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

"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.

.@SecElaineChao, “Under this Administration’s guidance, @USDOT is also ensuring that rural areas, which were historically neglected, get proper consideration. I always say that rural America is not looking for a handout – it just wants fairness and equity.”

— TransportationGov (@USDOT) August 29, 2019

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.