The House will begin debate Wednesday on a bill intended to boost repair work on the nation’s bridges, restructure how the federal government monitors them and thwart catastrophes.

The bill was delayed last week, which pushed its expected passage date even closer to the one-year anniversary of Minnesota’s Interstate 35 bridge collapse that left 13 dead and more than 100 injured. The bill was introduced by House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman James L. Oberstar, D-Minn., shortly after the Aug.1, 2007, tragedy.

The 2005 highway bill (PL 109-59) authorized $4.5 billion in fiscal 2009 for the Federal Highway Administration’s Highway Bridge Program. The bill (HR 3999) would authorize an additional $1 billion in fiscal 2009 for the bridge program and bar the earmarking of those funds by Congress or the administration.

It also would require states to use the federal money deposited into their bridge accounts exclusively for bridges. Currently, under the 2005 highway law, states have the flexibility to move funds between accounts. States would be required to submit a five-year performance plan in order to receive Highway Bridge Program funds.

Committee ranking Republican John L. Mica of Florida said the bill unfairly penalizes states that have repaired their bridges rather than shifting money around.

At a bridge hearing last year, a representative of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials said that states were spending much more money on bridges than what was provided under the federal bridge program.

The Bush administration opposes the measure and said in a statement that the federal highway program already provides adequate funding.

The bill also would require the Federal Highway Administration to conduct annual inspections of bridges that are rated structurally deficient. Others would have to be inspected every two years.

Mica said he plans to offer an amendment that would require the Government Accountability Office to conduct a study to address the effectiveness of the terms “structurally deficient” and “functionally obsolete.”

Oberstar will offer a substitute amendment that includes $5 million for a pilot program to evaluate advanced technologies in monitoring and evaluating the structural efficiency of a highway bridge.