[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1701 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1701

To amend title 23, United States Code, to require corrosion mitigation 
  and prevention plans for bridges receiving Federal funding, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 23, 2009

   Mr. Brown 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 require corrosion mitigation 
  and prevention plans for bridges receiving Federal funding, and for 
                            other purposes.

    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 Life Extension Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) corrosion of highway bridges costs the United States 
        economy $8,300,000,000 each year, according to the Federal 
        Highway Administration report numbered FHWA-RD-01-157 that was 
        submitted to Congress in 2002;
            (2) the ongoing cost of corrosion on United States highway 
        bridges represents a waste of taxpayer dollars;
            (3) \1/3\ of the ongoing cost of corrosion on United States 
        highway bridges would be saved if existing, fully-developed 
        corrosion prevention technologies were applied to bridge decks 
        and substructures;
            (4) the application of corrosion technologies to United 
        States highway bridges is necessary, but currently underused; 
        and
            (5) the application of corrosion prevention strategies 
        should be required in the design and rehabilitation of bridge 
        structures that use Federal funding and the development of new 
        corrosion prevention technologies should be encouraged.

SEC. 3. HIGHWAY BRIDGE REPLACEMENT AND REHABILITATION PROGRAM.

    Section 144(d) of title 23, United States Code, is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) Requirements for state participation.--
                    ``(A) Implementation of highway bridge management 
                systems.--As a condition for providing assistance to a 
                State under this section, the Secretary shall require 
                the State to develop and implement a highway bridge 
                management system that meets the requirements of 
                section 303.
                    ``(B) Applicability to new and existing bridges.--A 
                highway bridge management system under subparagraph (A) 
                shall apply to--
                            ``(i) design and construction of new 
                        bridges; and
                            ``(ii) rehabilitation and systematic 
                        preventative maintenance of existing bridges.
                    ``(C) Preservation of structures.--In developing 
                and implementing a highway bridge management system 
                under subparagraph (A), a State shall--
                            ``(i) identify corrosion mitigation and 
                        prevention methods that will be used to 
                        preserve the highway bridges in the State, 
                        taking into account--
                                    ``(I) material selection;
                                    ``(II) coating considerations;
                                    ``(III) cathodic protection 
                                considerations;
                                    ``(IV) design considerations for 
                                corrosion; and
                                    ``(V) concrete requirements;
                            ``(ii) establish a project maintenance 
                        program for highway bridges in the State for 
                        the purpose of extending the life of each 
                        highway bridge; and
                            ``(iii) ensure that--
                                    ``(I) maintenance individuals are 
                                qualified, as determined by the State 
                                in accordance with the standard 
                                described in subparagraph (E); and
                                    ``(II) all highway bridge engineers 
                                and inspectors implementing the system 
                                are trained, and certified by the 
                                State, in corrosion mitigation and 
                                prevention techniques in accordance 
                                with the standard described in 
                                subparagraph (E).
                    ``(D) Consultation.--A State shall carry out this 
                paragraph in consultation with engineers and other 
                experts specializing in corrosion mitigation and 
                prevention methods.
                    ``(E) Minimum training and certification 
                standards.--The Secretary, in consultation with States, 
                shall establish a minimum Federal standard for 
                corrosion mitigation and prevention training and 
                certification for individuals described in subclauses 
                (I) and (II) of subparagraph (C)(iii).''.
                                 <all>