At Arlington Memorial Bridge Press Conference, Norton Announces Her Bill to Replace Federal Roads and Bridges Like Memorial Bridge

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today at a press conference at Memorial Bridge was joined by Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA) and Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) to bring attention to the critical condition of Arlington Memorial Bridge and called on Congress to pass her bill, the introduce the Save Our National Parks Transportation Act, which she introduced today. Norton's bill would authorize $460 million a year for NPS for the federal lands transportation program for fiscal year 2016 to 2021, and would establish a program called the Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Transportation Project program, funded at $150 million for fiscal year 2016 to 2021. Federal bridges like Arlington Memorial Bridge are not a part of state allocations because they are federal assets and must be fully funded by the federal government.

Norton's full remarks, as prepared for delivery, are below:

"For weeks, as ranking member of the Highways and Transit Subcommittee, I have been working on the bill I will introduce today, the Save Our National Parks Transportation Act. The bill, for which I am seeking regional cosponsors, authorizes funding for the most neglected portion of America's outworn infrastructure – the priceless federal bridges and major transportation roads that are not a part of any state's allocation. None is more historic or in worse shape than the Arlington Memorial Bridge, which has been protected on the National Historic Register since 1980, but has been falling apart in plain sight for years.

"Yet its very name describes its national importance – gateway to Arlington National Cemetery, Mt. Vernon to the south and grand gateway to all the historic sites of the nation's capital to the north. Not unlike many other historic bridges and roads, Memorial Bridge is also part of the national highway system and a main artery for workers traveling on Metro buses, for drivers going to work, and for tour buses visiting historic sites in both directions. Now with the indefinite closure of two lanes and four feet of sidewalk on each side, major rerouting of rush hour traffic will bring new pressure on roads and bridges that are already heavily overburdened themselves and are in decrepit condition. Because the Memorial Bridge is the most traveled of 14 bridges and roads leading to the nation's capital, the domino effect of rerouting onto "alternative routes" cannot be overstated.

"The Congress, which has repeatedly let funding run out for its own states allocations, has ignored altogether the roads and bridges for which it is solely responsible. My bill, with the $460 million for each of the next six years for the federal lands transportation program hardly dents the $11.5 billion of needed maintenance, but at least it does not fall into the category of shameful current underfunding represented by $240 million for the entire lands transfer federal program. The Memorial Bridge reconstruction alone will cost $250 million. Memorial Bridge could be funded by a new program in my bill, $150 million annually for the Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Transportation Project funding. The NPS may have to temporarily repair the Memorial Bridge, but it has already outlived its lifespan and should be replaced once and for all.

The need to reroute rush hour traffic across a historic gateway to the nation's capital, with the attendant cost to businesses and the federal government and its workforce, marks a nadir in congressional neglect of the nation's infrastructure. It should make unthinkable anything short of the funding in my bill for bridges or roads like the Memorial Bridge and a six-year funding bill for the states in July, when current funding runs out altogether."