Biden Administration Grants $5 Billion for Aging Bridges

A logging truck drives on the Interstate 5 bridge that spans the Columbia River and connects Portland, Ore., with southwest Washington state. (Jenny Kane/File/AP)

Dozens of aging bridges in 16 states will be replaced or improved with the help of $5 billion in federal grants announced July 17 by President Joe Biden’s administration, the latest beneficiaries of a massive infrastructure law.

The projects range from coast to coast, with the largest providing an additional $1.4 billion to help replace two vertical lift bridges over the Columbia River that carry Interstate 5 traffic between Portland, Ore., and Vancouver, Wash. The bridges, which also received $600 million in December, are “the worst trucking bottleneck” in the region, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said.

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