WASHINGTON – The Harry Nice Bridge connects Charles County in Maryland and King George County in Virginia. For years there’s been talk of building a new bridge, but recent findings by a state agency show that the task is easier said than done.

“The next step is going to be a little while in the coming,” says Harold Bartlett, who runs the Maryland Transportation Authority, the agency that operates the bridge. “We don’t really have funding planned for the replacement of the bridge, nor are funds immediately identified or available for that.”

A six-year environmental study was completed last month on how to replace the 72- year-old bridge, a project that would cost about $850 million.

According to Bartlett, one possibility for funding the project could come from a few different federal agencies interested in helping to replace the bridge.

The Maryland Transportation Authority says that 6.8 million cars cross the Harry Nice Bridge every year.

WTOP’s Ari Ashe contributed to this report. Follow @WTOP on Twitter.

(Copyright 2013 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)