• Home
• About Amy
• Serving Minnesotans
• About Minnesota
• Issues/ Legislation
• Media Center
• Contact Amy
• FAQ

News Releases

Senator Klobuchar and Senator Durbin Introduce Senate Bridge Bill

Leads Senate effort to begin repairing and replacing bridges

July 25, 2008

Washington DC – Today, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced the National Bridge Reconstruction and Inspection Act.  The National Bridge Reconstruction and Inspection Act of 2008 requires the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the state transportation departments to develop plans to begin repairing and replacing bridges that pose the greatest risk to the public.  The legislation also requires the FHWA to develop new bridge inspection standards and techniques that utilize the best technology that is available.

"The tragic collapse of the I-35W bridge underscored the need for a renewed commitment to infrastructure funding locally and nationally,” said Klobuchar “While we have come together to rebuild this vital lifeline, our work to re-invest in our nation's infrastructure remains unfinished. Infrastructure is the lifeblood of our economy – it creates new jobs and keeps businesses and residents moving.  This bill is a critical step to strengthen our commitment to infrastructure investment and require thorough inspections, to ensure we have the safe, reliable infrastructure our country deserves.”

"According to the Federal Highway Administration, more than 25% percent of the nation's bridges are either structurally deficient or functionally obsolete; 4,773 bridges of those bridges are in Illinois," Durbin said. "Congress should be doing all that we can to ensure that our roads and bridges are inspected and certified as safe. We should not wait for another fatal bridge collapse or similar disaster to act."

The legislation is a companion bill to Congressman Jim Oberstar’s bill that passed the House of Representatives yesterday by a wide bipartisan margin by vote of 367 to 55. 

The bill requires states to certify they do not have any structurally deficient bridges on the federal interstate system before they can shift federal bridge funds to other programs.
 
A recent study by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure found that many states have diverted federal Highway Bridge Program funding to purposes other than maintaining, repairing and replacing bridges.  In the last five years, Minnesota has spent almost half of its Highway Bridge Program funding on other priorities. 

Nationally, the bill authorizes an additional $1 billion in funding for states to begin addressing the problem of structurally deficient bridges, Minnesota's share of that funding is $7.3 million in fiscal year 2009. 
 
###