Acquisition - The act or process of acquiring fee title or interest other than fee title of real property.

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) - Federal law which requires accessible public transportation services for persons with disabilities, including complementary or supplemental paratransit services in areas where fixed route transit service is operated. ADA also pertains to facilities along highways, trails, sidewalks, and other public settings.

Brooks Act - Legislation which requires engineering and design consultant contracts funded with Federal funds to use qualification-based selection procedures, which disallow price as a factor in the selection process.

Categorical Exclusion (CE) - A technical exclusion for projects that do not individually or cumulatively result in significant environmental effects; such projects are not required to prepare environmental documentation (environmental assessment or environmental impact statement). See National Environmental Policy Act.

Competitive Bidding - The process whereby construction projects are required to be advertised and awarded to the lowest responsible and responsive bidder through open bidding, unless use of an eligible force account is more cost effective. See Force Account.

Construction Phase - The project development phase which includes advertising the project, awarding the contract, and performing the actual construction.

Davis-Bacon Act (Predetermined Minimum Wage) - The act which requires the minimum prevailing wage to be paid to all workers on Federal-aid highway projects that exceed $2,000. This requirement does not apply, however, to certain enhancements projects and force account work performed by State highway agency forces and under its direct control. See Force Account Work.

DOT - Department of Transportation

Easement - The right granted by a property owner to a third party to make limited, specified use of the owner’s property.

Eligibility - The criteria established by the FHWA by which a project qualifies for Enhancements funding. In determining eligibility, the FHWA has stipulated that a project must be one or more of the twelve Enhancements activities, and be related to surface transportation. States may have additional eligibility requirements.

Environmental Clearance - The process whereby a project must conform to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the National Historic Preservation Act (Section 106), and Section 4(f) of the U.S. DOT Act, and other relevant Federal and State environmental laws.

Environmental Mitigation - reducing the impact of transportation on the environment, such as diverting highway runoff away from adjacent ecosystems.

FHWA - Federal Highway Administration

Federal Share - The portion of the project cost funded by the Federal Government. These Federal funds are normally matched with State and/or local government funds to make up the total cost of the project. The Federal portion, or share, is 80 percent for most projects; however, in States with large amounts of Federal lands, a higher Federal share is authorized. See Matching Funds.

Force Account Work - The design and/or construction of a project performed by a public agency’s own work forces.

Historic Significance - The characteristics which make a project eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.

Implementation Plan - A plan required for candidate projects which includes a schedule of project activities and a budget.

In-Kind Contributions - Allowable (chargeable) costs of a project contributed by other governmental entities or private parties, and includes donations of cash, real property, materials, and (voluntary) contribution of professional services and labor.

ISTEA - The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act, passed in 1991 by Congress, authorized the Transportation Enhancements program and made $2.8 billion in TE funds available to States through the FHWA through 1998.

Matching Funds (Local Funding Share) - The percentage of non-Federal funds required for almost all TEA-21 programs on a project-by-project basis to match a Federal contribution. The standard ratio is a 20 percent match from state and local sources, with a Federal share of 80 percent. Unless otherwise stipulated, this applies to the non-Interstate portions of any NHS-funded projects, and all projects funded under the STP and CMAQ programs, transit projects, and bicycle and pedestrian facilities. See Federal Share.

Multi-modal - many different modes of transportation promoted in a single project or infrastructure, such as an active train station that also houses bus transportation and is located along a trail route.

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) - The Federal law which requires that every Federal agency prepare a detailed report evaluating both environmental impacts and alternatives to the proposed action, prior to approving a major Federal action which could significantly affect the quality of the human environment. The environmental clearance required of Federal-aid projects may take a variety of forms: Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), Environmental Assessment (EA), Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), and Categorical Exclusion (CE).

National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA), Section 106 - This section requires Federal agencies to consider the potential effects of a project on a property that is listed in, or eligible for, the National Register of Historic Places. If an initial review identifies any effects, the Federal agencies must consult with the State Historic Preservation Officer, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and members of the public to consider ways to mitigate the harm.

