The U.S. Department of Transportation launched a $27 billion program to repair and upgrade roughly 15,000 highway bridges as part of the infrastructure law passed in November 2021. $82 million of those funds is being directed to Maryland to repair some 273 bridges reportedly in poor condition throughout the state.

The Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act (IIJA) includes $973 billion over five years from fiscal 2022 through fiscal 2026, including $550 billion in new investments for all modes of transportation, water, power, broadband, cybersecurity, energy, environmental remediation, resilience, and more. Part of this funding is the five-year bridge repair program announced last Friday in a video message by President Biden. The funding represents the largest spending on bridges since the Interstate Highway System was created, Biden said.

According to Maryland Matters:

The federal government would also waive the requirement that states and local governments provide matching funds for bridge improvements outside of the interstate system, Biden said.

Maryland is expected to receive $81.9 million this fiscal year, and $409.5 million during the five-year program.

The much-needed multi-year funding infusion dovetails perfectly with a joint effort by Maryland’s county and municipal governments to remedy the disrupted flow of state transportation revenues that for decades had been sent for maintenance of local roads and bridges.

Reinvesting in local transportation infrastructure is a 2022 MACo Legislative Initiative. Counties urge the General Assembly to continue advancing toward fully funding local infrastructure – MACo advocates that local governments should again receive funding for their lion’s share of transportation infrastructure located in Maryland.

You can listen to MACo’s podcast to learn more about this initiative: Conduit Street Podcast: Back to Basics – MACo’s Top Issues