Delaware highway bridge reopens

A heavily traveled Delaware interstate bridge that was shut down for nearly three months because of a dangerous construction flaw has been reopened to drivers, the Wilmington, Del. News Journal reports.

The bridge, which carries Delaware’s Interstate 495 across the Christina River, was closed on June 2, when engineers discovered it was not level.

Delaware officials promised the bridge, which carries approximately 90,000 vehicles per day, would be reopened around Labor Day.

{mosads}The bridge was reopened on Saturday, about a week ahead of schedule, according to the report.

The overpass became a frequent backdrop during the fight over federal transportation funding that took place in Congress over the summer, drawing visits from President Obama and Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx to highlight the need for an infrastructure spending extension.

Lawmakers eventually settled on a temporary $10.8 billion transportation bill that extended infrastructure funding until May 2015.

Transportation advocates had sought a multi-year bill, using cases like the Delaware bridge to argue that there was a lengthy backlog of infrastructure needs in the U.S.