ALSOBROOKS QUESTIONS FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION ADMINISTRATOR ABOUT FUNDING FOR MARYLAND’S AMERICAN LEGION BRIDGE

June 3, 2026

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Senator Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the Environment and Public Works' (EPW) Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee, questioned witnesses at an EPW hearing examining the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) proposed budget for fiscal year 2027. In the hearing, Senator Alsobrooks specifically questioned the FHWA Administrator Sean McMaster about expected federal investment for Maryland's American Legion Bridge.

WATCH SENATOR ALSOBROOKS' FULL QUESTIONING HERE

"Congress created the Bridge Investment Program to fund nationally significant bridge projects and to include a statutory lane to ensure that broad geographic distribution of awards would happen. Maryland remains among the states that have not yet received awards under the program's framework, and Maryland has applied for approximately $864 million for the American Legion Bridge, which is a major bridge replacement and corridor modernization effort in one of the most congested transportation corridors in the nation. As the Department evaluates future bridge investment awards, can you discuss how the Federal Highway Administration is assessing large nationally significant bridge replacement projects such as the American Legion Bridge and, more specifically, how does the Department views projects in states that have not yet received either a large bridge project award or two bridge project awards under the program's statutory framework?" asked Senator Alsobrooks.

"We still have a little bit of work to do for fiscal year 2026 funds for awards, there are a handful of localities that have not received what the required amount of awards are. You mentioned Maryland. We are still working through that. We have the large bridge applications in that we are processing. We hope to have those out in later summer would be my expectation. … The federal government wants to be a partner to address those most congested points. You saw earlier this year we issued a RFI on the American Legion Bridge, this is a bridge in our backyard here in the Capital of the United States that is heavily congested. I heard a statistic on the American Legion, I can't speak to the veracity of it, but they talk about what rush hour means in a normal capacity, might be two, three, or four hours. American Legion Bridge has a 12-hour rush hour. It is a very significant congested project. We look forward to working with the state of Maryland," responded Administrator Sean McMaster.

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