Source: United States Senator for Ohio Sherrod Brown
AKRON, OH – Today, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) joined local leaders and workers on an Akron Metro RTA bus to visit the troubled High Level Bridge and to discuss how the bipartisan infrastructure plan would invest in repairing and rebuilding bridges like High Level, and help Ohio transit agencies invest in expanded service, job training, and more pollution-free vehicles. The bipartisan infrastructure bill is expected to invest a record $1.347 billion in Ohio transit, with $64.7 million of that anticipated to go to the Akron area.
“This bill recognizes all the ways infrastructure fits together: Buses, bridges, roads, broadband – Ohio businesses and workers rely on all of it. And all this work is going to be done by Ohio workers, with American supplies,” said Brown.
Brown fought to include the Bridge Investment Act in the larger bipartisan infrastructure bill, to help communities repair and rebuild bridges and put Ohioans to work. The High Level Bridge is more than 70-years-old and is Summit County’s most expensive and complex structure. The estimated price to replace the bridge is $31.5 million.
Brown was joined at the event by Akron Metro RTA CEO Dawn Distler, Chief Union Steward and Legislative Chair for CWA Local 4302 Mark Derrig, and Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro, who spoke on the difference the investment would make for the community.
“METRO provides access to essential and equitable transportation options for our region, leading to jobs, housing, services, and economic development. We continue to build a path forward through new technologies, such as zero emission electric buses and state of the art facilities. The true winners of this Infrastructure bill are the transit loyal passengers in our community who need it and deserve it most and for that we thank Senator Brown for supporting our efforts and the Build Back Better Act,” said Dawn Distler, CEO Akron Metro RTA.
“The infrastructure bill makes a substantial investment in our community. It helps provide long term security to our riders while ensuring Metro, and its Unions, continue to deliver first class service,” said Mark Derrig, Chief Union Steward and Legislative Chair for CWA Local 4302.
“The Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to undertake long overdue public improvement projects that will grow and enrich Summit County and the entire nation. The roads and bridges we rely on to travel to and from work are in desperate need of investment, and as we move further into the digital age, we all need reliable high-speed internet to reach our fullest potential. The legislation, supported by Senator Brown and a bipartisan coalition, will deliver all that and more, and ensure a better future for us all,” said Ilene Shapiro, Summit County Executive.
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