Bridge Investment Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2310 To amend title 23, United States Code, to establish a competitive grant program 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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 29, 2019 Mr. BROWN (for himself, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. WICKER, Mr. WYDEN, Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. PORTMAN, and Mr. MAR- KEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works A BILL To amend title 23, United States Code, to establish a com- petitive grant program 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. 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 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Aug 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2310.IS S2310 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 2310 IS SEC. 2. BRIDGE INVESTMENT PROGRAM. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 of title 23, United 2 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 123 the 3 following: 4 ‘‘§ 124. Bridge investment program 5 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 6 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE PROJECT.— 7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘eligible 8 project’ means a project to replace, rehabilitate, 9 preserve, or protect 1 or more bridges on the 10 National Bridge Inventory under section 11 144(b). 12 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘eligible 13 project’ includes— 14 ‘‘(i) a bundle of projects described in 15 subparagraph (A), regardless of whether 16 the bundle of projects meets the require- 17 ments of section 144(j)(5); and 18 ‘‘(ii) a project to replace or rehabili- 19 tate culverts for the purpose of improving 20 flood control and improved habitat 21 connectivity for aquatic species. 22 ‘‘(2) LARGE PROJECT.—The term ‘large 23 project’ means an eligible project with total eligible 24 project costs of greater than $100,000,000. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Aug 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2310.IS S2310 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 2310 IS ‘‘(3) PROGRAM.—The term ‘program’ means 1 the bridge investment program established by sub- 2 section (b)(1). 3 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF BRIDGE INVESTMENT PRO- 4 GRAM.— 5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established a 6 bridge investment program to provide financial as- 7 sistance for eligible projects under this section. 8 ‘‘(2) GOALS.—The goals of the program shall 9 be— 10 ‘‘(A) to improve the safety, efficiency, and 11 reliability of the movement of people and freight 12 over bridges; 13 ‘‘(B) to improve the condition of bridges in 14 the United States by reducing— 15 ‘‘(i) the number of bridges— 16 ‘‘(I) in poor condition; or 17 ‘‘(II) in fair condition and at risk 18 of falling into poor condition within 19 the next 3 years; 20 ‘‘(ii) the total person miles traveled 21 over bridges— 22 ‘‘(I) in poor condition; or 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Aug 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2310.IS S2310 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 2310 IS ‘‘(II) in fair condition and at risk 1 of falling into poor condition within 2 the next 3 years; 3 ‘‘(iii) the number of bridges that— 4 ‘‘(I) do not meet current geo- 5 metric design standards; or 6 ‘‘(II) cannot meet the load and 7 traffic requirements typical of the re- 8 gional transportation network; and 9 ‘‘(iv) the total person miles traveled 10 over bridges that— 11 ‘‘(I) do not meet current geo- 12 metric design standards; or 13 ‘‘(II) cannot meet the load and 14 traffic requirements typical of the re- 15 gional transportation network; and 16 ‘‘(C) to provide financial assistance that 17 leverages and encourages non-Federal contribu- 18 tions from sponsors and stakeholders involved 19 in the planning, design, and construction of eli- 20 gible projects. 21 ‘‘(c) GRANT AUTHORITY.— 22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the pro- 23 gram, the Secretary may award grants, on a com- 24 petitive basis, in accordance with this section. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Aug 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2310.IS S2310 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 2310 IS ‘‘(2) GRANT AMOUNTS.—Except as otherwise 1 provided, a grant under the program shall be— 2 ‘‘(A) in the case of a large project, in an 3 amount that is— 4 ‘‘(i) adequate to fully fund the project 5 (in combination with other financial re- 6 sources identified in the application); and 7 ‘‘(ii) not less than $50,000,000; and 8 ‘‘(B) in the case of any other eligible 9 project, in an amount that is— 10 ‘‘(i) adequate to fully fund the project 11 (in combination with other financial re- 12 sources identified in the application); and 13 ‘‘(ii) not less than $2,500,000. 