South Park Bridge gets $34 million government grant
SEATTLE - King County has received a $34 million federal grant to help replace the South Park Bridge.
The bridge was closed June 30 because county officials say they could no longer predict how long it could safely support freight and vehicle traffic. The closure severed a main route from Georgetown over the Duwamish River into South Park's main business district.
Replacing the bridge will cost about $132 million. Construction could take two to three years.
The bridge connects two Seattle neighborhoods and Tukwila, but lands in a tiny sliver of King County land. For years, county officials were unable to raise the money to build a replacement. After getting elected, Constantine managed to garner about $90 million in commitments from Seattle, the county, the state, the Port of Seattle and the Puget Sound Regional Council, toward construction of a new bridge and demolition of the old one. The fact that King County had raised about two-thirds of the project's price made it more competitive for federal money this time around.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood stopped to see the bridge last month while in town to celebrate the start of construction on Seattle's Mercer Corridor Project. The Mercer project was selected over the bridge for a $30 million stimulus grant earlier this year.
During his visit, LaHood said: "Everybody here has bent my ear about it, and obviously we have taken note of it.
SeattlePI.com is a media partner of KOMO News
The bridge was closed June 30 because county officials say they could no longer predict how long it could safely support freight and vehicle traffic. The closure severed a main route from Georgetown over the Duwamish River into South Park's main business district.
Replacing the bridge will cost about $132 million. Construction could take two to three years.
The bridge connects two Seattle neighborhoods and Tukwila, but lands in a tiny sliver of King County land. For years, county officials were unable to raise the money to build a replacement. After getting elected, Constantine managed to garner about $90 million in commitments from Seattle, the county, the state, the Port of Seattle and the Puget Sound Regional Council, toward construction of a new bridge and demolition of the old one. The fact that King County had raised about two-thirds of the project's price made it more competitive for federal money this time around.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood stopped to see the bridge last month while in town to celebrate the start of construction on Seattle's Mercer Corridor Project. The Mercer project was selected over the bridge for a $30 million stimulus grant earlier this year.
During his visit, LaHood said: "Everybody here has bent my ear about it, and obviously we have taken note of it.
SeattlePI.com is a media partner of KOMO News
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