National Historic Covered Bridge Preservation Program

SOLICITATION LETTER

The purpose of this memorandum is to solicit FY 2006 candidate bridge projects from the States for the rehabilitation, repair, or preservation portion of the National Historic Covered Bridge Preservation (NHCBP) Program. This program was established by Section 1804 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy For Users (SAFETEA-LU), and provides funding to assist the States to rehabilitate, repair, or preserve the Nation’s historic covered bridges. For the purposes of the NHCBP Program, the term “historic covered bridge” means a covered bridge that is listed or eligible for listing on the National Register for Historic Places.

The NHCBP Program provides for two categories of projects. One grant is to assist States in carrying out the rehabilitation, repair, or preservation of the Nation’s historic covered bridges. The other category focuses on research and education on and about the Nation’s historic covered bridges. The total FY 2006 appropriation available for this program is $8,613,000.

This solicitation is only intended for applications regarding the rehabilitation, repair, or preservation of the Nation’s historic covered bridges. The research and technology transfer category will be addressed separately by the FHWA Office of Infrastructure R&D at the Turner Fairbank Highway Research Center.

Grants will be awarded to States submitting eligible projects that demonstrate a need for assistance in carrying out one or more eligible projects as outlined below:

1. to rehabilitate or repair a historic covered bridge;

2. to preserve a historic covered bridge, including through

   1. installation of a fire protection system, including a fireproofing or fire detection system and sprinklers;

   2. installation of a system to prevent vandalism and arson; or

   3. relocation of a bridge to a preservation site

To ensure the bridges retain their historical significance, grants will be awarded for projects only if:

1. to the maximum extent practicable, the project

1. is carried out in the most historically appropriate manner; and

2. preserves the existing structure of the historic covered bridge; and

2. the project provides for the replacement of wooden components, unless the use of wood is impracticable for safety reasons

Each project must be carried out in the most historically appropriate manner following the Department of Interior’s Standards, and the standards and guidelines approved by the State Historic Preservation Officer. The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties may be obtained at the website, http://ohp.parks.ca.gov/pages/1054/files/Standards Chart1.pdf, and should be consulted for the distinct approaches to treatment of historic properties. Although the Standards were developed for historic buildings, the terms, guidelines, and suggested approaches are generally applicable to historic covered bridges. States should also consult the FHWA “Covered Bridge Manual”, FHWA Publication No. FHWA-HRT-04-098 for additional information.

Please refer to Attachment 1, the program summary, for additional guidance. Using the criteria and associated selection considerations, please assist your State to determine the projects to be submitted.

As an alternative to paper, applications may be submitted electronically after the Division Office has reviewed them for eligibility, completeness, and assignment of the State’s priorities. This memorandum and attachments is being provided in Microsoft Word format and is also being posted on the National Historic Covered Bridge Preservation Program web site. Included, as Attachment 2 is a file that contains the required data items for candidate projects. The State's application should describe the project in enough detail to demonstrate that it meets one or more of the goals of this program. Applications and other support documents that provide a further description of the project, such as the scope of work and bridge plans, should be completed and submitted to the Office of Bridge Technology on or before August 1, 2006. Projects previously submitted but not selected may reapply in future fiscal years.

Questions concerning this program should be addressed to Edgar Small (202) 366-4622 (mailto:edgar.small@fhwa.dot.gov) or Everett Matias (202) 366-6712 (mailto:everett.matias@fhwa.dot.gov) of the Office of Bridge Technology.

Attachments