§ 80 — Powers of commissioner; use of federal aid

§ 80. Powers of commissioner; use of federal aid. 1. If moneys of the\nfederal government are or may reasonably be expected to be available\ntherefor, under federal-aid highway acts, the commissioner is authorized\nto use moneys, or so much thereof as he shall determine to accept,\ntogether with other available moneys, in (a) the construction and\nreconstruction of state highways, (b) the construction and\nreconstruction of village and city streets, town highways and county\nroads, whether or not situate on the route of an unimproved state\nhighway, including the acquisition of property therefor, (c) the\nimplementation of traffic operation improvements on existing street and\nhighway systems in urban areas, including the acquisition of property\ntherefor, (d) the acquisition of property adjacent to or in the vicinity\nof the right of way of any federal-aid highway system and the\nconstruction of publicly-owned parking facilities and appurtenances\nthereon or within such right of way, including connections to such\nfacilities, (e) the implementation of the urban highway public\ntransportation program, (f) the implementation of the economic growth\ncenter development highways program, (g) emergency relief projects under\nsection one hundred twenty-five of title twenty-three United States\ncode, (h) the preparation of surveys, studies and plans for joint\ndevelopment and provision for multiple use of state transportation\nfacility right of way outside the counties of Kings and Queens, (i) the\nconstruction, reconstruction, alteration or repair, pursuant to the\nprovisions of section two hundred thirty of this chapter, of bridges and\nculverts on state highways, (j) implementation of any other federal-aid\nhighway or highway-transportation program, including the acquisition of\nproperty therefor, (k) research and planning, (l) the construction,\nreconstruction, alteration or repair of bicycle and pedestrian paths and\nof appropriate facilities appurtenant thereto, and designation of\nbicycle routes on streets and roads, (m) any nonhighway public mass\ntransit project involving the construction, reconstruction, or\nimprovement of fixed rail facilities, (n) the purchase of buses or any\nother passenger equipment, including rolling stock for fixed rail or any\nother mode of mass transit, (o) the construction of exclusive or\npreferential bus, truck and emergency vehicle routes, highway traffic\ncontrol devices, bus passenger loading areas and facilities (including\nshelters), and fringe and parking facilities to serve bus and other\npublic mass transportation passengers, including the acquisition of\nproperty therefor, and (p) the preparation of preliminary surveys,\nplans, specifications and estimates of costs in connection with any of\nthe foregoing. The commissioner may use any federal-aid highway moneys\nwithin his possession or control, in accordance with the provisions of\nsubdivision three of this section, no matter how previously allocated,\nfor any mass transit purpose as is allowed by federal law respecting\nsuch funds.\n 2. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, or of any\nlaw, general, special or local, he may perform such work with respect to\nany project which he may, in his discretion, select.\n 3. Nothing contained in this article shall be deemed to enable the\ncommissioner to expend federal aid moneys now or hereinafter under his\ncontrol for a part or whole of the cost of any mass transportation\ncapital project, as that term is defined in section three hundred one of\nthe transportation law, or for any project for which the commissioner\nexercises the power granted him by paragraphs m, n, o and p of\nsubdivision one of this section, unless such expenditures are in\naccordance with a state appropriation as provided by section three\nhundred three of such law; provided, however, that no such appropriation\nshall be required for any mass transportation capital project for which\nstate moneys will not be required to meet the non-federal share of any\nsuch project.\n