U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) joined Seattle leaders on Friday to celebrate the reopening of the West Seattle Bridge.
Repairs to the bridge will eliminate detours and long commutes, said Cantwell, chair of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, noting that federal funds were instrumental in completing the $66.94 million project. More than half the funds, $37.65 million, came from federal sources.
“Come this Sunday, the nightmare of this congestion is coming to an end,” Cantwell said. “We heard from people on (the) Vashon Island and Southworth ferries about how hard it was to get to their jobs and get to their medical appointments. Without the bridge, drivers lost their direct route and they had to really jam through the freight traffic of East Marginal Way… West Seattle felt the worst of the pain with its residents, but it also slowed down a supply chain that was critical to moving goods in the Northwest.”
Of the funding, more than $11 million came from the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) program – a program that helps local communities pay for nationally and regionally significant projects – created by Cantwell in 2015.
The West Seattle Bridge closed in March 2020 due to a crack in the concrete, forcing 84,000 average daily drivers and 25,000 average daily transit riders to find an alternative route. In March 2021, Cantwell and U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), joined U.S. Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Adam Smith (D-WA) in writing a letter to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg asking for DOT support for an INFRA grant. Once those funds were secured, Cantwell asked the US DOT to provide an additional $10.3 million to help with the costs of the bridge.
“We wanted to make sure that the U.S. Department of Transportation knew how important the West Seattle Bridge was to our residents and to our economy,” Cantwell said. “Not only did we ask Secretary Pete Buttigieg for help, but we convened meetings with Deputy Secretary Polly Trottenberg to tour the bridge and East Marginal Way. … A fully-functioning West Seattle bridge is really important to our nation’s economy.”