[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2004 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2004

  To amend title 23, United States Code, to establish a demonstration 
      project to begin correcting structural bridge deficiencies.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 14, 2005

  Mr. Vitter introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title 23, United States Code, to establish a demonstration 
      project to begin correcting structural bridge deficiencies.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Bridge Safety and Repair 
Demonstration Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) 590,750 bridges in the United States are a vital link 
        in a seamless and efficient transportation system, connecting 
        communities, States, and regions;
            (2) 14 percent of all bridges in the United States that are 
        20 feet or longer are structurally deficient;
            (3) as of the date of enactment of this Act, the cost of 
        correcting all bridge deficiencies in the United States is 
        $136,000,000,000;
            (4) faced with budget cutbacks, many States are struggling 
        to maintain an acceptable schedule of maintenance, repair, and 
        replacement of roads and bridges;
            (5) to begin correcting structural bridge deficiencies, a 
        demonstration program is necessary, beginning with States that 
        have significant numbers of structurally deficient bridges; and
            (6) 33 percent of the bridges in the State of Louisiana, 
        and a significant percentage of bridges in each of the States 
        of Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Mississippi, 
        New York, Vermont, West Virginia, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and 
        Maine are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete.

SEC. 3. RURAL DEVELOPMENT BRIDGE REPAIR PROGRAM.

    Section 144 of title 23, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (q) as subsection (r); and
            (2) by adding after subsection (p) the following:
    ``(q) Demonstration Project.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall provide grants to 
        the State departments of transportation for each of the States 
        of Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Mississippi, 
        New York, Vermont, West Virginia, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Maine, 
        and Louisiana to provide for the rehabilitation of the most 
        structurally deficient off-system bridges in those States.
            ``(2) Report.--Not later than October 31, 2006, and 
        annually thereafter, each of the State departments of 
        transportation referred to in paragraph (1) shall submit to 
        Congress a report describing the number of bridges and extent 
        of corrected deficiencies made in the applicable State during 
        the preceding fiscal year.
            ``(3) Authorization of appropriations.--There are 
        authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection--
                    ``(A) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2006;
                    ``(B) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; and
                    ``(C) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2008.''.
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