Nearly a year has passed since the I-35 bridge collapsed during rush hour in Minneapolis, killing thirteen people and injuring one hundred more.  So, Senator Sherrod Brown is pushing new anti-corrosion technology to strengthen bridges and infrastructure here in the Buckeye State.

"It basically says to local officials and state officials, as you do bridge construction and repair, consider the anti-corrosion technology, because it will make bridges safer, and will help those bridges last longer, saving considerable tax payer dollars.", says Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH).

The Mahoning County Engineer says our bridges are in better shape than most others in Ohio.  Voters passed a twenty-four million dollar bond issue back in 1985 that's helped the department keep up with repairs and replacement.

"With that twenty-four million dollars, we were able to parlay it as local share, and we did about eighty million dollars worth of bridge repairs.", says Mahoning County Engineer Richard Marsico.

But, the levy is out of time and money.  Marsico says there are other bridges in the County that need to be replaced but they simply don't have the funds, and construction costs continue to skyrocket.  Marsico says, "Inflation and cost of doing the work is, just in the last five years, up about sixty percent, so we cannot do as much."

Brown says more financial help could come from Washington next year.

"We'll be able to put significant dollars into the Mahoning Valley, into Warren and Girard and Youngstown and Hubbard and Boardman and Austintown, put significant federal dollars into our communities."

The County plans to show-off its latest face-lift with a dedication ceremony on the McGuffey Road Bridge next week.