Biden to roll out bridge spending, highlight administration’s infrastructure efforts

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Friday is set to announce his administration will distribute billions of dollars to repair or replace bridges around the nation as part of the progress it is making since he signed the infrastructure bill in November.

The Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration is handing out $27 billion in funding over the next five years to fix or rebuild thousands of bridges, including money for Puerto Rico and tribal governments, the White House said in a news release.

Dec. 18, 202106:56

The president plans to highlight a previously announced plan to build a network of 500,000 electric vehicle chargers. The Department of Transportation and Department of Energy are collaborating to carry out the effort.

The Environmental Protection Agency, meanwhile, will distribute $7.4 billion in funding to states to upgrade water pipes, sewage systems and other service lines, the White House said. The administration aims to replace all lead pipes in the U.S. over the next decade.

Biden is also expected to touch on the law’s benefits so that people can obtain high-speed internet. The Federal Communications Commission, for example, has launched a program that provides subsidies of up to $30 a month for low-income households to access broadband and $100 toward the purchase of a laptop, tablet or desktop computer.

“The historic bipartisan infrastructure law will rebuild crumbling road and bridges, replace lead pipes, help provide high-speed internet to every family in America, and produce concrete results that change people’s lives for the better,” the White House said, adding that infrastructure spending will create well-paying union jobs and boost domestic manufacturing and supply chains.

The White House added that the Biden administration is “following through on President Biden’s commitment to ensure investments advance equity and racial justice, reach communities all across the country — including rural communities, communities of color, and disability communities — and strengthen the nation’s resilience to climate change.”