WASHINGTON — A record U.S. Department of Transportation investment to modernize bridges will keep public transit and railroads moving, as the launch of the Federal Highway Administration’s bridge program invests more than $27 billion to repair 15,000 bridges nationwide.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs act, includes an incentive for states to direct new Bridge Formula Program funds to bridges owned by a county, city, town or other local agency. While states generally must match federal funding with up to 20% state or local funding, federal funds can be used for 100% of the cost of repairing or rehabilitating such locally owned off-system bridges.
States with a high number of deficient bridges include New York with 1,702 and North Carolina with 1,460.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a press release that the program represents “the single largest dedicated bridge investment since the construction of the Interstate highway system. Modernizing America’s bridges will help improve safety, support economic growth, and make people’s lives better in every part of the country – across rural, suburban, urban, and tribal communities.”
“This record amount of funding, made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will allow states and Tribal governments to fix the bridges most in need of repair,” Deputy Federal Highway Administrator Stephanie Pollack said the funding will allow goverments to “fix the bridges most in need of repair. … of climate change and to make them safer for all users, including cyclists and pedestrians. Every state has bridges in poor condition and in need of repair, including bridges with weight restrictions that may force lengthy detours for travelers, school buses, first responders or trucks carrying freight.”
Transportation Workers Union President John Samuelsen hailed the launch of the bridge program, saying in a statement, “We have gone far too long in this country without adequate investments to repair and modernize our nation’s transportation infrastructure, and it has taken a real toll on transportation workers and passengers alike. … This desperately needed investment will fix thousands of bridges across the country and make an immediate impact in the lives of our members.”
A state-by-state list of bridge projects is available at this page on the Federal Highway Administration website.
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