$225 Million in Federal Funding for Rural Bridge and Highway Projects Announced

The U.S. Department of Transportation this week announced the recipients of $225 million in project funding under the Competitive Highway Bridge Program. The program is reserved for projects located in mostly rural states.

2 minute read

August 30, 2019, 6:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Highway Construction

Joseph Sohm / Shutterstock

"U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao today announced the recipients of $225 million in Competitive Highway Bridge Program (CHBP) grant funding," according to a U.S. Department of Transportation press release.

The program will deliver funding to 20 projects in 18 states. According to the press release, 25 states were eligible to receive funding from the program. "By law, the funds were restricted to states with population densities of less than 100 people per square-mile based on Census data," reads the release.

The U.S. Department of Transportation supplemented the press release by tweeting remarks delivered by Secretary Chao to the Mississippi Coastal Region Transportation Summit in Biloxi, Mississippi, discussing the program's focus on funding for rural areas.

The program is also designed to prioritize "bundling of projects, as explained in the release: "The funds must be used for highway bridge replacement or rehabilitation projects on public roads that leverage the efficiencies associated with 'bundling' at least two highway bridge projects into a single contract.

The U.S. DOT is pushing bundling for its savings in time and money, in the hopes of clearing the nation's transportation infrastructure project backlog.

The press release also lists the project with short descriptions of the projects awarded CHBP funding.

Thursday, August 29, 2019 in U.S. Department Of Transportation

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