WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, hosted a news conference call on Wednesday to discuss plans for the historic investment in Ohio’s bridges he secured in the bipartisan infrastructure plan.

Last week, the Ohio Department of Transportation received $96.7 million in bridge formula funding, and will receive a total of $483.3 million in bridge formula funding over the next five years.

“Plenty of politicians have talked about this — but this year, we’re finally getting it done,” Brown said. “Our goal is to leverage this investment to rebuild our roads and bridges, make them safer, and create jobs in every city, county and township across our state. Over the coming months, our office will be working with communities across Ohio to ensure that our state gets our fair share of this investment.”

Brown was joined on the call by Christina Muryn, the mayor of Findlay. The two discussed Brown’s efforts to ensure Ohio communities receive their fair share of federal infrastructure investment, and the impact this funding will make for communities like Findlay.

“For too long we have known that America’s infrastructure has been woefully underfunded. With the passage of the infrastructure bill local communities, like Findlay, across the country will receive support to ensure safe, resilient infrastructure,” Muryn said. “I look forward to putting the taxpayers’ dollars back to work in our community to support our growth and prosperity for generations to come.”

This historic investment was made possible through the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which Brown helped to write and pass. It included the strongest-ever Buy America provisions in an infrastructure bill, thanks to the inclusion of Brown’s Build America Buy America Act, and will ensure American labor, iron and steel are used for these publicly-funded projects.

In addition to this funding the state received, the United States Department of Transportation will begin making grants later this year under Brown’s Bridge Investment Act, to repair and replace significant national bridges, like the Brent Spence Bridge, and support additional local bridge repairs.

On Feb. 4, Brown’s office will host a briefing with the USDOT and local Ohio officials, including mayors, engineers, county commissioners and city councils, to discuss how local leaders can apply for federal funding, to make sure Ohio communities are best positioned to make the most of this infrastructure investment.