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News & ArtsTuesday, February 24, 2009
Breaking News / Olympia Federal Transportation Money to Focus on I-90, Rural Paving Projects
Posted by Erica C. Barnett on Tue, Feb 24, 2009 at 2:45 PM
As I reported this morning, the state legislators in charge of transportation funding slapped Seattle in the face, releasing a list of transportation stimulus projects that includes not one major project in Seattle. The city had been relying on $25 million in federal dollars to help pay for the $168 million Spokane Street viaduct expansion, and $50 million to help fund the $200 Mercer expansion project, for which the City Council released funds yesterday.
The project list consists almost exclusively of state and federal highway paving and repair projects, most of them rural projects along Interstates 5 and 90 (although I-405 in Bellevue—in Clibborn's district—will receive a generous $30 million in stimulus funds for new on-ramps). You can read the full project list here.
I wasn't able to make this afternoon's Olympia press conference, but according to Josh, the two transportation chairs—Mary Margaret Haugen in the senate and Judy Clibborn in the house—defended their rural-centric project list by saying it didn't matter whether the jobs created by the projects were rural or in urban centers like Seattle. As for Mercer, they said it didn't qualify because it's a "local" project.
Nickels, unsurprisingly, strongly disagrees with this assessment. According to his spokesman, Alex Fryer, state legislators are "spreading the money around for political purposes" rather than concentrating it where it can create the most economic benefit. "They're rewarding state legislators for projects that don't amount to anything while not funding projects like Spokane and Mercer in a region that is expected to contribute between $460 and $850 million in tax revenue through 2025." Although Fryer says the state can still seek money directly from the US Department of Transportation for Spokane and Mercer, "that's just more hoops to go through when we believe these [projects] match all the criteria President Obama has laid out for the stimulus package."
2
God, okay, I don't live in Seattle, but this is flat retarded. NOTHING for Mercer? NOTHING for the viaduct?!? To say nothing for mass transit planning. To quote Gob Bluth, "COME ON!"
3
You know, if we were a separate state, we'd have two US Senators.
And would be able to stop subsidizing Eastern Washington.
And would be able to stop subsidizing Eastern Washington.
4
Oh, as if NE 8th needed any more "improvements". Just goes to show no one with any real power has given one iota of thought to true change in the status quo.
8
I am shocked, shocked, to hear that state legislators are spreading money around according to politics!
Only Seattle mayors and councilmembers are allowed to do that, when they try to spread the money to Mercer!
Only Seattle mayors and councilmembers are allowed to do that, when they try to spread the money to Mercer!
9
I would love money for transit -- I think the Mercer changes were bad (There was a great segment about it on KUOW where Jan Drago attempted to justify it), so I don't think they're any great loss. They might've stimulated some developers' pocket books, but hopefully Obama is moving away from a trickle-down economic theory.
10
Hmmmm. I'm a bit curious if there is a correlation between the counties/communities where these projects are being approved and their current rates of unemployment.
11
Rationality.
The hard clear choice of building just what is needed.
This is where the Feds show up the local yokels with their vain rantings about a "new 520" or gargantuan viaducts under the earth.
The limitless way of building does only what is needed.
Pure simple roads in exurbia!
The hard clear choice of building just what is needed.
This is where the Feds show up the local yokels with their vain rantings about a "new 520" or gargantuan viaducts under the earth.
The limitless way of building does only what is needed.
Pure simple roads in exurbia!
12
Chip-sealing = import materials intensive = a really bad way to spend money if fiscal stimulus is the point. Apparently the feds didn't attach any conditions on the money to steer it toward economically sensible expenditures.
This sort of thing will make Chavez happy anyways. Viva la revolucion boliviana!
This sort of thing will make Chavez happy anyways. Viva la revolucion boliviana!
13
Eastside legislators may be Democrats now, but they hate Seattle just as much as rural Republicans.
Whenever there's an opportunity to screw Seattle, they are front and center. Oh, but they'll happily accept the economic contributions that Seattle makes to the region and state; thank you very much.
Parochialism, thy name is Clibborn.
Whenever there's an opportunity to screw Seattle, they are front and center. Oh, but they'll happily accept the economic contributions that Seattle makes to the region and state; thank you very much.
Parochialism, thy name is Clibborn.
15
Come on. Mercer is not so fucking important to the entire state's economy that it deserves that much money. If the economy relies so heavily on passing through Seattle, truckers can use the newly prettified I-90.
16
Um, Mr. Fryer, you are aware that Mayor Nickels was in the room when President Obama warned he would "call them out" if they waste the federal stimulus dollars they've eagerly sought, right?
Mr. Fryer evidently also missed it when the President's Press Secretary stated "...if you're seeking to simply fund a personal agenda at the expense of creating jobs, and using taxpayer money to do it, the president will call that out and stop it."
Glad to hear that at least the Legislature took the
Presidential warning to heart.
Oh, and newsflash to ECB - Lynnwood, Bellevue, and Tacoma (where most of the dollars are going, according to the link you generously provided) are NOT rural areas.
Mr. Fryer evidently also missed it when the President's Press Secretary stated "...if you're seeking to simply fund a personal agenda at the expense of creating jobs, and using taxpayer money to do it, the president will call that out and stop it."
Glad to hear that at least the Legislature took the
Presidential warning to heart.
