June 23, 2020 3:20 a.m.

Congressman Peter DeFazio says local leaders around southwest Oregon are endorsing the INVEST in America Act.

DeFazio’s release called the legislation “a transformative infrastructure bill”. Its formal title is the Investing in a New Vision for the Environmental and Surface Transportation in America Act.

Douglas County Commissioner Chris Boice said the legislation “responds to an urgent need to repair or replace many of the hundreds of bridges in Douglas County”. Boice said the bridges are “critical for commerce such as logging and lumber, access to our public lands for recreation, and public safety for fire-fighting and Search and Rescue”.

Coos County Commissioner Melissa Cribbins said the bill is “the critical investment that we need for our crumbling rural infrastructure”.

The release said the INVEST in America Act authorizes nearly $500 billion over five years to address some of the country’s most urgent infrastructure needs. That includes:

*Tackling the massive backlog of roads, bridges and transit systems in need of repair and replacement.

*Building resilient infrastructure that will withstand the impacts of climate change and extreme weather

*Designing streets that are safer for all road users, including pedestrians and cyclists

*Putting the U.S. on a path towards zero emissions from the transportation sector

*Sharply increasing funding for public transit options

*Improving access to federal funding to help communities undertake transformative projects that are “smarter, safer and made to last”.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved the legislation last Thursday. The bill will be considered on the House floor at the end of this month.