Bridge Investment Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3718 To amend title 23, United States Code, to direct States to obligate certain funding to repair, improve, rehabilitate, or replace bridges to improve the safety, efficiency, and reliability of the movement of people and freight over bridge crossings, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 4, 2021 Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York (for himself, Mr. GRAVES of Lou- isiana, Mr. BLUMENAUER, and Mr. LAHOOD) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infra- structure A BILL To amend title 23, United States Code, to direct States to obligate certain funding to repair, improve, rehabili- tate, or replace bridges to improve the safety, efficiency, and reliability of the movement of people and freight over bridge crossings, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Bridge Investment Act 4 of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:04 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3718.IH H3718 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3718 IH SEC. 2. BRIDGE INVESTMENT. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 144 of title 23, United 2 States Code, is amended— 3 (1) in the section heading by striking ‘‘National 4 bridge and tunnel inventory and inspection stand- 5 ards’’ and inserting ‘‘Bridges and tunnels’’; 6 (2) in subsection (a)(1)(B) by striking ‘‘defi- 7 cient’’; 8 (3) in subsection (b)(5) by striking ‘‘struc- 9 turally deficient bridge’’ and inserting ‘‘bridge classi- 10 fied as in poor condition’’; 11 (4) in subsection (d)— 12 (A) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘Not 13 later than 2 years after the date of enactment 14 of the MAP–21, each’’ and inserting ‘‘Each’’; 15 and 16 (B) by striking paragraph (4); 17 (5) in subsection (j) in paragraph (5) by strik- 18 ing ‘‘financial characteristics’’ and all that follows 19 through the end and inserting ‘‘Federal share.’’; and 20 (6) by adding at the end the following: 21 ‘‘(l) HIGHWAY BRIDGE REPLACEMENT AND REHA- 22 BILITATION.— 23 ‘‘(1) GOALS.—The goals of this subsection shall 24 be to— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:04 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3718.IH H3718 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3718 IH ‘‘(A) support the achievement of a state of 1 good repair for the Nation’s bridges; 2 ‘‘(B) improve the safety, efficiency, and re- 3 liability of the movement of people and freight 4 over bridges; and 5 ‘‘(C) improve the condition of bridges in 6 the United States by reducing— 7 ‘‘(i) the number of bridges— 8 ‘‘(I) in poor condition; or 9 ‘‘(II) in fair condition and at risk 10 of falling into poor condition; 11 ‘‘(ii) the total person miles traveled 12 over bridges— 13 ‘‘(I) in poor condition; or 14 ‘‘(II) in fair condition and at risk 15 of falling into poor condition; 16 ‘‘(iii) the number of bridges that— 17 ‘‘(I) do not meet current geo- 18 metric design standards; or 19 ‘‘(II) cannot meet the load and 20 traffic requirements typical of the re- 21 gional transportation network; and 22 ‘‘(iv) the total person miles traveled 23 over bridges that— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:04 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3718.IH H3718 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3718 IH ‘‘(I) do not meet current geo- 1 metric design standards; or 2 ‘‘(II) cannot meet the load and 3 traffic requirements typical of the re- 4 gional transportation network. 5 ‘‘(2) BRIDGES ON PUBLIC ROADS.— 6 ‘‘(A) MINIMUM BRIDGE INVESTMENT.— 7 Excluding the amounts described in subpara- 8 graph (C), of the total funds apportioned to a 9 State under paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 10 104(b) for fiscal years 2022 to 2025, a State 11 shall obligate not less than 20 percent for 12 projects described in subparagraph (E). 13 ‘‘(B) PROGRAM FLEXIBILITY.—A State re- 14 quired to obligate funds under subparagraph 15 (A) may use any combination of funds appor- 16 tioned to a State under paragraphs (1) and (2) 17 of section 104(b). 18 ‘‘(C) LIMITATION.—Amounts described 19 below may not be used for the purposes of cal- 20 culating or meeting the minimum bridge invest- 21 ment requirement under subparagraph (A)— 22 ‘‘(i) amounts described in section 23 133(d)(1)(A); 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:04 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3718.IH H3718 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3718 IH ‘‘(ii) amounts set aside under section 1 133(h); and 2 ‘‘(iii) amounts described in section 3 505(a). 4 ‘‘(D) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing 5 in this section shall be construed to prohibit the 6 expenditure of funds described in subparagraph 7 (C) for bridge projects eligible under such sec- 8 tion. 9 ‘‘(E) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—Funds re- 10 quired to be obligated in accordance with para- 11 graph (2)(A) may be obligated for projects or 12 activities that— 13 ‘‘(i) are otherwise eligible under either 14 section 119 or section 133, as applicable; 15 ‘‘(ii) provide support for the condition 16 and performance of bridges on public roads 17 within the State; and 18 ‘‘(iii) remove a bridge classified as in 19 poor condition in order to improve commu- 20 nity connectivity, or replace, reconstruct, 21 rehabilitate, preserve, or protect a bridge 22 included on the national bridge inventory 23 authorized by subsection (b), including 24 through— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:04 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3718.IH H3718 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3718 IH ‘‘(I) seismic retrofits; 1 ‘‘(II) systematic preventive main- 2 tenance; 3 ‘‘(III) installation of scour coun- 4 termeasures; 5 ‘‘(IV) the use of innovative mate- 6 rials that extend the service life of the 7 bridge and reduce preservation costs, 8 as compared to conventionally de- 9 