Arlington Memorial Bridge Awarded $90 Million US DOT Grant; Norton to Work to Get Bridge Remaining $160 Million

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) said that she was “both relieved and honestly elated” that the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded today the National Park Service a $90 million grant from the Fostering Advancements in Shipping and Transportation for the Long-term Achievement of National Efficiencies (FASTLANE) program to rebuild the Arlington Memorial Bridge. The Federal Highway Administration has said the Memorial Bridge must close by 2021 unless it is rehabilitated. The grant program was created by the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, written by the four leaders of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, including Norton. The $90 million FASTLANE grant will go toward Phase 1 of reconstruction of the bridge, which will allow the bridge to remain open almost an extra decade while Phase 2 is completed. The program provides funding for nationally significant highway, bridge, and freight projects. Congress provided $800 million in funding for the FASTLANE program in the current fiscal year. Reconstructing Phase 1 of the bridge is estimated to cost at least $166 million, and additional money will be needed to cover the remaining cost of Phase 1 and Phase 2. Norton worked closely with Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) and the national capital region delegation to urge that the Arlington Memorial Bridge be given priority for funding.

“The Arlington Memorial Bridge had to compete with infrastructure applications nationwide but it would be difficult to think of any project more worthy than the gateway from the south to Arlington National Cemetery and to popular National Mall monumental sites,” said Norton. “This iconic bridge is long past its 75-year life and traffic has already been impacted. I also want to thank the District of Columbia for signing onto the application with NPS.”

In April, the National Park Service submitted its FASTLANE grant application with the District as a cosigner. Norton will work with her congressional colleagues to identify funding for the remaining $160 million to rebuild the Arlington Memorial Bridge.