Carper: Historic Funding for Bridge Repairs is Going to Improve Lives

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, today celebrated the Federal Highway Administration’s launch of the largest-ever bridge repair effort in our nation’s history using funds that Carper secured in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

“It’s wonderful to see the Biden-Harris administration delivering on the promise to fix our nation’s bridges. Bridges are a perfect example of how important it is to regularly invest in our transportation infrastructure. Each day, millions of Americans rely on bridges for commuting to work, traveling to nearby communities, and delivering goods. Yet, after years of neglect far too many of them across our country remain in poor condition and at risk of failure. Fortunately, we made bridges a priority in the bipartisan infrastructure law. The historic funding provided in that law for bridge repairs is going to improve lives and keep us moving forward.”

HISTORIC IMPACT:

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is the single largest investment ever in our nation’s bridges. Carper drafted the underlying surface transportation legislation that made this possible. The historic bill provides states with $26.5 billion and Tribal transportation facilities with $825 million for bridge maintenance and repairs. Estimates predict that this will help fix roughly 15,000 bridges.

DELAWARE BENEFITS:

Delaware stands to receive a total of $225 million over five years under the bridge formula program. This funding will help modernize bridges in the First State, keeping communities connected and creating good-paying construction jobs in the process.