Lautenberg Urges Passage of Infrastructure Fund Bill in Light of Washington Bridge Collapse

Press Release

In light of the collapse of the Interstate 5 bridge in Washington State, Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) today released the following statement on the need for robust federal investments in our infrastructure and called for the passage of his Infrastructure Fund bill, the American Infrastructure Investment Fund Act of 2013.

"The bridge collapse in Washington State is simply unacceptable. Families in America should not have to worry that the bridges they cross are unstable," said Lautenberg. "Far too many bridges across the country and in my home state of New Jersey are aging and in urgent need of repair. This scary bridge collapse shows why the Senate should act quickly to pass my bill to strengthen America's crumbling infrastructure, create jobs, and boost our economy."

Transportation for America has reported that in 2010, more than 17.5 million trips were taken over structurally deficient bridges every day--or more than 200 trips every second--in the New Jersey-New York region. And in 2011, according to the Department of Transportation's (DOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), New Jersey had more than 650 structurally deficient bridges.

The American Infrastructure Investment Fund Act of 2013, introduced by Senators Lautenberg and John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV (D-WV) would establish a $5 billion fund that would incentivize private, state, and regional investments in transportation projects around the country by providing eligible products with financial assistance. Additionally, the bill would authorize a multimodal National Infrastructure Investment Grant program within the Department of Transportation (DOT) at $600 million for fiscal years 2014 and 2015, which would provide funds to build new or improve existing transportation infrastructure.

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