Nomination - The process by which a public or private entity submits an application for a candidate project to the State DOT for consideration. In most States, the nominating entity must be a public agency with tax-bearing authority.

Obligation - the second step in the TE funding process; the formal commitment by the FHWA of a specified amount of funding for a particular TE project; usually made when project or project phase is ready to begin billable work.

Overmatch - The share of State or local matching funds (or in-kind value) brought to a project that is over and above the required State/local share.

Plans, Specifications and Estimates (PS&E) - The documentation submitted by the project sponsor that must receive State DOT approval before Federal funds can be obligated to proceed with contract letting and project construction.

Preliminary Engineering Phase - The project development phase that includes preparation of environmental and construction documentation, such as plans, specifications, and cost estimates. Preliminary Right-of-Way work, appraisal maps and estimates may also be reimbursed with Federal-aid funding for the preliminary engineering phase.

Preservation - The act or process of applying measures to sustain the existing form, integrity, and material of a building or structure, and the existing form and vegetative cover of a site.

Project - An undertaking to develop, implement, or construct a particular transportation enhancement at a specific location or locations.

Rail-trail - A multi-use trail sited within an abandoned railroad corridor, or along an active rail line, and used for recreation and transportation purposes.

Rehabilitation - The act or process of returning a property to a state of utility through repair or alteration which makes possible an efficient contemporary use while preserving those portions or features of the property which are significant to its historical, architectural, and cultural values.

Restoration - The act or process of accurately recovering the form and details of a property and its setting as it appeared at a particular period of time by means of the removal of later work or by the replacement of missing earlier work.

Right-of-Way (ROW) - A linear corridor of land used for transportation or other facilities such as highways, roads, streets, railroads, trails, light-rail, utilities, etc.

Scoring of Projects - The process by which a selection committee assigns a numerical rating, and ranking, to a proposed project vis-a-vis other applicants. Scoring or ranking criteria used in State Transportation Enhancements Programs may be general in nature, or may be activity-specific, with inclusive categories such as bicycle/pedestrian, scenic/historic, and environmental.

Section 4(f) of the U.S. Department of Transportation Act - Section 4(f) resources consist of publicly owned parks, recreation areas, wildlife and waterfowl refuges, and national, state, or local historic sites. FHWA cannot approve a project that uses land from a Section 4(f) resource unless it determines that no feasible and prudent alternative exists. If that finding is made, all efforts must be made to minimize harm. Courts have interpreted "use" to mean any substantial impairment of the significance even where there is no physical use.

Selection Committee - A committee generally composed of State DOT technical and/or executive-level staff responsible for recommending, or making the final selection for, candidate projects to receive Enhancements funding. In a majority of States, the selection committee also includes one or more of the following: representatives of public interest groups, other State agency technical or executive staff, regional planning organizations, municipal or county government representatives, and Governor’s Office representatives.

Selection Process - The steps of evaluation a project must go through between formal application and the approval of funding.

Selected Project - A project which has been awarded Enhancements funding, and which will be included in the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (TIP).

Soft Match - The value of activities outside the project scope but directly related to the project which are credited toward the non-federal share of a project.

Sponsor - One or more individuals, partnerships, associations, private corporations, or public authorities recommending a particular project and committed to its development, implementation, construction, maintenance, management, or financing. In most States, an Enhancement project sponsor must be a public entity with tax-bearing authority.

Surface Transportation - all elements of the intermodal transportation system, exclusive of aviation but inclusive of water.

TEA-21 - Transportation Equity Act for the 21^st Century, passed by Congress in 1998, re-authorized and expanded many provisions of ISTEA, including Transportation Enhancements and provided an additional $3.6 billion for TE through 2003.

TE or TEA - Transportation Enhancements or Transportation Enhancement Activities, they are the 12 activities eligible for TE funding.

Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970, as Amended - The act which provides procedural and other requirements in the acquisition of real property and provides for relocation payments and advisory assistance in the relocation of persons and businesses impacted by Federal or Federally-assisted projects.

Wildlife Undercrossings - Culverts or paths under roads and bridges that reduce habitat loss and fragmentation.