The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded Seattle an $11.2 million infrastructure grant to partially cover costs to repair the cracked West Seattle Bridge.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Seattle, said she received the news Friday in a call with Pete Buttigieg, the federal transportation secretary. Jayapal said she has talked about the bridge with Buttigieg three or four times, not counting staff messages.
The money comes from the ongoing INFRA program, in which regions apply for grants. The USDOT has written a notice of the West Seattle Bridge award and may announce other winners shortly for the available $889 million nationwide.
“These are incredibly competitive,” said Jayapal, a West Seattle resident. “It’s rare that you get one of these on a first-time request.”
The award is about half of the $21.6 million the Seattle Department of Transportation requested in its grant application dated March 19. Jayapal said she was so elated to win that questions about receiving less didn’t come up.
SDOT closed the seven-lane crossing March 23, 2020, when cracks discovered seven years ago accelerated at dangerous rates. The bridge is now stabilized, and repair contractor Kraemer Co. is expected to finish full repairs in June 2022.
The city’s total West Seattle Bridge-related budget is estimated at $175 million, of which the SDOT says it previously secured $125 million, including $16 million in federal money. Construction is estimated to cost $43.4 million, including post-tensioning steel cables to tighten three concrete spans. The lower swing bridge remains open but also needs $11.4 million in repairs, including girder strengthening and new rotating parts.
SDOT is spending millions more for emergency stabilization, bridge engineering studies, improved traffic signals, maintenance for detour routes, traffic-slowing humps on side streets, and preliminary plans for a new high bridge.
