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1 1 (May 6, 2022)

handle is hein.crs/govefsc0001 and id is 1 raw text is: C o n r e ss o n a e s a c S e rvI 0 May 6, 2022 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act: Highway Bridges The United States has approximately 620,000 bridges on public roads subject to the National Bridge Inspection Standards (NBIS) mandated by Congress (23 U.S.C. §144). About 48% of these bridges are owned by state governments and 50% by local governments. State governments generally own the larger and more heavily traveled bridges, such as those on the Interstate Highway system. Less than 2% of highway bridges are owned by the federal government, primarily those on federal land. The number of bridges classified as poor has declined gradually for many years. However, about 44,000 bridges remain in poor condition and this has led to recent changes in federal bridge policy intended to speed up the rate of bridge improvement. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA; P.L. 117-58), enacted on November 15, 2021, authorized and appropriated funding for surface transportation programs for FY2022-FY2026. The IIJA created new bridge funding programs and increased federal funding for highway programs that also can fund bridges. Bridge Conditions The NBIS require states to inspect public road bridges periodically and to report their findings to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) National Bridge Inventory (NBI). This information permits FHWA to characterize the existing condition of bridges as good, fair, or poor. A bridge is considered in good condition if the deck, superstructure, and substructure are rated at least 7 on a 0-to-9 scale. If any of these bridge elements is rated 5 or 6, a bridge is considered in fair condition. A bridge is considered in poor condition if any element is rated 4 or less. A bridge classified as poor is not necessarily unsafe, but may require the posting of a vehicle weight restriction. When officials determine that a bridge is unsafe, it is closed to traffic. In 2021, 278,000 (45%) public road bridges were considered good, 298,000 (48%) fair, and 44,000 (7%) poor. The number of poor bridges has dropped by about 13,000 from 2012 to 2021, whereas the number of bridges in good condition dropped by 9,000 and the number of bridges in fair condition increased by 35,000. About 80% of the bridges in poor condition in 2021 were located in rural areas. Urban bridges in poor condition are generally much larger and carry more traffic than those in rural areas and, therefore, are more expensive to fix. In 2021, 58% of the total deck area of bridges in poor condition was in urban areas. The amount of deck area in poor condition has dropped by about the same amount in urban and rural areas over the past decade, nearly 30% (Figure 1). Figure 1. Highway Bridges in Poor Condition, 2012- 2021 Millions of square feet is 16 14 .... Urban... 6 4 20 263 2014 2015 2016 2022 2618 2018 2020 2021 Source: Federal Highway Administration. States vary widely in the proportion of poor condition bridges measured by deck area (Table 1). Table 1. Poor Condition Highway Bridges, by State, 2021 (% of deck area) Greatest % Poor Least % Poor Rhode Island 19.5% Delaware 3.1% West Virginia 14.8% Maryland 3.1% Illinois 12.2% Florida 2.6% Massachusetts 11.3% Hawaii 2.5% New York 10.5% Alabama 1.5% South Dakota 9.7% Arizona 1.3% Iowa 9.7% Nevada 1.2% Maine 8.9% Texas 1.1% Wyoming 8.6% Georgia 1.1% Louisiana 8.5% Utah 0.9% Source: Federal Highway Administration. Federal and State Roles Federal bridge funding shares the basic attributes of federal aid to highways. Most funding is apportioned by formula to the states. Projects are selected and developed by the state departments of transportation (state DOTs). State DOTs execute the contracts, oversee the construction process, and provide for the inspection of bridges. In addition, there are discretionary (competitive grant) programs whose grants are awarded by FHWA or the Office of the Secretary of Transportation. Applications for these competitive grants are open not only to the states but also to governmental ittps://crsreport

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