Federal funding totaling nearly $5 billion has been approved for 37 major infrastructure projects around the country, including $1 billion to replace a deteriorating bridge between Wisconsin and Minnesota.
The replacement of the Blatnik Bridge between Duluth, Minnesota, and Superior, Wisconsin, is among the largest of the projects funded with the newly announced money from the $1.2 trillion infrastructure law, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The funding comes from two programs: the Mega program and the INFRA program for large-scale infrastructure projects.
"With this announcement, we are advancing projects so large, complex, and ambitious that they could not get funded under the infrastructure programs that existed prior to the Biden administration,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Here are highlights of where the funding is going:
- $1 billion to the Blatnik Bridge Replacement Project in Duluth, Minnesota and Superior, Wisconsin – The bridge, which handles over 30,000 vehicles a day, is at risk of closing within the next 10 years due to decay. The new bridge will alleviate current load restrictions and ease lengthy detours that regional freight currently experiences, USDOT says.
- $600 million to the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program between Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington – The project includes a seismically resilient replacement of the I-5 bridge over the Columbia River and will be designed with specialized lanes for public and commercial travel, as well as bus lanes, pedestrian walkways, bike lanes, and a light rail system.
- $371 million to the Sagamore Bridge Project – The project will restore and modernize the nearly 90-year-old Sagamore Bridge in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, which is currently considered functionally obsolete and structurally deficient.
- $300 million to the Port of New Orleans for a new International Container Terminal in Louisiana – The new terminal will be an alternative to terminals farther inland on the Mississippi River, which cannot accommodate larger vessels.
- $142 million to the Eastern Pittsburgh Multimodal Corridor Project – The project will make multimodal improvements in the I-376 (Parkway East) corridor of Pittsburgh.
- $130 million to the St. Lucie River Railroad Bridge Replacement Project – The project will replace the existing 100-year-old St. Lucie River Railroad Bridge in Florida with a new double-track structure with significantly improved clearance.
- $81 million to Completing the I-95 Missing Move and Ramps to Quonset Business Park in Kent and Washington Counties, Rhode Island – The project will complete gaps between Interstate 95 and RI-4 to create a direct freeway connection and remove traffic from local roads.
- $66 million for the Mineral County I-90 Improvement Project in Montana – The project will rehabilitate aging infrastructure on I-90 between the Idaho-Montana state border and the town of Alberton, improving pavement conditions to withstand harsh weather and replacing the Alberton Bridge structures on westbound I-90.
- $17 million to the ARRC Bridge Replacement in Fairbanks, Alaska – The project will replace an aging railroad bridge that crosses the Chena River at Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks, Alaska.
For a complete breakdown of the Mega program funding in this round, click here.
For a complete breakdown of the INFRA program funding in this round, click here.
