Transportation Enhancements

Federal law compels states to set aside approximately 10% of their federal-aid highway allocation for new and non-traditional activities that enhance the community benefits of transportation investments.

Half of the twelve eligible Transportation Enhancement activities relate to historic preservation: preservation of transportation-related historic and cultural resources, transportation museums, visitor centers, rail depots and other historic transportation facilities, historic Main Street revitalizations, and the purchase of historic sites.

For more information, check out our Funding page or download our Intro to Transportation Enhancements.

What is Section 4(f)?

"Section 4(f)" doesn't sound important—but it is the strongest federal preservation law on the books, and its loss would be a devastating blow to efforts to protect America's heritage.

Part of the Department of Transportation Act adopted by Congress in 1966, Section 4(f) states that transportation projects must avoid historic sites unless there is "no feasible and prudent alternative" and requires "all possible planning to minimize harm" to historic places. This unequivocal "hands-off" directive has been invoked hundreds of times over the past 35 years to keep the nation's heritage from being bulldozed and blacktopped, as examples from around the country show.

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