(Washington, D.C)
"These rural bridges are often times the sole transportation route for school buses, emergency responders, senior citizens and farmers," said Graves. "This dedicated federal funding is necessary to repair and rehabilitate bridges that are not safe."
In Missouri, there are currently more than 13,000 off-system bridges, with 1,700 labeled as functionally obsolete and 2,500 as structurally deficient. These bridges are unable to properly accommodate traffic because of poor design, insufficient width or because of their structural condition.
"This program is absolutely essential to almost every county in Missouri," said Bob Westfall, North District Commissioner of Nodaway County. "We simply cannot have these bridges deteriorating to the point that they have to be closed. I strongly support renewing this program and thank our Congressman, Sam Graves, for taking the lead on this important issue for rural Missouri."
Graves introduced a resolution this week in an attempt to put the House of Representatives on-record as supporting the program. The five-term lawmaker and member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will also seek to get Committee support for the proposal before the House takes up a new Highway bill sometime next year.
"I am going to keep working until my colleagues recognize the importance of this program," said Graves. "We need to take care of our rural bridges in the next Highway bill."
The resolution is H. Res. 848.
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U.S. Congressman Sam Graves will fight a plan in Washington that would eliminate funding for rural bridges that are no longer safe. In the current Highway bill, states are required to spend a minimum of 15 percent of the federal funds they receive on "off-system" or local bridges. Lawmakers in Congress have drafted a Highway bill that would eliminate this program.
