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News & ArtsFriday, October 15, 2010
City Full Funding Secured for South Park Bridge Replacement
Posted by Cienna Madrid on Fri, Oct 15, 2010 at 1:36 PM
Today the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded King County a $34 million federal grant to replace the South Park bridge. This is the final funding needed for construction to begin on a new bridge. The county applied for the TIGER II grant in late August and made its case by underscoring how the bridge's closure contributed to freight delays in the region and nationally.
“Not only does this project provide immediate construction jobs, it will also ensure the long-term economic vitality of the South Park neighborhood by reopening a key commerce transportation route," said U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell in a statement released today. "The new bridge will improve transportation safety, decrease travel times, and speed the delivery of goods and services while contributing to area job growth and economic development for years to come.”
The county requested $36.2 million in TIGER money; it's unclear why the awarded grant is for $34 million. A press conference with King County Executive Dow Constantine is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. this afternoon at the bridge, which has been closed since June 30. Dave Schmader will be reporting on it.
Construction on a new bridge is expected to cost $130.8 million, and take two to three years to complete.
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Would this have happened if south park was full of white breeder yuppies living in townhouses?
PS:I don't have a problem with white breeder yuppies living in townhouses. Just trying to make a point.
I guess better late than never, right?
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@8 it is. We're greasing the rail to ride Rossi out of the state on already, and are using a light oil. Crisco, actually. Hence, it's "light rail capable".
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www.cityofseattle.net/dpd/static/cenvill…
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Until recently, this one had the notorious County Line Tavern on it as well as the bridge -- a jurisdictional problem whenever the police needed to be involved in their activities, which was usually five or six times a night. Problem solved: they tore it down. It was literally on the line, just feet from Seattle proper.
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(I wonder how Unpaid Intern's voluntary society would have raised the millions it's going to take to replace that bridge..... )
As other commenters have noted, jurisdictional confusion allowed our various governments to ignore the old bridge as it crumbled. If you crossed from north to south, you started in Seattle and ended in unincorporated King County. If you crossed from south to north, you started in Seattle and ended in Seattle -- but passed through Tukwila! Seattle should annex the unincorporated parts of King County there, and renegotiate the boundary with Tukwila, then it would own the bridge outright, and could maintain and replace it as necessary.
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