14 ‘‘(3) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—Except as otherwise 15 provided, for an eligible project receiving assistance 16 under the program, the amount of assistance pro- 17 vided by the Secretary under this section, as a share 18 of eligible project costs, shall be— 19 ‘‘(A) in the case of a large project, not 20 more than 50 percent; and 21 ‘‘(B) in the case of any other eligible 22 project, not more than 80 percent. 23 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL SHARE.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Aug 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2310.IS S2310 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 2310 IS ‘‘(A) MAXIMUM FEDERAL INVOLVE- 1 MENT.—Federal assistance other than a grant 2 under the program may be used to satisfy the 3 non-Federal share of the cost of a project for 4 which a grant is made, except that the total 5 Federal assistance provided for a project receiv- 6 ing a grant under the program may not exceed 7 the Federal share for the project under section 8 120. 9 ‘‘(B) OFF-SYSTEM BRIDGES.—In the case 10 of an eligible project for an off-system bridge 11 (as defined in section 133(f)(1))— 12 ‘‘(i) Federal assistance other than a 13 grant under the program may be used to 14 satisfy the non-Federal share of the cost of 15 a project; and 16 ‘‘(ii) notwithstanding subparagraph 17 (A), the total Federal assistance provided 18 for the project shall not exceed 90 percent 19 of the total eligible project costs. 20 ‘‘(C) FEDERAL LAND MANAGEMENT AGEN- 21 CIES AND TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS.—Notwith- 22 standing any other provision of law, Federal 23 funds other than Federal funds made available 24 under this section may be used to pay the re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Aug 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2310.IS S2310 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 2310 IS maining share of the cost of a project under the 1 program by a Federal land management agency 2 or a Tribal government or consortium of Tribal 3 governments. 4 ‘‘(5) CONSIDERATIONS.— 5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In awarding grants 6 under the program, the Secretary shall con- 7 sider— 8 ‘‘(i) in the case of a large project, the 9 ratings assigned under subsection 10 (g)(5)(A); 11 ‘‘(ii) in the case of an eligible project 12 other than a large project, the quality rat- 13 ing assigned under subsection (f)(3)(A)(ii); 14 ‘‘(iii) the average daily person and 15 freight throughput supported by the eligi- 16 ble project; 17 ‘‘(iv) the number and percentage of 18 bridges within the same State as the eligi- 19 ble project that are in poor condition; 20 ‘‘(v) the extent to which the eligible 21 project demonstrates cost savings by bun- 22 dling multiple bridge projects; 23 ‘‘(vi) in the case of an eligible project 24 of a Federal land management agency, the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Aug 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2310.IS S2310 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 2310 IS extent to which the grant would reduce a 1 Federal liability or Federal infrastructure 2 maintenance backlog; 3 ‘‘(vii) geographic diversity among 4 grant recipients, including the need for a 5 balance between the needs of rural and 6 urban communities; and 7 ‘‘(viii) the extent to which a bridge 8 that would be assisted with a grant— 9 ‘‘(I) is, without that assistance— 10 ‘‘(aa) at risk of falling into 11 or remaining in poor condition; 12 or 13 ‘‘(bb) in fair condition and 14 at risk of falling into poor condi- 15 tion within the next 3 years; 16 ‘‘(II) does not meet current geo- 17 metric design standards based on— 18 ‘‘(aa) the current use of the 19 bridge; or 20 ‘‘(bb) load and traffic re- 21 quirements typical of the regional 22 corridor or local network in 23 which the bridge is located; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Aug 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2310.IS S2310 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 2310 IS ‘‘(III) does not meet current seis- 1 mic design standards. 2 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary 3 shall— 4 ‘‘(i) give priority to an application for 5 an eligible project that is located within a 6 State for which— 7 ‘‘(I) 2 or more applications for 8 eligible projects within the State were 9 submitted for the current fiscal year 10 and an average of 2 or more applica- 11 tions for eligible projects within the 12 State were submitted in prior fiscal 13 years of the program; and 14 ‘‘(II) fewer than 2 grants have 15 been awarded for eligible projects 16 within the State under the program; 17 ‘‘(ii) during the period of fiscal years 18 2021 through 2025, for each State de- 19 scribed in clause (i), select— 20 ‘‘(I) not fewer than 1 large 21 project that the Secretary determines 22 is justified under the evaluation under 23 subsection (g)(4); or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Aug 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2310.IS S2310 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 2310 IS ‘‘(II) 2 eligible projects that are 1 not large projects that the Secretary 2 determines are justified under the 3 evaluation under subsection (f)(3); 4 and 5 ‘‘(iii) not be required to award a grant 6 for an eligible project that the Secretary 7 does not determine is justified under an 8 evaluation under subsection (f)(3) or 9 (g)(4). 