New Funding Announced For I-55 Bridge
The Tennessee and Arkansas departments of transportation have jointly secured $393 million in federal funds to build a new Interstate 55 Bridge over the Mississippi River at Memphis, to be known as America’s River Crossing.
Federal and state officials made the announcement July 12, the same day the Federal Highway Administration announced that the applications of both transportation departments for the Bridge Investment Program’s Large Bridge Project Grants had been approved. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said he worked with the Biden-Harris administration to secure funding for this project.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders later made their own announcements. The two state transportation departments have each committed up to $250 million to the project, which will be the single largest transportation investment in Tennessee history. The project is currently estimated to cost a total of about $800 million. The existing 75-year-old I-55 bridge will be demolished after the new bridge is completed. The new bridge is projected to support 64,000 vehicles carrying residents, workers and freight moving between Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi every day by the year 2050. The bridge will meet modern seismic codes, improve mobility, reduce crashes and address traffic flow for local and regional motorists and travelers in the tri-state area. Reduced maintenance costs and enhanced multimodal connectivity were touted as additional benefits.
“I’m proud to have worked with the Department of Transportation, as well as the outstanding team in Memphis and the governor’s office in successfully getting this extremely large and necessary grant for the construction of the new bridge,” Cohen said. “As President Biden would say, ‘This is a big…deal!’ And it sure is, probably the biggest investment made in Memphis by the federal government ever.”
Memphis Mayor Paul Young said, “This historic investment in Memphis will help further connect our community with the region and the world. Memphis’ prominence as a logistics hub is made stronger by the investment in this key piece of infrastructure, and we are honored by the grant.”
Greater Memphis Chamber President and CEO Ted Townsend thanked state and local leaders for cooperating on the project and “never taking their eye off of the ball.”
Deputy Governor and Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner Butch Eley said, “This historic project is four times larger than anything we have previously built. This partnership between states and the federal government underscores our bipartisan commitment to delivering innovative infrastructure solutions that support growth and economic prosperity. This landmark investment would not have happened without the bold leadership of Governor Lee and the Tennessee General Assembly, and their historic allocation of a $3 billion general fund investment, which allowed TDOT to leverage federal and peer-state funding.”
Photo caption: An illustration of one of the I-55 bridge designs under consideration. (Photo courtesy of the Tennessee Department of Transportation)
