The U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg marked an announcement made by President Joe Biden of an investment of more than $2 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to upgrade significant bridges by visiting the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Calif.
Buttigieg recently visited several bridges that represent major investments, including Brent Spence Bridge connecting Covington, Ky., and Cincinnati, Ohio; bridges crossing the Calumet River in Chicago, Ill.; and the Gold Star Memorial Bridge in New London, Conn., a Jan. 4 White House fact sheet said.
“Over the past year our department has helped to jump start repairs and construction on 3,700 bridges across America - and there's more where this came from,” Buttigieg said in a Jan. 23 post on Twitter.
The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Calif., will receive $400 million to help replace, retrofit and install structural details to improve resiliency against earthquakes, the 2022 Large Bridge Grant Award Recipients list said.
“I'm starting the week at one of America's most iconic bridges, and will be sharing more examples here from communities of all sizes where we are providing bridge improvement funding to increase safety, reduce travel times & create economic opportunity,” Buttigieg said in a Twitter post.
U.S. bridges will get help with repairs and rebuilding through the $40 billion investment from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the White House fact sheet said. Ten significant bridges and more than 15,000 additional bridges will receive help.
The Golden Gate Bridge, constructed beginning in 1933 and completed in 1937, has surpassed expectations. Completed $1.3 million under budget and ahead of schedule, the bridge is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the United States, a fact sheet said.
The Loma Prieta Earthquake of Oct. 17, 1989, “became a catalyst for the extensive seismic retrofit program” that’s happening at Golden Gate Bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge Highway & Transportation District said.
“The third and final phase of the Golden Gate Bridge Seismic Retrofit Construction Project was separated into two sub-phases,” the Golden Gate Bridge Highway & Transportation District said. “A construction contract for Phase 3A was awarded in April 2008. Construction was completed in 2014. Phase 3B will go out to bid in 2023 and take approximately six years to complete.”
