§114. Construction

(a) Construction Work In General.-The construction of any highways or portions of highways located on a Federal-aid system shall be undertaken by the respective State transportation departments or under their direct supervision. Except as provided in section 117 ¹ of this title, such construction shall be subject to the inspection and approval of the Secretary. The construction work and labor in each State shall be performed under the direct supervision of the State transportation department and in accordance with the laws of that State and applicable Federal laws. Construction may be begun as soon as funds are available for expenditure pursuant to subsection (a) of section 118 of this title. After July 1, 1973, the State transportation department shall not erect on any project where actual construction is in progress and visible to highway users any informational signs other than official traffic control devices conforming with standards developed by the Secretary of Transportation.

(b) Convict Labor and Convict Produced Materials.-

(1) Limitation on convict labor.-Convict labor shall not be used in construction of highways or portions of highways located on a Federal-aid system unless it is labor performed by convicts who are on parole, supervised release, or probation.

(2) Limitation on convict produced materials.-Materials produced after July 1, 1991, by convict labor may only be used in such construction-

(A) if such materials are produced by convicts who are on parole, supervised release, or probation from a prison; or

(B) if such materials are produced by convicts in a qualified prison facility and the amount of such materials produced in such facility for use in such construction during any 12-month period does not exceed the amount of such materials produced in such facility for use in such construction during the 12-month period ending July 1, 1987.

(3) Qualified prison facility defined.-As used in this subsection, "qualified prison facility" means any prison facility in which convicts, during the 12-month period ending July 1, 1987, produced materials for use in construction of highways or portions of highways located on a Federal-aid system.

( Pub. L. 85–767, Aug. 27, 1958, 72 Stat. 896 ; Pub. L. 86–657, §8(f), July 14, 1960, 74 Stat. 525 ; Pub. L. 93–87, title I, §115, Aug. 13, 1973, 87 Stat. 258 ; Pub. L. 97–424, title I, §148, Jan. 6, 1983, 96 Stat. 2131 ; Pub. L. 98–473, title II, §226, Oct. 12, 1984, 98 Stat. 2030 ; Pub. L. 100–17, title I, §112(a), (b)(1), Apr. 2, 1987, 101 Stat. 148 ; Pub. L. 102–240, title I, §1019, Dec. 18, 1991, 105 Stat. 1948 ; Pub. L. 105–178, title I, §1212(a)(2)(A), June 9, 1998, 112 Stat. 193 .)

References in Text

Section 117 of this title, referred to in subsec. (a), relating to certification acceptance, was repealed and a new section 117, relating to high priority projects program, was enacted by Pub. L. 105–178, title I, §1601(a), June 9, 1998, 112 Stat. 255 .

Amendments

1998-Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 105–178 substituted "State transportation department" for "State highway department" in two places and "State transportation departments" for "State highway departments".

1991-Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 102–240, inserted "after July 1, 1991," after "Materials produced" in introductory provisions.

1987-Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 100–17, §112(b)(1), inserted heading.

Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 100–17, §112(b)(1), amended subsec. (b) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (b) read as follows: "Convict labor or materials produced by convict labor shall not be used in such construction unless it is labor performed by convicts who are on parole or probation."

1984-Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 98–473 which directed the insertion of ", supervised release," after "parole" effective Nov. 1, 1987, was not executed, because of intervening general amendment of subsec. (b) by Pub. L. 100–17, §112(a), which contained ", supervised release," after "parole" wherever appearing.

1983-Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 97–424 inserted "or materials produced by convict labor" after "Convict labor".

1973-Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 93–87 amended last sentence generally. Prior to amendment, last sentence read as follows: "On any project where actual construction is in progress and visible to highway users, the State highway department shall erect such informational sign or signs as prescribed by the Secretary, identifying the project and the respective amounts contributed therefor by the State and Federal Governments."

1960-Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 86–657 required State highway departments to erect, on any project where actual construction is in progress and visible to highway users, such informational sign or signs as prescribed by the Secretary, identifying the project and the respective contributions therefor by the State and Federal Governments.

Effective Date of 1991 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 102–240 effective Dec. 18, 1991, and applicable to funds authorized to be appropriated or made available after Sept. 30, 1991, and, with certain exceptions, not applicable to funds appropriated or made available on or before Sept. 30, 1991, see section 1100 of Pub. L. 102–240, set out as a note under section 104 of this title.

Effective Date of 1984 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 98–473 effective Nov. 1, 1987, and applicable only to offenses committed after the taking effect of this amendment, see section 235(a)(1) of Pub. L. 98–473, set out as an Effective Date note under section 3551 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure.

Materials Produced by Convict Labor

Pub. L. 101–162, title II, §202, Nov. 21, 1989, 103 Stat. 1002 , provided that: "During fiscal year 1990 and hereafter, materials produced by convict labor may be used in the construction of any highways or portion of highways located on Federal-aid systems, as described in section 103 of title 23, United States Code."

Similar fiscal year provisions were contained in the following appropriation acts:

Pub. L. 100–459, title II, §202, Oct. 1, 1988, 102 Stat. 2199 .

Pub. L. 100–202, §101(a) [title II, §202], Dec. 22, 1987, 101 Stat. 1329 , 1329-15.

Pub. L. 99–500, §101(b) [title II, §202], Oct. 18, 1986, 100 Stat. 1783–39 , 1783-51, and Pub. L. 99–591, §101(b) [title II, §202], Oct. 30, 1986, 100 Stat. 3341–39 , 3341-51.

Pub. L. 99–180, title II, §202, Dec. 13, 1985, 99 Stat. 1146 .

Pub. L. 98–411, title II, §202, Aug. 30, 1984, 98 Stat. 1558 , repealed by Pub. L. 100–17, title I, §112(b)(2), Apr. 2, 1987, 101 Stat. 149 .

Pub. L. 98–166, title II, §202, Nov. 28, 1983, 97 Stat. 1085 .

Section Referred to in Other Sections

This section is referred to in section 106 of this title.

¹ See References in Text note below.