Twenty-two small- and medium-sized bridge projects from Maine to Alaska received funding from a U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration program on Wednesday.
The nearly $635 million in federal funding will go to projects in rural and urban areas in 19 states, officials said. The latest round of funding, part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will build, repair and modernize regionally significant bridges, officials said.
“Under the Biden-Harris Administration, more than 11,000 bridges in communities across America are finally getting the repairs they’ve long needed with funding from our infrastructure law,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said. “With the awards we’re announcing today, another 22 major projects will move forward, making sure that people and goods can get where they need to go, safely and efficiently.”
The BIL dedicates $40 billion over the next five years to address the backlog of bridge project in an effort to improve safety and strengthen the country’s supply chains. Projects were selected from more than $3.68 billion in application requests in the “Other than Large” category included: $13.4 million for the National Park Service to replace the Ghiglione Bridge in Alaska’s Denali National Park and Preserve; $63 million for the Maine Department of Transportation for the I-395 Bridge Bundle Project to replace six damaged and degrading bridges along I-395; and $67.5 million for the Mississippi Department of Transportation for the Central Bridge Bundle Project to replace 13 bridge structures in central Mississippi.
“Part of FHWA’s core mission is to connect communities, which includes the 22 bridge projects we’re funding across America under our bridge investment program,” Acting Federal Highway Administrator Kristin White said. “This infrastructure is critical to safely get people to where they need to go and to support our nation’s economy by advancing efficient delivery of goods.”