Buckeye Reporter

Today, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has opened applications for the Bridge Investment Program, which will allow communities to apply for funding to repair and replace outdated bridges. These historic investments in bridge infrastructure were made possible by Brown’s Bridge Investment Act, which was included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which Brown helped write and pass. Brown first introduced the Bridge Investment Act in 2018.

 “Ohio has more than 3,200 bridges that need to be repaired or replaced to make them safer and reduce congestion. Rebuilding bridges will create new jobs and make our country more competitive. Plenty of politicians have talked about this – but, we’re finally getting it done,” said Brown. “Over the coming months, our office will be working with communities across Ohio to ensure that our state gets our fair share of this investment.”

 Brown’s Bridge Investment Act, provides $12.5 billion in funding to repair and replace nationally and regionally significant bridges, like the Brent Spence Bridge in Ohio, with nearly $2.4 billion available in grant funding for Fiscal Year 2022. The package also provides Ohio $9.8 billion of formula funding to repair, replace, and upgrade roads and bridges throughout the state.

 Brown’s legislation establishes a competitive grant program to assist with the repair and replacement of deficient and outdated bridges and ease the national bridge repair backlog.

The program will provide support for major bridges like the Brent Spence, which carries 3 percent of the nation's GDP every day.  Brown has vowed to ensure the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor project is a top priority in this new program.  Ohio and Kentucky have applied for funding under an initial multimodal grant opportunity, and they can apply for additional funding under the Bridge Investment Program, with new formula funding to Ohio and Kentucky providing additional support to the project.  The Western Hills Viaduct in Cincinnati is also eligible as a major project. 

Bridges of all sizes can receive funding under the new program, including local bridges owned by cities and counties.  Senator Brown has worked with Ohio’s County Engineers and other local Ohio leaders to help them identify opportunities to receive funding.  

Brown’s legislation and the additional formula in the bipartisan bill will accelerate aid to Ohio’s 3,200 bridges that need repairs. The 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers’ Report Card for America’s Infrastructure found there are at least 46,154 bridges in the U.S. that are ‘structurally deficient’ and 231,000 still need repair and preservation work.

 The announcement of this competitive grant program comes on top of the funding that Brown announced earlier this year. In January, the Ohio Department of Transportation had so far received $96.7 million in bridge formula funding, and will receive a total of $483.3 million in bridge formula funding over the next five years.

 The final bill was signed into law in November and passed with several key provisions Brown secured for Ohio communities. As the Chairman of a key committee on infrastructure legislation, Brown delivered big investments for Ohio. The historic, bipartisan law also includes Brown’s Build America Buy America Act, which will ensure American labor, iron, and steel are used for these publicly funded bridge, broadband, waterway, and public transit projects.

 Communities can access the application by visiting FHWA’s Bridge Investment Program web page.

Original source can be found here.