II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5275 

To require that certain aspects of bridge projects be carried out by certified 

contractors, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 15, 2022 

Mr. CASEY (for himself and Ms. STABENOW) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and 

Public Works 

A BILL 

To require that certain aspects of bridge projects be carried 

out by certified contractors, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Bridge Quality Preser5 vation Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. CORROSION PREVENTION FOR BRIDGES. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 (1) APPLICABLE BRIDGE PROJECT.—The term 

9 ‘‘applicable bridge project’’ means a project for con10 struction, replacement, rehabilitation, preservation, 


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1 or protection, other than de minimis work, as deter2 mined by the entity carrying out the project, on— 

3 (A) a bridge project that receives financial 

4 assistance under title 23, United States Code; 

5 or 

6 (B) a project for a railroad bridge (as de7 fined in section 237.5 of title 49, Code of Fed8 eral Regulations (or successor regulations)) that 

9 receives financial assistance under title 49, 

10 United States Code. 

11 (2) CERTIFIED CONTRACTOR.—The term ‘‘cer12 tified contractor’’ means a contracting or subcon13 tracting firm that has been certified by a third-party 

14 organization recognized industry-wide that evaluates 

15 the capability of the contractor or subcontractor to 

16 properly perform 1 or more specified aspects of an 

17 applicable bridge project described in subsection 

18 (b)(2). 

19 (3) QUALIFIED TRAINING PROGRAM.—The term 

20 ‘‘qualified training program’’ means a training pro21 gram in corrosion control, mitigation, and prevention 

22 that is— 

23 (A) offered or accredited by an organiza24 tion that sets industry corrosion standards; or 


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1 (B) an industrial coatings applicator train2 ing program— 

3 (i) registered under the Act of August 

4 16, 1937 (commonly known as the ‘‘Na5 tional Apprenticeship Act’’) (50 Stat. 664, 

6 chapter 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.); and 

7 (ii) that meets the standards of sub8 part A of part 29 and part 30 of title 29, 

9 Code of Federal Regulations (or successor 

10 regulations). 

11 (b) APPLICABLE BRIDGE PROJECTS.— 

12 (1) QUALITY CONTROL.—A certified contractor 

13 shall carry out aspects of an applicable bridge 

14 project described in paragraph (2). 

15 (2) ASPECTS OF APPLICABLE BRIDGE

16 PROJECTS.—Aspects of an applicable bridge project 

17 referred to in paragraph (1) include— 

18 (A) surface preparation or coating applica19 tion on steel, concrete, or rebar of an applicable 

20 bridge project; 

21 (B) removal of a lead-based or other haz22 ardous coating from steel or concrete of an ex23 isting applicable bridge project; and 


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1 (C) shop painting of structural steel or 

2 rebar fabricated for installation on an applica3 ble bridge project. 

4 (3) CORROSION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.—In 

5 carrying out an applicable bridge project, the entity 

6 carrying out the project shall— 

7 (A) implement a corrosion management 

8 system that utilizes industry-recognized stand9 ards and corrosion mitigation and prevention 

10 methods to address different considerations, in11 cluding— 

12 (i) surface preparation; 

13 (ii) protective coatings; 

14 (iii) materials selection; 

15 (iv) cathodic protection; 

16 (v) corrosion engineering; 

17 (vi) personnel training; and 

18 (vii) best practices in environmental 

19 protection to prevent environmental deg20 radation and uphold public health; and 

21 (B) require certified contractors, for the 

22 purpose of carrying out aspects of applicable 

23 bridge projects described in paragraph (2), to 

24 employ a substantial number of individuals that 

25 are trained and certified by a qualified training 


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1 program as meeting the ANSI/NACE Number 

2 13/SSPC–ACS–1 standard (or a successor 

3 standard). 

4 (4) CERTIFICATION.—For an applicable bridge 

5 project that includes an aspect described in para6 graph (2), the entity carrying out the project shall 

7 only accept bids from a certified contractor that pre8 sents written proof that the certification of the con9 tractor meets the relevant SSPC–QP standards (or 

10 a successor standard). 

11 (c) TRAINING PROGRAM.—As a condition of entering 

12 into a contract for an applicable bridge project, each cer13 tified contractor shall provide training for each individual 

14 who is not a certified coating applicator but that the cer15 tified contractor employs to carry out aspects of applicable 

16 bridge projects described in subsection (b)(2). 

17 SEC. 3. AVAILABILITY OF FEDERAL GRANT FUNDING FOR 

18 CORROSION CONTROL WORK ON RAIL 

19 BRIDGES. 

20 Section 22402(b)(1) of title 49, United States Code, 

21 is amended— 

22 (1) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘or’’ at 

23 the end; 

24 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (F) as sub25 paragraph (G); and 


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1 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(F) to perform corrosion control work on 

4 rail bridges; or’’. 

5 SEC. 4. STUDY ON EFFICACY OF WEATHERING STEEL. 

6 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

7 (1) weathering steel is often used for bridge 

8 construction projects because of its ability to with9 stand weather conditions better than other forms of 

10 steel; 

11 (2) the recent collapse of the Fern Hollow 

12 Bridge in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in January 

13 2022 highlights the real threat that corrosion poses 

14 to the bridges of the United States; 

15 (3) more research is needed into the 

16 vulnerabilities of weathering steel; and 

17 (4) States and units of local government need 

18 more information on when and how to address the 

19 risk of corrosion to weathering steel. 

20 (b) STUDY.—Not later than 18 months after the date 

21 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation 

22 shall— 

23 (1) carry out a study on best practices for— 

24 (A) the frequency and method of inspect25 ing corrosion on weathering steel bridges; and 


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1 (B) addressing corrosion on weathering 

2 steel bridges; 

3 (2) submit to the Committee on Environment 

4 and Public Works of the Senate, the Committee on 

5 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen6 ate, and the Committee on Transportation and In7 frastructure of the House of Representatives a re8 port on the results of the study under paragraph 

9 (1); and 

10 (3) make the report under paragraph (2) avail11 able to State departments of transportation, metro12 politan planning organizations (as defined in section 

13 134(b) of title 23, United States Code), regional 

14 transportation planning organizations (as defined in 

15 that section), and units of local government that 

16 own bridge assets. 

Æ 


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