Cantwell Announces First Federal Grant for I-5 Bridge Replacement Project in PNWA “Legislator of the Year” Speech

Cantwell: Infusion of federal funding for I-5 Bridge project to go toward seismic analysis study

In her remarks accepting the award, Sen. Cantwell announced that a $1 million seismic study grant has been awarded to the Interstate 5 Bridge Replacement Project – the first federal dollars officially allocated to this vital project. Six months ago, Sen. Cantwell toured the I-5 Bridge to see its condition firsthand and draw attention to the replacement project’s need for federal support (photos of Sen. Cantwell taking that tour with ODOT’s Marc Gross are available HERE.) In August, she also sent a letter in support of the grant application to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Sen. Cantwell serves as chair of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.

"It's one of the worst bottlenecks that we have in the area: 7-10 hours a day, you could have backups. And it's costing us a lot of money," Sen. Cantwell said, adding that this grant is "the first announcement of infusion of federal funding, to be awarded to the I-5 Bridge replacement to do seismic analysis and engineering work -- so we can get about replacing with a new bridge. So I'm very excited about that."

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration awarded 23 Bridge Planning Grants across the country this week, totaling $18.4 million. This $1 million grant will go to the Oregon Department of Transportation and the Washington State Department of Transportation for a seismic analysis study at Hayden Island to support future project preliminary engineering work. These awards mark the initial round of competitive funding for planning grants -- just the first $18.3 million of the $2.4 billion available for the Bridge Investment Program this year. The Bridge Investment Program received $12.5 billion and Sen. Cantwell’s Mega projects program received $5 billion over 5 years through the Biden Infrastructure Law (BIL) passed last year. Together, these programs provide unprecedented federal support for projects like the I-5 bridge that that are too large and complicated for any one state to do alone.

The PNWA recognized Sen. Cantwell’s hard work to secure a $1.2 trillion investment in the nation’s in ports, roads and railways in the BIL. Since the bill’s passage, Sen. Cantwell has been advocating for that funding to go toward investments that benefit Washington state, including a near-tripling of the annual budget for the Port Infrastructure Development Program and the creation of a new $3 billion grant program to address blocked at-grade railroad crossings.

“Washington freight exports are expected to increase by 47%. Over the next decade, that's $654 billion. So a lot of economic opportunity for the future,” Sen. Cantwell said in her remarks today. “What we tried to do in the last few years is just really focus on the authorizations and appropriations for infrastructure that will allow us to keep moving those products. We worked very hard on this trade economy, as I like to call it, and try to remind our colleagues all the time that we're one of the most trade dependent states in the United States.”

Sen. Cantwell previously received the PNWA Legislator of the Year award in 2016. The PNWA is a non-profit, nonpartisan collaboration of more than 150 ports, businesses, and public agencies. The group advocates for federal policies and funding in support of regional economic development.

Audio of Sen. Cantwell’s speech is available HERE, video footage of her speech can be found HERE, and a transcript of her remarks is HERE. Photos of the event can be found HERE.

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