Asset management
26 Aug 14
New York secures funding to improve scour resilience of 20 bridges
The USA’s Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved US$47.8 million in funding to strengthen 20 bridges in New York State that are vulnerable to foundation erosion.
"Part of adjusting to the new reality of extreme weather means we must bolster our infrastructure to be stronger than it ever was before – so that we rebuild with the next major storm in mind," said state governor Andrew Cuomo.
He has requested a total of US$518 million in federal funding to strengthen 105 bridges that could be subject to scour and are those most at risk from repeated flooding.
All of the bridges were built to the codes and standards of their time and remain safe and open for everyday traffic. However, due to a variety of natural severe weather events and the increasing frequency of major storms and floods, they are vulnerable to scour caused by the intensity and velocity of water from extreme events.
The US$47.8 million funding of newly approved funding ranges from schemes costing less than US$650,000 to more than US$13 million.
