To qualify for $4.8 billion in federal road and bridge grants over the next five years under the $1.2 trillion infrastructure law that Congress passed and President Joe Biden signed into law in November, Minnesota state and local governments will have to chip in nearly $200 million a year in matching funds.
That was an early estimate that two state House committees heard Tuesday during their first hearing on what the federal government’s historic investment bill will mean for Minnesota roads, bridges and other transportation infrastructure.
In general, federal grants will provide 80 percent of the funding for qualifying projects, and state and local governments will have to foot the remaining 20 percent of the bill, Ben Husch, federal affairs advisor for the National Conference of State Legislatures, told Minnesota lawmakers during the remote hearing.
State House Transportation Committee Chair Frank Hornstein, DFL-Minneapolis,…
