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AOT details FY27 bridge budgets; Springfield multi-structure project to span years
Summary
The Agency of Transportation presented a $166.5 million bridge program covering interstate, state highway and town-bridge work, noting a major Springfield multi-structure contract planned for construction in 2028 and explaining that prior IIJA funds temporarily raised town-bridge spending.
Jim Latroy, Structures Program Manager at the Agency of Transportation, told the committee the FY27 bridge program totals and projects reflect ongoing recovery work from recent floods and steady interstate-bridge investments.
Latroy said the overall program includes about $166.5 million and roughly 160 projects in the program, with 35 identified as emergency projects tied to 2023–24 flood events. "In that program, there are $51,300,000" in the interstate program (90% federal / 10% state), Latroy said, and he listed notable FY27 interstate expenditures including rehabilitation in Royalton on I‑89 and deck replacements elsewhere.
A major focus was the Springfield package: Latroy described eight structures covered by a single large contract, said design inflation increased the estimated cost by about $9 million relative to FY26 projections, and said construction is planned to start in 2028 and will span multiple fiscal years. The agency is preparing to apply for USDOT Bridge Improvement Program funding but has been waiting on a Notice of Funding Opportunity that has been delayed.
Committee members raised concerns about apparent reductions in town‑bridge program totals from FY26 to FY27. Latroy and other members explained the decline is primarily the result of one-time IIJA funds that ramped up activity in prior years and are now drawing down, not an intentional retreat from town-bridge investment. Latroy noted the town program uses a mix of federal, state, local, TID and TFund dollars and that some recent projects benefited from pots of 100% federal funding under IIJA.
On performance metrics, Latroy described a 6% target for poor-condition deck area on the interstate system and a 12% target for the town-highway bridge program; he explained percent-poor is calculated using deck-area square footage so larger interstate bridges weigh more heavily in the metric. He emphasized bridge maintenance as a cost-effective strategy to keep structures out of poor condition and said FY27 maintenance funding includes roughly $5 million for interstate bridge maintenance and $7.5 million for state bridge maintenance.
Latroy closed with an inventory pledge and follow-up offers to provide more detailed bridge counts and inspection data to the committee; he said several large projects (including the Springfield contract) will move from design into construction over the next two to four years.
