President Obama Appears in Wilmington

President Barack Obama speaks in front of the Interstate 495 bridge over the Christina River near Wilmington, Del. Photo | Patrick Semansky, AP

“Let’s build some bridges. Let’s build some roads. Now I’m gonna sign my memorandum.”

This is how Barack Obama ended his speech today in Wilmington, Delaware, where he spoke about transportation funding. He appeared in Delaware due to the shuttering of the I-495 bridge thanks to tilting bridge columns. Federal funds are paying for some of the repairs. “When I get a chance to help communities like Wilmington,” Obama said, “I’m going to do it.”

After his speech, Obama signed a memorandum that creates the “Build America” initiative, which creates an office that helps local and state governments get federal transportation funding credits and encourages the growth of private-public partnerships for infrastructure. “We’re creating a one-stop shop for cities and states looking to partner with the private sector to fund infrastructure projects,” Obama said.

President Obama stops at Charcoal Pit for lunch and gives fist pump #ObamaDE #delawareonline #netDE #Delaware pic.twitter.com/ADbRaWgOaN

— Suchat Pederson (@SuchatPederson) July 17, 2014

Obama also stopped at a Charcoal Pit to meet Tanei Benjamin, a Delaware single mom who wrote her last year. Obama circulated her note among his staff with a note at the bottom: “This is who we’re working for.”

Before addressing transportation funding, Obama talked about the jet crash in Ukraine, and said his office is working to determine if any Americans were on board. His Wilmington speech was delayed 15 minutes so he could be briefed on the crash.