project information for the
Office of the Federal Highway Administrator.
3. Issue award announcement via email to all FHWA division offices.
4. Allocate funds upon receipt of request from State through the FHWA division office.
FHWA HEADQUARTERS PROGRAM OFFICE CONTACT:
Tony DeSimone, Office of Program Administration
Phone: (317) 226-5307
Fax: (317) 226-7341
Email: Anthony.Desimone@dot.gov