PHILADELPHIA — The City of Philadelphia has received a federal grant of about $1.6 million to rehabilitate 18 bridges for city streets that cross the Northeast Corridor, part of a group of 23 projects in 23 states receiving $18.4 million in Bridge Investment Program Grants under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The funding from the Federal Highway Administration in Philadelphia and elsewhere, is for planning and feasibility studies for bridge projects, with the goal of creating shovel-ready projects eligible for federal construction money. Federal grants have not previously covered preparatory work for bridge projects.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the grant for the Northeast Corridor project was announced by the Highway Administration’s Acting Administrator, Stephanie Pollock ,on the 103-year-old Margie Street Bridge, which has been closed to vehicle traffic. Michael A. Carroll, Philadelphia’s deputy managing director for transportation and infrastructure, said the funds would be used to help the city, Amtrak, and Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority — which also uses the Northeast Corridor — to plan how to do work on the bridges while temporarily relocating the overhead catenary lines in a manner that allowing rail service to continue to operate.
The planning grants are part of $12.5 billion for bridge funding included in the infrastructure law, including nearly $2.4 billion in fiscal 2022. Along with the Philadelphia project, others with a rail component among the 23 announced last week include:
— $2.4 million to the City of Seattle to plan for the replacement of the 4th Street bridge over Union Pacific’s Argo Yard.
— $1.6 million to the City of New York for development of a 30-year capital plan for four famous East River bridges, including the Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges, which carry New York City Transit subway lines as well as vehicles. Also included are the Brooklyn and Queensboro bridges.
— $1 million to the Oregon Department of Transportation for the Hayden Island Ground Improvement Study, part of preliminary engineering work to replace the Interstate 5 bridge between Portland, Ore., and Vancouver, Wash. A light rail line could be included in the new bridge.
— $750,000 to the City of Colorado Springs, Colo., for a study for bridges on Fillmore street to cross the Union Pacific, Monument Creek, and the Pikes Peak Greenway.
— $440,000 to the city of Bellevue, Neb., for a planning and environmental study of the Fort Crook Road Bridge, which crosses the Union Pacific main line, as well as a creek, trail, and levee system.
