Latest news with #BridgeInvestmentProgram
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Thruway authority hires firm for study of Grand Island bridges
ALBANY — The New York State Thruway Authority has selected a Buffalo-based engineering firm to lead a $1.6 million federally funded study of the four Grand Island bridges and the I-190 corridor. During a meeting on Tuesday, the Thruway Authority's board of directors unanimously agreed to hire WSP USA, Inc., formerly Parsons Brinckherhoff, to conduct a planning and environmental linkages study. The assessment will include, 'an analysis of the bridges against the regional transportation network's current and future needs, an investigation of feasible project alternatives and an examination of social, economic and environmental conditions.' In addition, the study will involve a Life Cycle Cost Analysis and result in the development of a forecast for future toll revenue. The study will be conducted under a two-year contract that includes an option for a third year and will be performed in cooperation with the Greater Buffalo Regional Transportation Council, a metropolitan planning organization covering Erie and Niagara counties. The finished product is expected to help guide future maintenance, rehabilitation and potential reconstruction activities involving the bridges and the thruway corridor. The cost of the study will be covered under a planning grant awarded to the Thruway Authority last year under the Bridge Investment Program, which is funded through the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure and Jobs Law. In an announcement on the awarding of the grant, Thruway Authority Executive Director Frank G. Hoare noted that the original Grand Island bridges were built in the 1930s and have become 'increasingly expensive to maintain due to both their age and structural complexity.' He said at the time that the funding would allow the authority to 'enhance the safety and improve the efficiency and reliability of the bridges for all who travel over them for generations to come.' The Grand Island Bridges serve more than 47.5 million vehicles annually and are part of a commercial corridor that links an estimated $23.7 billion in US-Canada freight trade. They are also the only connection points between the 21,000 residents of Grand Island and the mainland.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
DOT streamlining $5.4B for bridge projects
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Monday announced $5.4 billion available for major bridge projects in a funding program that Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says will be relieved of Biden-era approval requirements. The new funding opportunity, administered by the Federal Highway Administration, includes $4.9 billion for major bridge projects through FHWA's Bridge Investment Program and up to $500 million to repair or replace bridges in rural areas through the agency's Competitive Highway Bridge Program. The money will help improve approximately 42,000 bridges across the country 'that are in dire need of repair,' according to the administration. 'The previous administration handcuffed critical infrastructure funding requirements to woke DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] and Green New Scam initiatives that diverted resources from the Department's core mission,' Duffy said in a press release announcing the funding. 'Under the Trump Administration, America is building again.'Applicants – which include state and local governments and metropolitan planning organizations – will no longer have to explain how a project will consider climate change and environmental justice in the planning stage and in project delivery. Under the Biden administration, applicants had to show, for example, how the project would reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector and the extent to which the project avoided adverse environmental impacts to air or water quality and to endangered species. They were also expected to address negative impacts on disadvantaged communities. In addition, under the previous administration's DEI and workforce requirements, applicants had to include an equity assessment evaluating whether a project 'would create proportional impacts and remove transportation related disparities to all populations in a project area,' the U.S. Department of Transportation noted. Applications for the Bridge Investment Program must be submitted by Aug. eligible for the $500 million in rural bridge grants under the Competitive Highway Bridge Program include the state departments of transportation for Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Applications for that program must be submitted by Aug. 4. Biden: US will pay to rebuild Francis Scott Key Bridge Top 10 states that won Biden's bridge-fixing windfall US DOT awards $225 million for rural bridges Click for more FreightWaves articles by John Gallagher. The post DOT streamlining $5.4B for bridge projects appeared first on FreightWaves.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Federal government releases $251 million for R.I. to fix bridges along I-95
This is one of 11 bridges along Interstate 95 slated to be replaced with federal funds released by the Trump administration. (Rhode Island Department of Transportation photo) Roughly $251 million in federal funding designated to rehabilitate 15 bridges along Rhode Island's Interstate 95 between Providence and Warwick has been officially secured, the state's congressional delegation announced Wednesday. The funding awarded in July 2024 under the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bridge Investment Program had been in doubt after President Donald Trump froze the grant not long after taking office to make sure all federal spending aligned with his new administration's priorities. 'Transportation investment should be driven by need and merit — not partisanship,' U.S. Sen. Jack Reed said in a statement. 'We're talking about overdue, needed upgrades and maintenance to bridges along our interstate highway system.' Reed credited Rhode Island's U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse's work on the chamber's Environment and Public Works Committee in getting the funds released. 'I'll continue pressing to free and secure federal funding for Rhode Island's job-creating infrastructure investments,' Whitehouse said in a statement. The delegation's announcement comes over a month after the federal government released $221 million in grant funding allocated by the Biden administration to rebuild the westbound Washington Bridge. This latest $251 million federal funding secured by the state will go toward replacing 11 bridges, while eliminating four in order to improve vertical clearances along I-95. The bridges range from Pettaconsett Avenue in Warwick to Eddy Street in Providence. The entire project is estimated by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) to cost $723 million. Collectively the bridges serve 180,000 vehicles daily, according to RIDOT. An additional $549,770 in federal funding will be unfrozen for the city of East Providence to modernize its traffic infrastructure, the congressional delegation announced. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Cape and Islands Bridge Coalition stresses economic development impact of new bridges
