Connecticut Department of Transportation

Local Bridge Program

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Bridge 04517, carrying Silver St over East Branch Salmon Brook, in Granby Bridge 05009, carrying June Road over Mianus River, in Stamford
Bridge 118008, carrying Old Main St over Goff Brook, in Rocky Hill Bridge 04731, carrying Stone Mill Rd #1 over Fenton River, in Mansfield
In Connecticut, there are approximately 4,200 bridges and culverts on municipally maintained roads. Construction and maintenance of these expensive structures is the responsibility of the cities and towns who own them. Recognizing the difficulty that municipalities have in meeting this responsibility, the General Assembly created the Local Bridge Program in 1984 as part of the State’s Infrastructure Renewal Program. This program provides for State grants to municipalities for the removal, replacement, reconstruction or rehabilitation of local bridges.  For more details of the program, please refer to the Local Bridge Program Manuals below.  The Manuals contain information explaining how bridges are rated, an overview of funding programs, an outline of the typical project's progress, environmental permit guidance, guidelines for obtaining funding, and a summary of laws related to municipal bridges.  Older versions are provided on a separate page for reference on projects initiated in prior fiscal years.  
Federal funding has been made available for municipal bridge projects whenever possible, and is still available for a limited number of new projects.  See the links below for a list of eligible bridges and application forms. 
 

FUNDING APPLICATION WINDOW NEWS

The funding application window for FY 2023 State grants under the STATE Local Bridge Program is anticipated to run from April 1 to May 31, 2022.  All applications must include an inspection report performed under NBIS rules (bridge screenings do not fulfill this requirement).  Conditional Commitment to Fund letters for approved applications will be sent starting July 2022 to the respective municipalities.

Applications for FEDERAL Local Bridge Program funding may be submitted at any time.

Please see the latest Local Bridge Program Manual for more information.

PROGRAM NEWS

P.A. 16-151
Legislation includes change of the grant rate to 50% for all municipalities, and extends eligibility to bridges that are not currently structurally deficient, but have other issues. These include bridges that are functionally obsolete or scour critical, or bridges that could benefit from minor repairs to extend their useful life.  The changes will take effect on 7/1/2016 and the grant rate for FY 2017 projects will be 50%.  The Program Regulations will be revised for FY 2018 application criteria for bridges that are not yet structurally deficient.

P.A. 15-5
Legislation which includes set-aside requirement for Municipal Public Works Contracts, which affects State Local Bridge Program projects advertised for construction on or after October 1, 2015. The Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO) has been tasked with overseeing and regulating compliance with the respective Small Business and Minority Business Enterprises (SBE and MBE) set-aside requirement.  However, the burden of compliance and reporting will fall on the contractor.  The municipality’s role is to follow CHRO’s guidance in terms of specific language that must be incorporated into bid solicitation and contract award documents. For information and documents regarding this legislation and compliance procedures, please contact CHRO’s Contract Compliance and Affirmative Action Unit by calling (860) 541-3434 or by visiting webpage www.ct.gov/chro.
 
Bridge Inspection Reports Available Through SharePoint:  Current bridge inspection reports for NBI bridges are now available to prequalified consultants and municipalities through SharePoint.  Please visit the Bureau of Engineering and Construction Municipalities SharePoint page for reports. If you do not already have access, please follow the directions at the following link- Getting Started With SharePoint for Municipalities.
 
FHWA Video Library!  The FHWA has a new resource called Federal-aid Essentials for Local Public Agencies. This resource puts key information about Federal-aid requirements on a single Web site at www.fhwa.dot.gov/federal-aidessentials.  Local agencies now have a centralized hub for guidance, policies, procedures, and best practices for administering Federal-aid projects. The Web site’s main feature is a library of videos covering key aspects of the project development and delivery process.

Applications for Federally-Funded Local Bridge Projects Accepted: The Department is continuing to accept applications for new Federal Local Bridge Program projects.  Applications may be submitted at any time - there is no deadline.  In the event that applications received exceed the available funding, a cut-off date will be established and applications prioritized.  Municipalities must be prepared to cover 20% of all project costs, including ConnDOT District oversight personnel.  Approval of applications may be delayed while funding changes under MAP-21 are sorted-out.

Note to Consulting Engineers working on Local Bridge Program Projects:   All contact with ConnDOT support units, such as, but not limited to, Environmental Planning and Hydraulics & Drainage, must be made through the ConnDOT LBP Project Engineer.  Failure to follow this procedure will result in lost documents and delays!

OFFICE CONTACTS

Program Manager:  Marc P. Byrnes, P.E., Transportation Supervising Engineer.
Requests for additional information should be addressed to: 

 
State Local Bridge Program:                           
Francisco T. Fadul, P.E.
Project Engineer
Phone: (860) 594-2078 Email: Francisco.Fadul@ct.gov
 
Federal Local Bridge Program:
James R. Barrows II, P.E.
Project Engineer
Phone: (860) 594-3192 Email: James.Barrows@ct.gov
 
  Andrew C. Shields, E.I.T.
Project Engineer
Phone: (860) 594-2077 Email: Andrew.Shields@ct.gov
 

For general inquiries, questions and comments pertaining to the Federal Local Bridge Program, please email DOT-FLBP@ct.gov

 
Program Mailing address:   2800 Berlin Turnpike, P.O. Box 317546, Newington, CT 06131-7546

 

IMPORTANT PROGRAM LINKS

Local Bridge Program Manual

Draft 2013 Local Bridge Program Regulations (PDF, 57.3 KB. To be used until an approved version is published)

Current and Historical Local Bridge Program Legislation (PDF, 383 KB, rev. 2/27/15)

NEW Eligible Bridge List (Remove any active filters in order to see the full list of bridges, MS Excel, 0.2 MB, rev. 3/1/22. Note:  Lists include both State and Federally eligible bridges; scroll to far-right columns for eligible funding categories; Under-20' bridges shown on this list are included as a preliminary step and their eligibility for funding will only be finalized through a proper municipality-provided inspection report)

NEW Master Municipal Bridge List (MS Excel, 1.8 MB, rev. 3/1/22. Complete list of known bridges owned or maintained by cities and towns)

Past Local Bridge Program Manuals

Documents, Forms and Reference Materials  (APPLICATION FORMS, standard forms and guidance documents)

Under 20' Bridge Data (MS Excel, 1.11 MB, rev. 2/27/15.Data for bridges with spans less than 20 feet. Note: most of these bridges have not been inspected by the State since 1992)

Project Photos (photographs of some completed bridge projects)

Federal Funding Available to Municipalities  (Information on various federal funding programs for municipalities, including non-bridge projects)

Bridge Suppliers and Manufacturers(links to outside web sites of interest, including suppliers and vendors)

Reference Series: Locally Administered Transportation Projects in Connecticut

 

Please note that ConnDOT personnel are not allowed to discuss particular projects with consulting engineers until a designer has been selected for that project. To preserve the integrity of the bidding process, engineer's detailed cost estimates are not available to the public until a project is completed.  Please contact the appropriate town for more information on a project.

 View from Wapping Road Bridge, East Windsor

 

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