IV 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 848 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that Congress should 

support repairing and rehabilitating United States national transportation infrastructure, including bridges not located on a Federal-aid 

highway. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 20, 2009 

Mr. GRAVES (for himself, Mr. LUETKEMEYER, Mr. CLEAVER, Mrs. EMERSON, 

Mr. SCHOCK, and Mr. BLUNT) submitted the following resolution; which 

was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 

Congress should support repairing and rehabilitating 

United States national transportation infrastructure, including bridges not located on a Federal-aid highway. 

Whereas the Highway Bridge Program (HBP) in 

SAFETEA–LU [Public Law 109–59] requires States to 

expend at a minimum 15 percent of their annual apportioned amount on bridges not located on a Federal-aid 

highway (off-system); 

Whereas off-system bridges are public bridges owned and 

maintained by local governments and in many parts of 

the United States they are often times the sole transportation route for school buses, emergency responders, 


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•HRES 848 IH 

farmers, veterans, senior citizens, small businesses, families, and the traveling public; 

Whereas off-system bridges support our Nation’s food and 

energy supply by providing a vital link for commodities 

such as corn, soybeans, livestock, ethanol, and coal; 

Whereas in 2008, the U.S. Department of Transportation estimated there was more than 285,000 off-system bridges 

nationwide of which more than 33,000 were functionally 

obsolete and 46,000 were structurally deficient; 

Whereas in a single State, using Missouri as an example, 

there are more than 13,000 off-system bridges of which 

more than 1,700 are functionally obsolete and 2,500 are 

structurally deficient; 

Whereas according to the Federal Highway Administration 

(FHWA), functionally obsolete bridges are unable to 

properly accommodate traffic due to poor roadway alignment, insufficient width, waterway problems, low structural evaluation, or inadequate clearances; 

Whereas according to the FHWA, structurally deficient 

bridges are in relatively poor condition or have poor loadcarrying capacity for modern design loadings; 

Whereas the off-system bridge program efficiently repairs and 

maintains functionally obsolete and structurally deficient 

bridges not located on a Federal-aid highway; and 

Whereas according to a Government Accountability Office report on the HBP released in September 2008, ‘‘Improvements were most notable in bridges owned by local agencies on rural routes, which may be attributable to the 

Federal bridge program requirement—under HBP and 

some of its predecessor programs—that states spend a 


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minimum amount of their apportionment on non-Federalaid highway bridges.’’: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) understands the importance of off-system 

3 bridges to communities across the United States; 

4 (2) recognizes that continued Federal invest5 ment is necessary to repair and rehabilitate off-sys6 tem bridges to provide safe bridge access for all 

7 users; and 

8 (3) supports program eligibility and a specific 

9 funding stream for off-system bridges in the High10 way Bridge Program or a Federal highway critical 

11 asset investment program. 

Æ 


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