OWYHEE, Nev. -- There's a light at the end of the tunnel for rural Nevadans struggling with slow, spotty internet service as the Biden administration's infrastructure bill has allocated $65 billion for broadband improvements.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's ReConnect program just started taking applications for grants and loans to companies willing to build out networks to underserved areas.

Lynn Manning John, vice-principal of Owyhee Combined School on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation, said her community desperately needs better coverage and more bandwidth.

"In the building, we struggle with the internet going out regularly because the kids are on Chromebooks," Manning John explained. "And because of our location, which is a hundred miles from Elko, it sometimes takes us a day or two to get our internet back up."

She pointed out the area has only a single cell tower, and pre-pandemic 90% of families had no home-based internet service. Rural areas often lack communication infrastructure, because the customer base is too small to provide a return on a telecom company's investment.

Manning John said the future of her community, part of the Shoshone Paiute Tribe, depends on better broadband.

"It cannot be left up to the market," Manning John contended. "These kids have a need. Internet is just as essential as indoor plumbing and electricity. It needs to be provided on the scale that we do any type of public service."

Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., voted against the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, saying it favors urban over rural and suburban areas and creates red tape.

Jenny Miller, vice president of states and industry relations with the nonprofit advocacy group Connected Nation, said the country needs to make distance learning and telemedicine available to all, and to close the digital divide.

"It's really a once-in-a-generation amount of money that is coming down the pipe," Miller emphasized. "There is a ton of political pressure to get this moving quickly. We needed this yesterday."

Massachusetts will receive close to $1 billion in federal funding to replace the Cape Cod bridges.

Lawmakers said it is the largest single bridge funding grant in U.S. history and the biggest federal grant ever awarded to the Commonwealth.

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healy called it game-changing for the state's economy.

"It is a turning point truly in terms of sustained investments in an infrastructure whose benefits will be felt for generations," Healy emphasized. "It's a victory that we celebrate today."

The nearly 90-year-old Sagamore and Bourne bridges provide the only routes on and off the Cape and are considered "functionally obsolete" despite carrying more than 30 million vehicles each year. Healy explained plans are to focus first on replacing the Sagamore Bridge before turning to the Bourne.

The Biden Administration's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which established the Bridge Investment Program, invests a total of $40 billion over five years to help ensure the nation's most important bridges remain safe and operational. Already, the law has funded more than 7,000 bridge projects nationwide.

Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., said it feels like "Christmas in July," with the bridge project set to create some 9,000 construction jobs.

"We're going to do this with union labor," Markey pointed out. "It is going to be one of the largest union projects in Massachusetts history."

Markey noted an additional $700 million dollar state investment will allow construction on the Sagamore Bridge to begin. It is projected to be completed sometime in 2034 with the Bourne Bridge replacement completed more than a year later. The new bridges would be built next to the old ones to avoid traffic disruptions during construction.

Last week, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee heard testimony on the state and federal response to the collapse of the Key Bridge. In addition to a recap of the cleanup efforts, testimony turned to bridge replacement and who is paying for it.

Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., and Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., introduced the Baltimore Bridge Response Invests and Delivers Global Economic Relief Act, in which the federal government would fund 100% of the replacement of the bridge and its approaches. Cardin said the money is needed immediately.

"We are asking for the 100%, because that's what we've done in the past and we need it now," Cardin emphasized. "Because we are lending contracts to start the construction now. We don't want to delay this. Every month it's delayed is additional loss to our communities, and frustration among drivers, not only those that are directly impacted by the port, but those that are using our streets."

The legislation requires any funds recovered from insurance proceeds or as compensation for damages be used to reduce the federal government outlay. The current estimate to replace the bridge is $1.7 billion.

The Maryland Transportation Authority is evaluating proposals from design-build teams and expects to have a team chosen by mid- to late summer. Senators in the committee focused on safety upgrades to protect bridge piers against collisions from Neo-Panamax size ships such as the container ship Dali.

Paul J. Wiedefeld, Maryland transportation secretary, said designers will ensure pier protection.

"Whether it's through islands or actually moving the piers further apart," Wiedefeld explained. "If you put these piers much further apart, obviously, that's a natural protection. That'll be played out through the design as a high priority."

The bridge rebuild completion target is fall 2028.


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The Biden administration announced nearly $8 million in grants to improve public transportation, including a large and rural system in South Dakota, connecting people to critical services.

Prairie Hills Transit covers roughly the western third of the state and riders clock about 180,000 trips per year. It is receiving nearly $270,000 through a Federal Transit Administration pilot program, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, to improve transit for people with disabilities, older adults and low-income individuals.

Lisa Johnson, deputy director of Prairie Hills Transit, said the organization will use the funds to purchase a contactless payment system for riders, an upgrade from the wood tokens the system uses now.

"By going to a contactless payment technology, we're hoping to streamline it to improve the reliability of the rider's experience," Johnson explained. "They can manage their fare card and have an ongoing history of what they're paying."

Johnson noted it will streamline operations for the transit system, negating the need to manage tokens and cash checks from riders. The system sees a wide range of ridership, she added, including low-income people, people with disabilities, seniors, veterans and youth.

The new system will include an updated website to help riders plan trips in advance. Johnson noted in an area with scattered small communities, people use public transit to go back and forth between them.

"We have five communities that are within a 20-mile radius," Johnson pointed out. "I'm hoping to link those communities in a more efficient and timely manner."

Johnson emphasized Prairie Hills Transit plans to roll out its new system in about a year.


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