Source: United States Senator for Ohio Sherrod Brown
STEUBENVILLE, OH – Today, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) joined local government and community leaders along Washington Street in downtown Steubenville to discuss how previous federal investments benefitted the community, and how the bipartisan infrastructure bill would help communities upgrade outdated infrastructure throughout the state.
“This is an investment in Ohio that will pay off for years to come. It will create jobs now, help attract new businesses, and keep the existing ones. And it will connect people with the jobs and businesses,” said Brown. “Investing in our infrastructure is how we support workers, and it’s how we make sure our economic recovery reaches the whole country – not just Wall Street, not just the biggest cities on the coasts, but everywhere, including communities like Steubenville and Wintersville.”
The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is expected to provide Ohio with more than $10 billion of formula funding to repair and replace roads and bridges, upgrade drinking water and sewer systems, and update public transit systems. This is on top of funding from Senator Brown’s Bridge Investment Act, which would provide significant funding for bridge repairs. More than 3,200 bridges across Ohio are in need of repairs and according to a report from the American Road and Transportation Builders Association, more than 1,300 of those are classified as structurally deficient. This will all be done with American workers, iron and steel, thanks to the provisions Brown secured in the bill based on his Build America Buy America Act.
Brown was joined at the event by Mayor of Steubenville Jerry Barilla, Mayor of Wintersville Robert Martin,
Owner of Amy Patterson Commercial Cleaning, LLC, Amy Patterson, who spoke on what more investment would mean for the community.
“The ability of the federal government to support small cities like Steubenville for projects that are paramount to sustain a city and make it successful is invaluable. This federal funding is vital for small communities that don’t have enough capital to handle major infrastructure projects,” said Mayor Jerry Barilla of Steubenville.
“Having Senator Brown here is like Christmas in September. In Wintersville, roads need repairs, plus the addition of water and sewer lines. In other areas, water, sewer, and stormwater lines need to be repaired or even replaced. The village of Wintersville often applies for grants for those projects, but the funding usually does not come in quickly enough. So federal infrastructure funding would be so very helpful,” said Mayor Robert Martin of Wintersville.
“The money that you put in the area, it’s going to go back out into the community,” said Amy Patterson, Owner Amy Patterson Commercial Cleaning LLC. “It’s so important to keep these businesses thriving and working and operating. That federal funding keeps people here – you don’t want to lose your business owners.”
Brown fought to include the Bridge Investment Act in the larger bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The Bridge Investment Act will ensure Ohioans are safer, will create and support jobs in communities, and will make local economies more competitive.
Brown’s Bridge Investment Act will:
- Provide $12.5 billion in funding to repair and replace nationally and regionally significant bridges, like the Brent Spence Bridge in Ohio.
- Require construction to be done with American materials, ensuring Ohio tax dollars support Ohio jobs, with the strongest-ever Buy America standards.
- Accelerate aid to Ohio’s 3,200 bridges that need repairs. The 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers’ Report Card for America’s Infrastructure found there are at least 46,154 bridges in the U.S. that are ‘structurally deficient’ and 231,000 still need repair and preservation work.
###