U.S. DOT Announces Bridge Grants as Biden and McConnell Highlight IIJA Achievements

What happened: President Joe Biden and a bipartisan group of lawmakers Jan. 4 celebrated a nearly $1.4 billion award to build a new Brent Spence Bridge (BSB) connecting Kentucky and Ohio. The grant was part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s (IIJA) $2.1 billion Bridge Investment Program (BIP) and was one of four such awards announced.

President Biden lauded the law’s bipartisan nature, noting that the IIJA ‘got done in no small part (because of) Mitch’s leadership,” referring to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) Biden added that the BSB project ‘sends an important message that we can work together.’ McConnell touted the project as symbolic of ‘the coming together of both sides’ and called passage of the IIJA a ‘legislative miracle.’ Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R), former Ohio Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D), and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) also spoke at the dedication.

Why it matters: The BSB, which carries Interstates 71 and 75 over the Ohio River, is a notoriously congested freight corridor. When it opened in 1963, the bridge was designed for 80,000 vehicles daily; it now carries more than double that amount. The grant will fund construction of a new bridge for through traffic, while the existing bridge will handle local destinations.

Other awarded projects from the BIPs Large Bridge Grants:

• $400 million to California for critical structural repairs and earthquake resiliency improvements for the Golden Gate Bridge.
• $158 million to the Gold Star Memorial Bridge which connects New London and Groton, Connecticut.
• $144 million to the City of Chicago to repair four bridges over the Calumet River.

What’s next: Additional year-one IIJA discretionary grant awards are expected in early 2023, as are details on the application process for the next round of BIP grants. ARTBA members can track both IIJA formula and discretionary grants by state and congressional district here.

The Request for Proposal (RFP) for the BSB project is scheduled to be advertised in coming weeks.

Pictured above: The new Brent Spence Bridge will span the Ohio River between Ohio and Kentucky. (Photo credit: Ohio Department of Transportation)