Overview

The Bridge Investment Program (BIP) includes $2.34 Billion in funding for Planning, Bridge and Large Bridge Projects that improve the safety, efficiency, and reliability of the movement of people and freight over bridges; and improve the condition of bridges in the United States by reducing the number of bridges, and total person miles traveled over bridges, that are in poor condition or at risk of falling into poor condition within the next three years.

For BIP projects to be selected, the Department must determine that the project meets the Statutory Evaluation Requirements described below:

  • Costs avoided by the prevention or closure of a bridge to be improved
  • Benefits from scour or seismic protection
  • Reductions in maintenance costs
  • Safety benefits, including reduction of accidents and related costs
  • Person and freight mobility benefits, including congestion reduction and reliability improvements
  • Benefits from long-term resiliency to extreme weather events, flooding, or other natural disasters
  • National or regional economic benefits
  • Environmental benefits, including wildlife connectivity
  • Benefits to nonvehicular and public transportation users
  • In the case of bundled projects, benefits from executing as a group
  • Benefits of using innovative design and construction techniques or technologies
  • Benefits outweighing costs (benefit-cost analysis greater than 1.0)

Eastern Montana Timber Bridge Bundle

The Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) submitted a Rural grant application in May of 2022 for Eastern Montana Timber Bridge Bundle. A portion of the Rural submittal was resubmitted for the BIP Bridge Project grant application in September 2022. The network of projects will replace 4 timber bridges in eastern Montana, remove load restrictions, and improve safety on MDT routes. The project will benefit rural, agricultural communities by replacing infrastructure that has reached its useful life and provide for the movement of freight and commodities across eastern Montana. Links are provided below for additional project and grant information: