ABERDEEN, Wash. -- Gov. Chris Gregoire signed a $7.5 billion transportation bill Wednesday that, among other things, will set up tolls on the 520 floating bridge to raise money for a new bridge.

But she went all the way to Aberdeen to do it because the bridge is a real boost for the community.

While the tolls will take money out of the hands of drivers across the 520 Bridge, they'll put money into the hands of Aberdeen residents -- a key portion of the new bridge will be built here.

The pontoons that support the bridge deck are difficult to make and need a lot of room. Grays Harbor has a lot of room, and plenty of out-of-work people who need the jobs.

Two sites in Aberdeen and Hoquiam are in the running for the huge graving dock that'll employ more than 300 workers to build the dock and then the pontoons.

It's similar to what happened in Tacoma where the new pontoons for the Hood Canal Bridge were put together.

The timing couldn't be better for folks here, as many of whom were just laid off by Weyerhaeuser.

"I think it'd be a great opportunity," said Mike Levin, a former Weyerhaeuser worker. "A lot of people laid off to possibly getting a job close to home."

Virgil Kelley agreed.

"I think it's going to be a fantastic infusion of money to the economy and I think it's going to pick up the losses of Weyerhaeuser and those jobs," he said.

The bill was signed at Grays Harbor Community College, where there is a lot of excitement brewing. In fact, the college has added a welding class getting people ready to go to work, perhaps as soon as August.

Money for ferries, viaduct and road paving

In addition to funding $360 million for the 520 bridge project, the bill also gives money for new ferries, statewide road paving, and some financing to replace the aging Alaskan Way Viaduct in Seattle.

Many of the road projects included in the budget will begin this summer and are part of a plan to spend about $5 billion on construction that is expected to create 49,000 jobs.

Using a combination of federal stimulus money and revenue from the state's gas tax, the budget provides money for more than 400 projects statewide.

The details of when the toll will begin on the 520 bridge and how much it will be are still being worked out.