CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginia would get $10.25 million to repair its bridges under a bill approved by the House of Representatives on Thursday.

U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall, vice chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, said he is eager to provide funds to maintain the nation's transportation infrastructure "so that disasters like the ones in [Point Pleasant, W.Va.] and Minneapolis won't happen again ...

"Bridges have life spans. In 1967, the same year our Silver Bridge collapsed, the I-35 Bridge in Minneapolis was completed; last year, it too collapsed," Rahall said. "The House took action to reverse the river of red ink that has left our nation's highway bridges in a sad state of disrepair."

The bill, which would provide $1 billion for bridges nationwide, will now go to the Senate.

Today, 1,152 of 3,378 bridges in West Virginia that received federal construction funds have structural problems, according to the Federal Highway Administration.

On Friday, USA Today reported tougher inspections since the collapse of the bridge in Minneapolis on August 1 have already led 16 states to close some of their bridges and reduce weight limits or make immediate repairs to others.

USA Today found 15 percent of West Virginia's bridges are deficient, but state DOT officials told USA Today no repairs were needed to the 19 bridges in West Virginia that are of the same type that collapsed in Minneapolis.

The percentage of bridges now structurally deficient ranged from 2 percent in Arizona and Delaware to between 24 percent and 26 percent in Oklahoma, South Dakota and Pennsylvania, USA Today reported.

Under the new House bill, the U.S. Department of Transportation must require states to focus more attention on bridges in need of rehabilitation and replacement.

In order to qualify for future highway construction funds, states must create a "five-year performance plan for highway bridge inspection, rehabilitation, and replacement specifically for federal-aid highway bridges that are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete," Rahall pointed out. 

Reach Paul J. Nyden at pjny...@wvgazette.com">pjny...@wvgazette.com or 348-5164.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginia would get $10.25 million to repair its bridges under a bill approved by the House of Representatives on Thursday.

U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall, vice chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, said he is eager to provide funds to maintain the nation's transportation infrastructure "so that disasters like the ones in [Point Pleasant, W.Va.] and Minneapolis won't happen again ...

"Bridges have life spans. In 1967, the same year our Silver Bridge collapsed, the I-35 Bridge in Minneapolis was completed; last year, it too collapsed," Rahall said. "The House took action to reverse the river of red ink that has left our nation's highway bridges in a sad state of disrepair."

The bill, which would provide $1 billion for bridges nationwide, will now go to the Senate.

Today, 1,152 of 3,378 bridges in West Virginia that received federal construction funds have structural problems, according to the Federal Highway Administration.

On Friday, USA Today reported tougher inspections since the collapse of the bridge in Minneapolis on August 1 have already led 16 states to close some of their bridges and reduce weight limits or make immediate repairs to others.

USA Today found 15 percent of West Virginia's bridges are deficient, but state DOT officials told USA Today no repairs were needed to the 19 bridges in West Virginia that are of the same type that collapsed in Minneapolis.

The percentage of bridges now structurally deficient ranged from 2 percent in Arizona and Delaware to between 24 percent and 26 percent in Oklahoma, South Dakota and Pennsylvania, USA Today reported.

Under the new House bill, the U.S. Department of Transportation must require states to focus more attention on bridges in need of rehabilitation and replacement.

In order to qualify for future highway construction funds, states must create a "five-year performance plan for highway bridge inspection, rehabilitation, and replacement specifically for federal-aid highway bridges that are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete," Rahall pointed out. 

Reach Paul J. Nyden at pjny...@wvgazette.com">pjny...@wvgazette.com or 348-5164.