(BIVN) – $13.4 million in new federal funding will go towards the Waiānuenue Avenue Bridge modernization project.

On Thursday, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D, Hawai‘i) announced the new funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), noting that the money follows an initial $1.5 million in federal grant money secured in 2021.

“This new federal funding will modernize the Waiānuenue Avenue Bridge, making it safer for local families to use and get where they need to go,” said Senator Schatz, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The bridge is located on Waiānuenue Avenue, just makai of the intersection of Rainbow Drive.

From the office of Senator Schatz:

The modernized bridge will be designed to withstand earthquake forces and erosive forces of flood waters as established by current national standards. The $13 million grant is being funded through FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, which provides funding to state, local, Tribal, and territorial governments so they can rebuild in a way that reduces, or mitigates, future disaster losses in their communities.