Klobuchar Statement on 2019 Bridge Report

  47,000 U.S bridges are in poor condition and pace of repair has slowed; 4 out of 10 U.S. bridges need to be replaced or repaired, including 1 in 3 bridges on the Interstate

WASHINGTON- U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) released the following statement in response to the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) 2019 Bridge Report. The report found that approximately 47,000 U.S bridges are “structurally deficient” and need urgent repairs, yet the pace of repair has slowed to a rate where it would take over 80 years to make significant repairs needed. The ARTBA also reported that 4 out of 10 U.S. bridges need to be replaced or repaired, including 1 in 3 bridges on the Interstate.

“Ten years ago, we had a tragedy in Minnesota—the I-35W bridge across the Mississippi River collapsed, killing 13 people and injuring over a hundred. I said that day, a bridge just shouldn’t fall down in the middle of America. But what this new report shows us is that another bridge collapse like that could happen any day—and that’s unacceptable. We need to rebuild our infrastructure from the ground up. When we invest in our infrastructure, we invest in opportunity for every American.”

Klobuchar has long fought for a 21st-century infrastructure network that meets the demands of our 21st-century economy, including safe bridges, modern highways, forward-looking public transportation, increased broadband access, and integrated planning decisions. She was also one of the first Democratic senators to support the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, a long-term transportation reauthorization bill that became law in December 2015. Klobuchar is also an original cosponsor of the Building and Renewing Infrastructure for Development and Growth in Employment (BRIDGE) Act, which would establish an Infrastructure Financing Authority (IFA) to complement existing funding mechanisms and expand overall infrastructure investment.

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