10 ‘‘(6) CULVERT LIMITATION.—Not more than 5 11 percent of the amounts made available for each fis- 12 cal year for grants under the program may be used 13 for eligible projects that consist solely of culvert re- 14 placement or rehabilitation. 15 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The Secretary may make 16 a grant under the program to any of the following: 17 ‘‘(1) A State or a group of States. 18 ‘‘(2) A metropolitan planning organization that 19 serves an urbanized area (as designated by the Bu- 20 reau of the Census) with a population of over 21 200,000. 22 ‘‘(3) A unit of local government or a group of 23 local governments. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Aug 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2310.IS S2310 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 2310 IS ‘‘(4) A political subdivision of a State or local 1 government. 2 ‘‘(5) A special purpose district or public author- 3 ity with a transportation function. 4 ‘‘(6) A Federal land management agency. 5 ‘‘(7) A Tribal government or a consortium of 6 Tribal governments. 7 ‘‘(8) A multistate or multijurisdictional group 8 of entities described in paragraphs (1) through (7). 9 ‘‘(e) ELIGIBLE PROJECT REQUIREMENTS.—The Sec- 10 retary may make a grant under the program only to an 11 eligible entity for an eligible project that— 12 ‘‘(1) in the case of a large project, the Sec- 13 retary recommends for funding in the annual report 14 on funding recommendations under subsection 15 (g)(6); 16 ‘‘(2) is reasonably expected to begin construc- 17 tion not later than 18 months after the date on 18 which funds are obligated for the project; and 19 ‘‘(3) is based on the results of preliminary engi- 20 neering. 21 ‘‘(f) COMPETITIVE PROCESS AND EVALUATION OF 22 ELIGIBLE PROJECTS OTHER THAN LARGE PROJECTS.— 23 ‘‘(1) COMPETITIVE PROCESS.— 24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Aug 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2310.IS S2310 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 2310 IS ‘‘(i) for the first fiscal year for which 1 funds are made available for obligation 2 under the program, not later than 60 days 3 after the date on which the template under 4 subparagraph (B)(i) is developed, and in 5 subsequent fiscal years, not later than 60 6 days after the date on which amounts are 7 made available for obligation under the 8 program, solicit grant applications for eli- 9 gible projects other than large projects; 10 and 11 ‘‘(ii) not later than 120 days after the 12 date on which the solicitation under clause 13 (i) expires, conduct evaluations under 14 paragraph (3). 15 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out 16 subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall— 17 ‘‘(i) develop a template for applicants 18 to use to summarize project needs and 19 benefits, including benefits described in 20 paragraph (3)(B)(i); and 21 ‘‘(ii) enable applicants to use data 22 from the National Bridge Inventory under 23 section 144(b) to populate templates de- 24 scribed in clause (i), as applicable. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Aug 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2310.IS S2310 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •S 2310 IS ‘‘(2) APPLICATIONS.—An eligible entity shall 1 submit to the Secretary an application at such time, 2 in such manner, and containing such information as 3 the Secretary may require. 4 ‘‘(3) EVALUATION.— 5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Prior to providing a 6 grant under this subsection, the Secretary 7 shall— 8 ‘‘(i) conduct an evaluation of each eli- 9 gible project for which an application is re- 10 ceived under this subsection; and 11 ‘‘(ii) assign a quality rating to the eli- 12 gible project on the basis of the evaluation 13 under clause (i). 14 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out an 15 evaluation under subparagraph (A), the Sec- 16 retary shall— 17 ‘‘(i) consider information on project 18 benefits submitted by the applicant using 19 the template developed under paragraph 20 (1)(B)(i), including whether the project 21 will generate, as determined by the Sec- 22 retary— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Aug 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2310.IS S2310 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 14 •S 2310 IS ‘‘(I) costs avoided by the preven- 1 tion of closure or reduced use of the 2 bridge to be improved by the project; 3 ‘‘(II) in the cas [Text truncated for display. 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