10.13.22

$2.4M Grant to Help Seattle Prepare for 4th Ave Bridge Replacement

Planning grant under Cantwell-championed Bridge Investment Program will help lessen the impact on SODO, Georgetown, Duwamish Valley communities while bridge is replaced

SEATTLE, WA. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell announced that the City of Seattle’s project to replace the 4th Avenue Bridge over Argo Railyard has received a $2.4 million Bridge Investment Program grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. 

This planning grant will help the City of Seattle determine how to minimize traffic congestion, lessen supply chain delays, and mitigate other impacts while the bridge is being replaced.

In July, the Senator wrote a letter of support for the project to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Sen. Cantwell pushed for major increases in transportation funding under the Biden Infrastructure Law. When the BIL-funded Bridge Investment Program was announced in June, Sen. Cantwell encouraged Washington state, counties, municipalities and tribes to apply.

Other bridge projects in Seattle have benefited from Sen. Cantwell’s efforts. With her support and advocacy, more than half of the cost of the West Seattle Bridge repair was covered by federal funds. In September, it was announced that Seattle’s Salmon Bay Bridge will receive $25 million from the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant program, which was created by the Senator.

The 4th Avenue Bridge over Argo Railyard carries high volumes of commercial freight by truck and about 7,500 daily bus riders. After identifying cracks in the bridge piers in 2017, the city closed the northbound curb lane and restricted large trucks from using the southbound curb lane to help reduce further deterioration of the piers.

A seismic retrofit analysis identified replacement of the bridge, built in 1933, as the best, most cost-effective option.

A new bridge would accommodate pedestrians, bicyclists, transit, passenger cars, and freight trucks. It would also protect efficient and cost-effective rail freight mobility for the railyard beneath the existing bridge.

The Bridge Investment Program is a new program created under the Biden Infrastructure Law to fund projects aimed at reducing the overall number of bridges in poor condition, or in fair condition at risk of falling into poor condition.

The program is funded in two buckets: $27.5 billion in formula funding over five years, and $12.5 billion in competitive funding over five years. Washington state will receive $653.3 million over five years in formula funding from this program. This grant comes from the first round of competitive funding for planning grants, which comprises just $18.3 million of the $2.4 billion in competitive funding available for the Bridge Investment Program this year.

###