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HR 7442

National Bridge Funding Reform Act

119th Congress Introduced by Brandon Gill and 4 co-sponsors

The bill creates a National Bridge Program that reallocates funds from carbon-reduction and PROTECT programs to prioritize replacement, rehabilitation, and construction of bridges

Referred to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.
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Bill Summary · HR 7442

Summary of HR 7442 (National Bridge Funding Reform Act)

Purpose and intent

  • Introduces a dedicated national bridge program by eliminating existing carbon-reduction and PROTECT programs and reallocating their funding to a new bridge funding formula.
  • The bill aims to prioritize bridge-related investments on Federal-aid highways, focusing on replacement, rehabilitation, preservation, protection, and construction of bridges.

Key provisions and changes

  • Elimination of existing programs

    • Repeals and removes:
    • Carbon Reduction Program (Sec. 175)
    • PROTECT Program (Sec. 176)
    • Replaces their funding and purposes with a national bridge program.

  • Establishment of the National Bridge Program (NBP)

    • Creates a new program under proposed 23 U.S.C. § 175 titled “National bridge program.”
    • Purposes: Support for replacement, rehabilitation, preservation, protection, and construction of bridges on Federal-aid highways, and for other related purposes.
    • Eligible projects:
    • Funds apportioned to states may be used for bridges on Federal-aid highways as well as, at each state's discretion, bridges not on Federal-aid highways.

  • Funding distribution (apportionment)

    • The Secretary must distribute funds apportioned under the new program to states using a two-part formula:
    • 75% based on the proportion of a state's total deck area of bridges on Federal-aid highways relative to all states.
    • 25% based on the proportion of bridges in poor condition (by deck area) within a state relative to all states’ poor-condition deck-area bridges.
    • The “deck area” concept is central to the allocation.

  • National Bridge Inventory basis

    • For distribution calculations, the Secretary uses the National Bridge Inventory as of December 31, 2024, to determine total deck area and total deck area in poor condition.

  • Conforming amendments

    • Removes references to the prior carbon-reduction and PROTECT programs throughout the U.S. Code sections tied to these programs.
    • Adjusts related statutory text to reflect the new framework (e.g., amendments to Section 104, and related cross-references in chapters describing transportation programs).

  • Administrative and clerical changes

    • Adds a clerical update to the U.S.C. chapter analysis to reflect the new National Bridge Program.

Who is affected

  • States and local authorities: States receive allocations for bridge projects under the new National Bridge Program and must determine eligible uses (bridges on Federal-aid highways and potentially bridges off Federal-aid highways at their discretion).
  • Bridge owners and project sponsors: Entities responsible for planning, funding, and executing bridge replacement, rehabilitation, preservation, protection, and construction projects.
  • National Bridge Inventory stakeholders: Institutions maintaining bridge data will inform distribution calculations under the 2024 deck-area metrics.

Procedural and timeline aspects

  • Introduction and referrals
    • Introduced February 9, 2026.
    • Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.
  • Effective dates and transition
    • The bill outlines transitions by replacing the existing program authorities with the National Bridge Program and using a 2024 inventory baseline for allocation calculations.
  • No explicit federal funding amounts or multi-year authorization terms are provided in the text provided; the exact funding levels would be determined by subsequent legislative action and appropriations.

Observations

  • The allocation formula emphasizes bridge deck area and the condition of bridges, potentially shifting funding toward states with larger bridge networks and greater needs in poor condition.
  • By excluding carbon-reduction and PROTECT program structures, the bill centralizes funding toward bridge infrastructure rather than broader transportation or resilience/performance initiatives.
  • States may gain flexibility in using funds for bridges outside the Federal-aid system, depending on state discretion.

If you’d like, I can provide a side-by-side comparison with current law (Carbon Reduction Program and PROTECT Program) or a plain-language quick reference sheet.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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