signed and constructed bridges; 10 ‘‘(V) the use of nontraditional 11 production techniques, including fac- 12 tory prefabrication; 13 ‘‘(VI) painting for purposes of 14 bridge protection; 15 ‘‘(VII) application of calcium 16 magnesium acetate, sodium acetate/ 17 formate, or other environmentally ac- 18 ceptable, minimally corrosive anti- 19 icing and deicing compositions; 20 ‘‘(VIII) corrosion control; 21 ‘‘(IX) construction of protective 22 features (including natural infrastruc- 23 ture) alone or in combination with 24 other activities eligible under this 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:04 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3718.IH H3718 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3718 IH paragraph to enhance resilience of a 1 bridge; 2 ‘‘(X) bridge security counter- 3 measures; 4 ‘‘(XI) impact protection meas- 5 ures for bridges; 6 ‘‘(XII) inspection and evaluation 7 of bridges; and 8 ‘‘(XIII) training for bridge in- 9 spectors consistent with subsection (i). 10 ‘‘(F) BUNDLES OF PROJECTS.—A State 11 may use a bundle of projects as described in 12 subsection (j) to satisfy the requirements of 13 subparagraph (A), if each project in the bundle 14 is otherwise eligible under subparagraph (E). 15 ‘‘(G) FLEXIBILITY.—The Secretary may, 16 at the request of a State, reduce the required 17 obligation under subparagraph (A) if— 18 ‘‘(i) the reduction is consistent with a 19 State’s asset management plan for the Na- 20 tional Highway System; 21 ‘‘(ii) the reduction will not limit a 22 State’s ability to improve the condition and 23 performance of bridges on public roads 24 within the State; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:04 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3718.IH H3718 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3718 IH ‘‘(iii) the State demonstrates that it 1 has inadequate needs to justify the expend- 2 iture. 3 ‘‘(H) CONSIDERATIONS.—In selecting 4 bridge projects, States shall consider— 5 ‘‘(i) the average amount of people and 6 freight supported by the eligible project; 7 ‘‘(ii) the extent to which the eligible 8 project demonstrates cost savings by bun- 9 dling multiple bridge projects; 10 ‘‘(iii) geographic diversity among 11 projects, including the need for a balance 12 between the needs of rural and urban com- 13 munities; 14 ‘‘(iv) the extent to which an eligible 15 project improves intermodal freight trans- 16 portation; and 17 ‘‘(v) whether the project serves as 18 part of a State or Federal evacuation 19 route. 20 ‘‘(I) BRIDGE INVESTMENT REPORT.—The 21 Secretary shall annually publish on the website 22 of the Department of Transportation a bridge 23 investment report that includes— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:04 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3718.IH H3718 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3718 IH ‘‘(i) the total Federal funding obli- 1 gated for bridge projects in the most re- 2 cent fiscal year, on a State-by-State basis 3 and broken out by Federal program; 4 ‘‘(ii) the total Federal funding obli- 5 gated, on a State-by-State basis and bro- 6 ken out by Federal program, for bridge 7 projects carried out pursuant to the min- 8 imum bridge investment requirements 9 under subparagraph (A); 10 ‘‘(iii) the progress made by each State 11 toward meeting the minimum bridge in- 12 vestment requirement under subparagraph 13 (A) for such State, both cumulatively and 14 for the most recent fiscal year; 15 ‘‘(iv) the total Federal funding obli- 16 gated for bridge projects, broken out by 17 rural and urban area; 18 ‘‘(v) the total Federal funding obli- 19 gated for bridge projects on off-system 20 bridges; 21 ‘‘(vi) a summary of— 22 ‘‘(I) each request made under 23 subparagraph (G) by a State for a re- 24 duction in the minimum bridge invest- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:04 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3718.IH H3718 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3718 IH ment requirement under subpara- 1 graph (A); and 2 ‘‘(II) for each request described 3 in subclause (I) that is granted by the 4 Secretary— 5 ‘‘(aa) the percentage and 6 dollar amount of the reduction; 7 and 8 ‘‘(bb) an explanation of how 9 the State met each of the criteria 10 described in subparagraph (G); 11 and 12 ‘‘(vii) a summary of— 13 ‘‘(I) each request made by a 14 State for a reduction in the obligation 15 requirements under section 133(f); 16 and 17 ‘‘(II) for each request that is 18 granted by the Secretary— 19 ‘‘(aa) the percentage and 20 dollar amount of the reduction; 21 and 22 ‘‘(bb) an explanation of how 23 the Secretary made the deter- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:04 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3718.IH H3718 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3718 IH mination under section 1 133(f)(2)(B). 2 ‘‘(J) OFF-SYSTEM BRIDGES.—A State may 3 apply amounts obligated under this subsection 4 or section 133(f)(2)(A) to the obligation re- 5 quirements of both this subsection and section 6 133(f). 7 ‘‘(K) NHS PENALTY.—A State may apply 8 amounts obligated under this subsection or sec- 9 tion 119(f)(2) to the obligation requirements of 10 both this subsection and section 119(f)(2). 11 ‘‘(L) COMPLIANCE.—If a State fails to sat- 12 isfy the requirements of subparagraph (A) by 13 the end of fiscal year 2025, the Secretary may 14 subject the State to appropriate program sanc- 15 tions under section 1.36 of title 23, Code of 16 Federal Regulations (or successor regula- 17 tions).’’. 18 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap- 19 ter 1 of title 23, United States Code, is amended by strik- 20 ing the item relating to section 144 and inserting the fol- 21 lowing: 22 ‘‘144. Bridges and tunnels.’’. Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Jul 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3718.IH H3718 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS