New funding will be available until the end of June for a federal program designed to support upgrade work on the nation’s aging bridges.
In a statement, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said upwards of $3 billion is for the taking for states and local governments planning delayed bridge infrastructure upgrade projects.
“For too long, essential infrastructure has been held hostage by red tape, delaying improvements that move projects,” remarked Duffy, who added that the Transportation Department is engaged in an effort to “clearing the path for states to rebuild aging bridges faster and more efficiently.”
The funding is coming out of the Transportation Department’s Bridge Investment Program which, according to information on the agency’s website, is focused on “reducing the number of bridges in poor condition, or in fair condition at risk of falling into poor condition.”
The program was launched in the fall of 2021 as part of the Infrastructure and Jobs Act. Last year it provided a nearly $109 million grant for the replacement of the Johnson River and Gerstle River bridges in Fairbanks, Alaska, along with a $600 million grant for the building of a new Delaware River Bridge just to the north of Philadelphia, among other projects.
Just over $13.7 million was earlier awarded for the replacement of the Union Avenue Bridge in Pueblo, Colorado.
The funding comes in grants dedicated to the planning and feasibility analysis of a given project, as well as outright bridge replacement and rehabilitation projects.
Also in a statement, Sean McMaster, Federal Highway Administrator, remarked that with the Bridge Investment Program “we are giving states and local governments more flexibility to decide how to best accelerate bridge building projects in their communities.”
The application deadline for planning grants is June 15; while the bridge project grants applications are due on June 29.
May 19, 2026
By Garry Boulard
Photo courtesy of Pixabay
