Sen. Coons helps introduce BRIDGE Act
In a bipartisan effort, 11 U.S. Senators including Delaware Sen. Chris Coons introduced a bill aimed at updating outdated infrastructure across the nation.
The BRIDGE Act, which stands for Building and Renewing Infrastructure for Development and Growth in Employment.
If passed, it would help every state improve road and bridge conditions.
A reported 21% of Delaware roads are outdated, and the bill would also fund infrastructure in rural areas like southern Delaware.
Outdated conditions reportedly cost taxpayers in the first state $256-million per year.
This new legislation would set up an central infrastructure bank for states plagued by years of below average funding.
47 ABC asked Senator Coons about why that funding was so low in the first place, and he told us, “The major source of financing for America’s major roads and highways is the gas tax and the federal gas tax hasn’t been raised in more than 20 years. In that time, the fuel efficiency of the average car or average truck has improved dramatically so the amount of money the federal government is taking in from the federal gas tax has gone down.”
The bill calls for an initial investment of $10-billion in federal funds.
Here are some national and local stats as provided by the office of Senator Coons:
National stats:
- $1.6 trillion is needed to bring our nation’s infrastructure to a good state of repair.
- 600,000+ bridges are either functionally obsolete or structurally deficient.
- United States bridges are, on average, 42 years old.
- The average age of dams in the U.S. is 52 years old.
- America currently spends only 2% of its GDP on infrastructure.
Delaware Stats:
- 20% of Delaware bridges are functionally obsolete or structurally deficient.
- 21% of Delaware’s major roads are in poor condition.
- Delawareans pay $256 million per year in extra repairs to outdated roads.
