HILO, Hawaii — As part of President Joe Biden’s Investing in America agenda, $74.6 million in funding is going towards the Hawaii Belt Road Bridges Rehabilitation Project, according to a news release.

The funding comes from the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America grant program. 

The project will rehabilitate aging support structures for the Nanue and Hakalau Stream Bridges on the Hamakua Coast of Hawaii Island. Currently, the bridges are experiencing repeated closures, causing lengthy delays and dangerous detours for residents. 

Both bridges are steel girder, and trestle bridges, according to the Hawaii Historic Foundation. The Nanue Stream Bridge is built 286-feet above the stream bed below it, making it the tallest bridge on Hawaii Island. The Hakalau Stream Bridge is built at a height of 261 feet. Both bridges are significant for their association with the Hilo Railroad Company.    

“With this announcement, we are advancing projects so large, complex, and ambitious that they could not get funded under the infrastructure programs that existed prior to the Biden administration,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Along with Hawaii’s bridge project, another 36 projects across the U.S. are being funded by President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, with a total of $4.9 billion in funding.