Rural-bridge funding awarded

The Federal Highway Administration awarded $407.7 million on April 8 to repair or replace 119 rural bridges in 12 states. (highways.dot.gov) The money comes through the Competitive Highway Bridge Program, a federal grant program for states with low population density and relatively weak bridge-condition numbers. The agency said the awards combine fiscal 2024 and 2025 funding. (highways.dot.gov) (simpler.grants.gov) The 12 winning states are Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming. Iowa, Maine, South Dakota and West Virginia each received $65 million, the largest state totals in this round. (aashtojournal.transportation.org) (simpler.grants.gov) Iowa’s share is split between a $34.6 million “Better Bridges Brighter Opportunity” award and a $30.3 million “Bridges to Prosperity” award. West Virginia’s $65 million goes to the West Kanawha County Bridge Bundle, including the Dunbar Toll Bridge and the Kanawha Turnpike Interstate 64 overpass. (aashtojournal.transportation.org) (highways.dot.gov) The program is built around “bridge bundling,” which means states package many small bridge jobs into one federal application and one construction effort. The Transportation Department said that approach is meant to cut costs and speed up work on structures that are too small to attract stand-alone funding. (highways.dot.gov) (simpler.grants.gov) This round uses $250 million from the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024 and $157.7 million from the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act of 2025. The Federal Highway Administration said those laws funded bridge replacement or rehabilitation projects on public roads that show savings from bundling multiple bridges together. (aashtojournal.transportation.org) The eligibility rules were narrow before any state could win money. Applicants had to come from states with fewer than 115 people per square mile and either less than 26 percent of bridges rated in good condition or at least 5.2 percent rated in poor condition, using the June 2023 National Bridge Inventory. (simpler.grants.gov) Bridge condition is a national issue well beyond this one award. The Federal Highway Administration says the separate Bridge Investment Program, created by the 2021 infrastructure law, provides $40 billion over five years for bridge replacement, rehabilitation, preservation and protection projects. (transportation.gov) (fhwa.dot.gov) The bridge data behind those programs is updated every year. The Federal Highway Administration says National Bridge Inventory data for public highway bridges is published as final by June 15 each year, which is why grant notices tie eligibility to a specific inventory date. (fhwa.dot.gov 1) (fhwa.dot.gov 2) For rural counties that have waited on aging spans, the next step is not another announcement but construction. The April 8 awards give state transportation departments money to move bundled bridge projects from paper to work zones. (highways.dot.gov)