\n
![](\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/img-assets\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/AP24198835014882-e1721215824704.jpg?w=2048\")
<\/p>\n [ad_1]
\n<\/p>\n
Dozens of aging bridges in 16 states will be replaced or improved with the help of $5 billion in federal grants<\/a> announced Wednesday by President Joe Biden\u2019s administration, the latest beneficiaries of a massive infrastructure law.<\/p>\n The projects range from coast to coast, with the largest providing an additional $1.4 billion to help replace two vertical lift bridges over the Columbia River that carry Interstate 5 traffic between Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington. The bridges, which also\u00a0received $600 million<\/a>\u00a0in December, are \u201cthe worst trucking bottleneck\u201d in the region, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said.<\/p>\n Other projects receiving $500 million or more include the Sagamore Bridge in\u00a0in Cape Cod, Massachusetts<\/a>; an Interstate 10 bridge project in Mobile, Alabama; and the Interstate 83 South bridge in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, which Buttigieg planned to highlight Wednesday with a visit.<\/p>\n \u201cThese bridges affect whole regions and ultimately impact the entire U.S. economy,\u201d Buttigieg said. \u201cTheir condition means they need major urgent investment to help keep people safe and to keep our supply chains running smoothly.\u201d<\/p>\n The grants come from a $1.2 trillion\u00a0infrastructure law<\/a>\u00a0signed by Biden in 2021 that directed $40 billion to bridges over five years \u2014 the largest dedicated bridge investment in decades. Biden has been touting the infrastructure law while campaigning for reelection against former President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n But even Wednesday\u2019s large grants will make only a dent in what the American Road & Transportation Builders Association estimates to be $319 billion of needed bridge repairs across the U.S.<\/p>\n About 42,400 bridges are in poor condition nationwide, yet they carry about 167 million vehicles each day, according to the federal government.\u00a0Four-fifths of those bridges have problems<\/a>\u00a0with the substructures that hold them up or the superstructures that support their load. And more than 15,800 of the poor bridges also were listed in poor shape a decade ago, according to\u00a0an Associated Press analysis<\/a>.<\/p>\n The nation\u2019s poor bridges are on average 70 years old.<\/p>\n Bridges fulfill a vital role that often goes overlooked until their closure disrupts people\u2019s commutes and delays commerce. That was tragically highlighted in March when a cargo ship crashed into a support column of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Maryland, causing the bridge to crumple into the water and\u00a0killing six road crew workers<\/a>. Maryland officials have said it could take four years and up to $1.9 billion to\u00a0rebuild the bridge<\/a>.<\/p>\n Some of the projects announced Wednesday include multiple bridges, such as a $251 million grant to improve 15 bridges around Providence, Rhode Island. That project is separate from one to replace the Interstate 195 Washington Bridge over the Seekonk River, which was\u00a0suddenly closed<\/a>\u00a0to traffic late last year because of structural problems.<\/p>\n In Florida, Miami-Dade County will receive $101 million to replace 11 Venetian Causeway bridges that are nearly a century old.<\/p>\n\n