U.S. Transportation Secretary Slater Announces $14 Million to Michigan for Dequindre Yard Bridge Project

Topics:  Rodney E. Slater

Federal Highway Administration
December 21, 1999

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, December 21, 1999
Contact: Jim Pinkelman
Tel.: 202-366-0660
FHWA 82-99

U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater today announced that the state of Michigan will receive $14 million in Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) discretionary funds to help complete work on the Dequindre Yard Bridge project in Detroit.

"President Clinton and Vice President Gore recognize that an investment in our nation’s infrastructure is an investment in the American people," Slater said. "The project that we are helping to fund will yield significant dividends in terms of safety, mobility and economic growth to the people of Detroit and the surrounding area."

The Dequindre Yard Bridge project will replace the bridge carrying I-94 over the Grand Trunk, Norfolk Southern, and Conrail railroads, and Russell Street in Detroit. The bridge, which was built in 1959, was partly reconstructed in 1997 in the first phase of a two-part project. The funds announced today will help complete the project.

"I would like to thank the Clinton Administration for recognizing the importance of maintaining and improving the infrastructure of America’s urban cities," said Detroit Mayor Dennis W. Archer. "The funding provided by this grant will assist in completing a project that will benefit the citizens of Detroit and its surrounding communities."

FHWA discretionary funds are made available upon selection by the Secretary of Transportation after requests from states for funds for projects that meet criteria established by federal law and Department of Transportation regulations and procedures.

"These funds will enable this critical transportation project to move forward," FHWA Administrator Kenneth R. Wykle said. "This is the kind of strategic economic investment that will strengthen our transportation system and carry us into the new millennium."

In addition to bridge repair, funds are made available to states in six other categories: interstate maintenance; construction and improvement of roads formally designated as scenic byways; repair of deficient bridges that need seismic retrofitting; innovative bridge research; construction of highways on public lands such as national parks; and ferry boats and terminals to facilitate movement of people and goods across inland and coastal waterways.

For fiscal year 2000, the FHWA allocated $65.3 million for major bridge repair. The agency also allocated $88.5 million for interstate maintenance, $20.3 million for scenic byways, $21.8 million for seismic retrofitting for bridges, $15.9 million for innovative bridge research, $42.8 million for highways on public lands, and $31.4 million for ferry boats and terminals.