Washington, D.C. – Congressman Darin LaHood (R-IL) joined Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Garret Graves (R-LA), and Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY) to reintroduce the Bridge Investment Act. This bipartisan bill establishes a dedicated source of funding to repair America’s 45,000+ structurally-deficient bridges, and streamlines the bridge repair process for local and off-system bridges while creating meaningful, good-paying jobs in communities across the country.
“Investing in our local infrastructure is critical to growing our economy, particularly as we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Illinois ranks number three in the nation for the most bridges in poor condition and the 18th District of Illinois has over 400 structurally deficient bridges which makes up almost 10% of the states total structurally-deficient bridges,” said Rep. LaHood. "I am proud to join my colleagues in introducing this legislation to ensure our bridge infrastructure gets much-needed funding for upgrades and I urge the Biden Administration to find a compromise with Republicans on needed infrastructure investment."
Reps. LaHood and Blumenauer serve on the House Ways and Means Committee and Reps. Graves and Maloney serve on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
Background:
The United States has over 45,000 structurally deficient bridges: bridges that need significant repairs or replacement to address structural elements that are in poor condition. Many more bridges have outdated designs that contribute to accidents and traffic congestion.
The American Road and Transportation Builders Association estimates there is a $41.8 billion bridge repair backlog. Despite the need, there is no dedicated federal source of funding that provides states the necessary resources to improve bridge conditions.
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