“To amend title 23, United States Code, to establish requirements for owners of certain bridges, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section establishes new requirements under title 23, United States Code, for owners of covered bridges—defined as bridges over navigable waters built before 1996—to conduct vessel collision vulnerability assessments using American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Method II as a condition for receiving federal-aid highway funds and to submit results to the Secretary of Transportation. If a covered bridge exceeds the AASHTO risk threshold, its owner must develop and implement a risk reduction plan within one year of assessment completion; beginning October 1, 2026, failure to do so (absent a Secretary-granted extension) renders the owner ineligible for federal grants related to that bridge. Not later than one year after assessment, the Secretary must integrate results into the National Bridge Inventory (a comprehensive database on the condition of U.S. highway bridges), while withholding sensitive security data as appropriate. This section further establishes an interdisciplinary bridge safety team within the Department of Transportation, comprised of detailees from the Federal Highway Administration, Coast Guard, and Army Corps of Engineers, to provide guidance, oversee compliance, and maintain a national vulnerability database for bridges. This section also establishes a competitive grant program to fund vulnerability assessments and physical improvements for covered bridges, authorizing $500 million for FY2026 through FY2030.