Oh, and newsflash to ECB - Lynnwood, Bellevue, and Tacoma (where most of the dollars are going, according to the link you generously provided) are NOT rural areas.
18
seattle has more than 10% of the state population and it gets ..... nothing?
the metro area is almost 50% of the state population and our only money is $30 million in the suburbs?
the metro area is almost 50% of the state population and our only money is $30 million in the suburbs?
19
@3: Seattle DOES have two state (aka FEDERAL) senators, who had nothing to do with how the state (aka STATE) goverment spreads money. I'm as willing to bitch about the rural and Eastside projects as the next person, but figure out how goverment works before commenting.
20
@16 -- Ummm I don't see any projects in Lynnwood, one in Bellevue, one in Tacoma. $100 Million of the total $341 Million. So over 2/3 of the dollars are outside of the area you cite as receiving "most" of the money. The list you are referring to is of all WSDOT projects, not the ones receiving stimulus dollars. Agree or disagree with the allocation, but your statement is factually (and arithmetically) wrong.
21
@7 and everyone else for the win.
We all blame Bellevue and the clueless whiny noobs there for destroying the economic jobs creator which is Seattle while their subsidized lives are padded with federal dollars.
We all blame Bellevue and the clueless whiny noobs there for destroying the economic jobs creator which is Seattle while their subsidized lives are padded with federal dollars.
22
@20,
I405/NE 195th to SR 527 Ramps = $40 million (I suppose we can argue about whether that's Lynnwood or Bothell though). So that's $140 million.
Looking at the other projects, I only see a total of about $257-268 million listed (depending whether the two flagged locations for I-90 Easton road total 11.2 million or are 11.2 million each).
Of that, about 73.7-84.9 million goes to Eastern Washington (depending on whether the previous item is double counted), and 30.8 million of that is for one project in Yakima.
The remaining 43.7 million goes to Western Washington (granted, mostly SW Washington with about $7 million for Marysville and Sultan).
I suppose $140 million is indeed not "most" of $314 million, but it is indeed "most" of the money listed at the link.
Oh, and BTW, Seattle indeed should have gotten at least some of this stimulus funding - but not ONE THIN DIME of it should go to Mercer, and the Mayor (and to an extent the Council's) insistence on pushing it probably poisoned the well.
I405/NE 195th to SR 527 Ramps = $40 million (I suppose we can argue about whether that's Lynnwood or Bothell though). So that's $140 million.
Looking at the other projects, I only see a total of about $257-268 million listed (depending whether the two flagged locations for I-90 Easton road total 11.2 million or are 11.2 million each).
Of that, about 73.7-84.9 million goes to Eastern Washington (depending on whether the previous item is double counted), and 30.8 million of that is for one project in Yakima.
The remaining 43.7 million goes to Western Washington (granted, mostly SW Washington with about $7 million for Marysville and Sultan).
I suppose $140 million is indeed not "most" of $314 million, but it is indeed "most" of the money listed at the link.
Oh, and BTW, Seattle indeed should have gotten at least some of this stimulus funding - but not ONE THIN DIME of it should go to Mercer, and the Mayor (and to an extent the Council's) insistence on pushing it probably poisoned the well.
23
@22: Exactly. Seattle should get some money, but not for Mercer. The Mayor's pushing for a vanity project that his own dept. of transportation suggested would provide next to no improvement for traffic congestion undermined this city at the state level. So much for Mr. "pothole ranger."
24
maybe the tunnel cost overruns are being factored in.
when they take away $1 billion for Seattle's tunnel reserve account, they will start giving us more funding.
when they take away $1 billion for Seattle's tunnel reserve account, they will start giving us more funding.
27
I agree with you 110%. For that matter, so should the 16th Ave S. Bridge and the Lander Street Overpass....
28
The backstory here is that the state has been axing projects statewide, while signing off on a $2.8 billion bored tunnel for Seattle.
When you pick the biggest slice of the cake, you can't cry about not getting a crumb or two. Compared to the regular multi-billion $$ state transportation budget, that's all the stimulus package is: crumbs.
BTW, the Spokane project will get $10-25 million stimulus funding through the Puget Sound Regional Council when it meets on Thursday. Clibborn mentioned she'd been monitoring the PSRC list, so she knows it's getting funding. Nickels latest hissy fit doesn't have a thing to do with Spokane, it's all about Mercer.
When you pick the biggest slice of the cake, you can't cry about not getting a crumb or two. Compared to the regular multi-billion $$ state transportation budget, that's all the stimulus package is: crumbs.
BTW, the Spokane project will get $10-25 million stimulus funding through the Puget Sound Regional Council when it meets on Thursday. Clibborn mentioned she'd been monitoring the PSRC list, so she knows it's getting funding. Nickels latest hissy fit doesn't have a thing to do with Spokane, it's all about Mercer.
29
Everyone knows Mercer is bullshit.
But still, totally shafting Seattle while we actually pay the tax dollars that run the state is not going to go over well.
Two can play at this game.
But still, totally shafting Seattle while we actually pay the tax dollars that run the state is not going to go over well.
Two can play at this game.
30
Yes, two can play this game. Call this "Chapter 7: The Big Payback" in the ongoing saga entitled "How to Make Enemies and Alienate People, the Olympia Years" by Greg Nickels.
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