Defense Access Roads Improvement Act

The Defense Access Roads Improvement Act creates a formal process for states, counties, and municipalities to petition the Secretary of Defense to certify roads near military installations as "defense access roads" by October 1, 2024, requiring the Department of Defense to provide written responses. It mandates that the Department maintain a public website listing all certified roads, including the nearby military installation, certification date, and relevant budget years for congressional appropriations. The bill also updates existing law to explicitly include military installations and commercial shipyards in the definitions of infrastructure eligible for defense access road designation, ensuring consistency with current military infrastructure needs. These changes aim to improve transparency and streamline the certification process for transportation infrastructure critical to national defense.