SHAHEEN ANNOUNCES $140,000 FOR BRIDGE IMPROVEMENT IN ANDOVER

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) today announced the New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT) has won a $140,000 competitive federal grant from the Federal Highway Administration to improve the Route 11 Bridge over the Blackwater River in Andover.  The award will support the installation of partially grouted riprap, a new, more cost-effective technology to protect the bridge from water damage.

“Preserving the structural integrity of our bridges is both a public safety issue and an economic one,” Shaheen said.  “I’m glad Andover and New Hampshire will be able to use this award to strengthen their infrastructure and save money.”

The NHDOT recently identified 33 bridges that could use partially grouted riprap to protect them from scour, a common cause of bridge failure in which the sediment surrounding bridge abutments or piers is carried away by water.  This technology is more cost effective than traditional methods that involve removing soil from streambeds.