Nine Bridge Projects Awarded Funding Through Bridge Investment Program

April 13, 2023 – The USDOT’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced nearly $300 million for nine small and medium-sized bridge projects in both rural and urban areas in eight states and the District of Columbia. The funding for the projects are part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Bridge Investment Program (BIP).

BIP Compliments Bridge Formula Program, Invests $12.5 Billion Over 5 Years

The BIP is a competitive grant program that will invest $12.5 billion over 5 years to rebuild, repair, and replace small, medium, and large bridges. This program already invested $2.4 billion in Fiscal Year 2022, and complements the $27.5-billion Bridge Formula Program, representing the single-largest dedicated investment in bridges since the construction of the Interstate Highway System.

“Bridges tie together communities across our country – large and small,” said Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt. “Over the next five years, the Bridge Investment Program will help repair, replace, and rehabilitate structures that allow working people to get to their jobs, families to get their kids to school, and truck drivers to get goods to store shelves. That is an investment in our country’s economic strength and in the safety and long-term growth of the communities nearby.”

“When bridges have to close for repairs—or worse, begin to fail—it can cut off access to an entire community, adding hours to commutes, costing money for local businesses, and delaying first responders from getting to an emergency,”  “The grant awards we’re announcing today are helping communities of all sizes modernize their bridges so that school buses, delivery trucks, ambulances, and commuters can get where they need to go quickly and safely,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Multiple Rural Bridges to be Replaced in Bundled Projects

The announced competitive grants were limited to bridge projects with eligible costs of up to $100 million. Three of the nine awarded projects included multiple rural or off-system bridge replacements:

Oklahoma: Circuit Engineering District 8 – Improving Rural Bridges in Northwest Oklahoma– $11.5 million (Rural)

Replacement of seven bridges would benefit economic growth, the mobility of people and goods, and transportation-network efficiency and accessibility. Nearly 3,000 vehicles cross these bridges every day and the project will improve reliability and capacity of the bridges for the region’s farmers, ranchers, and energy workers.

South Carolina: South Carolina Department of Transportation – Investing in South Carolina’s Rural Bridges – $51.2 million (Rural)

Replacement of six bridges that range from 68 to 101 years old. These bridges serve multiple communities that heavily rely on them to travel to work and school, as well as to transport goods across the state and region. An estimated 13,000 vehicles cross these bridges every day. Without the project, the project sponsors say these bridges will all eventually close to traffic, causing vehicles to take long detours that would result in increased costs.

Wisconsin: City of Madison – John Nolen Drive Bridges – $15.1million

Replacement of six off-system bridges along the John Nolen Drive Causeway, which is a major artery that travels across Lake Monona and into downtown Madison. 45,000 vehicles drive across these bridges every day, and project sponsors estimate the community will save tens of millions from more efficient travel, while realizing safety benefits and increased property value.

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