About a dozen members of the Cape and Islands Bridge Coalition recently lobbied Beacon Hill lawmakers and Bay State business leades to offer their support for the pending bridges replacement project which the coalition said is vital to the economic survival of Cape Cod. Members of the coalition, representing businesses and other organizations, took a bus to Boston on March 8 while 25 others went online to endorse the project. During the session, coalition members stressed the project's importance to economic development, housing as well as transportation for the Cape and Islands, Paul Niedzwiecki, CEO of the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce and coalition co-chair said in an interview after the trip. 'The stakes are high,' Niedzwiecki said in a recent report to the Chamber. 'The Cape Cod Commission's economic impact study warns that even a temporary closure of one of the bridges would result in a staggering 30% decrease in the region's economic output. The repercussions would be felt by every Cape Cod resident, with economic dislocation that could last a generation.' The aging bridges, built in the 1930s, connect the Cape's nearly 230,000 residents to the rest of Massachusetts and bring millions of visitors to the region annually. Today, traffic on the bridges exceeds 38 million crossings per year, roughly equivalent to the Golden Gate Bridge, according to the coalition. The structures have been deemed functionally obsolete and need to be replaced. Niedzwiecki said that a Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce and Board of Realtors poll that drew 400 responses indicating that 87% were aware of the bridge project and 86% support the replacement. 'It's really an existential issue for the Cape,' he said. On its March 8 roadtrip, the coalition group stopped first at the Associated Industry of Massachusetts, then went to Beacon Hill where they were joined by state Sen. Julian Cyr, D-Cape and Islands, and former state Rep. Sarah Peake, now an adviser on intergovernmental affairs in the governor's office. Luisa Paiewonsky, executive director of the state's Megaprojects Delivery Office, provided updates on the bridge project that is currently undergoing extensive environmental reviews. At the State House, the group met with chairs of Senate and House transportation committees and other leaders on economic development and grants. 'It was important to get a briefing on how important the bridges are to state leadership in this session,' Niedzwiecki said. The Sagamore Bridge environmental reviews may take a year and a half. 'I feel like the funds will be in place after that,' Niedzwiecki, but he added, 'There are still no funds for the Bourne Bridge.' In regard to the effect of the current volatile funding situation in Washington, Niedzwiecki said, 'Who knows?' The Department of Transportation and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers last year won nearly $1 billion in federal funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law's Bridge Investment Program for the project. In addition, $700 million in state funding has been pledged by the Healey administration. The Massachusetts congressional delegation also secured $350 million for the bridges in the Fiscal Year 2024 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, which was signed by President Biden. State and federal officials said the combined $2 billion in funds are enough to go forward with the Sagamore Bridge, which will be replaced first. The Bridge Coalition will continue to keep tabs on the project. The organization was formed last May and modeled after Better City Artery Business Committee as a way to follow the mega projects through to their conclusion, which will likely be 10 to 15 years for the bridges, Niedzwiecki said. 'We wanted to make sure the group has continuity,' he said, because of expected turnover during that length of time. This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Cape and Islands Bridge Coalition will keep tabs on bridge progress
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
McKee presses Trump team to release $470M for Washington Bridge, other projects
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Gov. Dan McKee is urging the Trump administration to sign off on $470 million in previously approved grants for Rhode Island transportation projects, including reconstruction of the westbound Washington Bridge. McKee sent a letter Tuesday to U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, underscoring the importance of the federal money to completing the massive projects that are already underway along the I-195 and I-95 corridors. The grants were awarded by the Biden administration. 'We are actively reinforcing to the federal government the importance of this infrastructure funding for Rhode Island,' McKee said in a statement to 12 News. 'We've been in contact with our congressional delegation and the Federal Highway Administration, and this letter to USDOT is an added layer of advocacy.' The funds are supposed to come from three different federal programs. But after President Donald Trump took office in January, he issued a series of executive orders that have created uncertainty around federal grant programs for states. 'Each of the infrastructure projects mentioned in the letter is supported by other funding sources, allowing the state to begin work as planned,' McKee said. The letter follows McKee's visit to the White House last month as part of the winter meeting of the National Governors Association. The programs previously earmarked for Rhode Island included $251 million awarded last July through the Bridge Investment Program for 15 bridges along I-95 in Cranston and Providence. The network of roadways carry 185,000 vehicles daily and McKee told Duffy they ensure safe movement of $9.7 billion in freight, 'including 9,000 trucks daily serving hospitals, businesses and universities.' Another $125.4 million was awarded in September through the National Infrastructure Project Assistance program for the Washington Bridge, which has been closed to 90,000 vehicles daily since December 2023. A month later, the Biden administration awarded an additional $95.6 million for the Washington Bridge project through the so-called Infra program. 'While we are confident that we should receive these grant funds, we need the federal government to expedite this signature process and make good on their commitment to Rhode Island,' McKee said. McKee's latter indicates the state has not been able to draw down funds from the programs. If that had happened, he wrote, nearly $30 million would have already been obligated for the Washington Bridge project. The full award would have been obligated for 15-bridge project, he added. The letter signals ongoing uncertainty among Rhode Island leaders over whether the state will ever receive the funds. The issue was also highlighted in court documents filed last month. Nearly two dozen state attorneys general — including R.I. Attorney General Peter Neronha — are currently suing the Trump administration over its attempt to freeze federal funds that don't align with the president's priorities. As of Feb. 12, there had been 'no response to clarify that this money would not be impacted,' according to the state attorneys generals. R.I. Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti last month told state lawmakers he thought the projects could still be paid for with other funds, if needed. But using more state funds would force the state to shortchange other infrastructure projects, and could put pressure on McKee and the General Assembly to raise taxes or cut programs. During an interview on Tuesday's 12 News at 4, Alviti said the funds shouldn't be paused because they don't fall under the purview of Trump's executive orders. 'They should be released to us,' he said, adding that he remains 'cautiously optimistic.' Eli Sherman (esherman@ is a Target 12 investigative reporter for 12 News. Connect with him on Twitter and on Facebook. Ted Nesi and Alexandra Leslie contributed to this report. Download the and apps to get breaking news and weather alerts. Watch or with the new . Follow us on social media: Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
