United States senators have secured $3.25 billion for bridge repairs around the country.
The deal follows a Tuesday vote by the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee to advance the Bridge Investment Act, which establishes a competitive grant program that would help repair or replace crumbling or outdated bridges using steel and iron made in America.
According to Senator Sherrod D. Brown (D-OH) who helped secure the commitment, Ohio has more than 6,000 bridges that need structural repairs or updates. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) said Oregon is also particularly vulnerable, with more than half of the bridges dated more than 50 years old.
Furthermore, more than 47,000 bridges across the country are structurally deficient, according to a report published by the American Road and Transportation Builders Association earlier this year. Despite this, bridge repair continues to move at a snail’s pace.
The act would also designate an infrastructure package to nationally-significant major bridges and demand a new evaluation process for projects reaching for federal funding, reported Transportation Today. It would also reduce medium and small projects to a single application and allow organizations of all sizes to apply for funding for states, Indian tribes or special-purpose districts.
