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The Highway Trust Fund (HTF) was created in 1956 to finance the construction of the Interstate Highway System. This system, built in partnership with state and local governments for over 50 years, has become central to transportation in the U.S. Over these 50 years, the fed. role in surface transportation has expanded to include broader goals and more programs. Although most surface transportation funds remain dedicated to highway infrastructure, fed. surface transportation programs now serve additional transportation, environmental, and societal purposes such as construction of pedestrian walkways and safety enforcement facilities along border regions. The 2005 Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) authorized $244.1 billion over 5 years for highways, highway safety, and public transportation, with the HTF serving as the funding source for most of the act's programs. In addition to authorizing funds for construction and maintenance of highways and bridges, the act specifies other purposes for which funding must or may be used, including, but not limited to, safety; metropolitan planning; transit; and transportation enhancement activities, such as trails for transportation purposes, pedestrian walkways, bicycle lanes and parking, and related projects. In response to Congressional concerns regarding resource challenges facing the nation's current surface transportation programs and policies, this report provides information on the amount of HTF monies the DOT agencies obligated for purposes other than construction and maintenance of highways and bridges during fiscal years 2004 through 2008. Figures.
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