Florida is set to receive a $245 million dollar investment for bridge repair and maintenance as part of the Biden administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law but still lags behind other highly populated states in federal funding allocations, continuing a trend found in a recent economic analysis.
Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), states are appropriated funding through a statutory formula that allocates what the federal government finds is sufficient to repair bridges across states that are considered to be in poor condition. In other words, a need-based system. A bridge can be considered to be in poor condition when the Department of Transportation Bridge Inventory database finds that it is not structurally sound and at risk of collapse or damage in the near future.
Florida is home to 408 bridges that were given the poor condition label, all of which are earmarked for federal funding to repair and maintain. Receiving $245 million, that puts the state at receiving just over $600 thousand per bridge.
However, when compared with other high population states, it becomes evident that Florida is receiving much less on a per-bridge basis than California, New York, and Texas.
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