YORK COUNTY, Pa. — Editor's note: The above video is from Aug. 24, 2022.
A damaged York County bridge received $1 million in federal funding to support repairs, the Biden-Harris Administration announced yesterday.
The funds come from the Emergency Relief Fund, a U.S. Department of Transportation coordinated approach to helping states repair and rebuild roads and bridges that have been damaged by catastrophic events.
The State Route 74 overpass that carries traffic over Interstate 83 in York County was damaged when a truck traveling north hit it on Aug. 24, 2022.
The bed of the truck hit the overpass for Route 74 and cracked it, lodging the truck bed underneath the bridge.
It was the second time last year that a truck crashed underneath the South Queen Street Bridge. PennDOT had been working on repair plans for the first hit when the second hit happened, spokesperson Fritzi Schreffler said at the time.
After the second crash, repair costs increased.
“Now, taking into account everything, we’re looking at somewhere between $1-1.5 million dollars to fix it," said Schreffler.
PennDOT said in August that the trucking company responsible for striking the bridge would likely be on the hook to cover the some of the costs. It is unclear how the federal money will affect this plan.
“When natural disasters destroy vital transportation links, it impacts countless people who rely on those roads, bridges, and tunnels every day,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “Cleanup and repairs can take years, and these funds are an important way our Department can help get families and communities moving again.”
“These climate events take their toll on communities, often impacting the economic livelihood and the quality of life for residents who are forced to make changes to their daily lives to accommodate damaged roads and infrastructure,” said FHWA Administrator Shailen Bhatt. “Through these long-term investments from FHWA’s Emergency Relief Program and new programs available in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we will continue to address the devastating impacts of climate change and catastrophic events and work to build more resilient transportation infrastructure.”
A listing of FY 2023 Emergency Relief Program allocations with funding information for each state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico can be found here.