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2017 SESSION

17102503D
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 686
Offered January 11, 2017
Prefiled January 10, 2017
Memorializing the Congress of the United States to change its laws and impact associated federal regulations to allow states and communities throughout the United States the ability to expedite permitting to emergency priority levels for the maintenance, reconstruction, or replacement of structurally deficient bridges.
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Patron-- Yancey
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Referred to Committee on Rules
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WHEREAS, the maintenance and structural stability of bridges is a critical component of the safety and well-being of the citizens of the Commonwealth, and an investment in such infrastructure will help boost economic growth and keep families safe; and

WHEREAS, on average, it takes over five years to permit a bridge in the United States; delay in rebuilding bridges is dangerous, and further deterioration drives up costs; and

WHEREAS, of the 13,492 National Bridge Inventory Structures in the Commonwealth of which 3,649 are in the National Highway System, and in accordance with the national established grading system, 1,116, are considered structurally deficient with hundreds of thousands of citizens traveling over such deficient bridges on a daily basis; and

WHEREAS, in the Hampton Roads area alone, five of the most traveled bridges in the Commonwealth fail to meet structural and design standards, including the eastbound Interstate 64 bridge approaching the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel past the Mallory Street exit in Hampton, which carries roughly 43,842 vehicles a day, and the I-264 bridge, built in 1967, which had 133,892 vehicle crossings per day in 2015; and

WHEREAS, the structural soundness of such bridges is of critical importance for national defense, emergency evacuation in the event of a hurricane, the tourism industry, economic growth and development, the vital transportation and economic link for the Port of Virginia, and overall quality of life; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the Congress of the United States be urged to change its laws and impact associated federal regulations to allow states and communities throughout the United States to expedite permitting to emergency priority levels for the maintenance, reconstruction, or replacement of structurally deficient bridges; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates transmit copies of this resolution to the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the President of the United States Senate, and the members of the Virginia Congressional Delegation so that they may be apprised of the sense of the General Assembly of Virginia in this matter.