A year after it was signed into law, President Joe Biden’s Infrastructure Law has provided more than $3.7 billion in funding for transportation construction projects in Washington state, according to a news release from Sen. Maria Cantwell’s office.
Cantwell helped author many provisions in the bill specifically to meet the needs of Washington, she stated in the release.
“This is a once in a generation investment in infrastructure and it couldn’t have come at a more crucial time. In the 12 months since the Biden Infrastructure Law was passed, $3.7 billion has been put to work in communities across Washington state,” Cantwell said in the release. “The money has launched nearly 500 local projects. These projects will repair crumbling roads and bridges, help buses run on time, and eliminate freight bottlenecks to lower shipping costs. Over the next five years, even more investments are headed our way to tackle mega projects, expand transit and get freight moving faster through the state.”
So far, a total of 103 road and bridge projects have received more than $1 million in funding, with an additional 392 projects receiving less than $1 million. In total, 495 projects have been funded in the bill’s first year statewide.
As for Lewis and Thurston counties, nine projects were funded, three of them being airport projects and the other six being road and bridge projects.
In Lacey, $1,478,647 went to construction on College Street, which included widening the road to add a center median, turning lanes and sidewalks. It also helped fund the construction of a roundabout at 29th Avenue Southeast.
Near Morton, $2,029,779 went to scour prevention using geotextile fabric, quarry spall and rip rap near milepost 28 on state Route 508. A vegetated geogrid system was also installed.
In Napavine, $1,072,793 went to repairs to the Koontz Road Interstate 5 overpass, which was damaged last year after a truck traveling northbound on I-5 hit it in November of 2021. The funds helped pay for new girders, repairs to the bridge deck and I-5 surface as well as new signs.
In Olympia, $1,728,000 went to chip and fog seals on Pacific Avenue, Sleater-Kinney Road and Fourth Avenue, $1,135,970 went to a roundabout on X Street and $1,061,885 went to a new bike lane and road improvements on State Avenue.
As for the airports, both the Chehalis-Centralia and Olympia regional airports received $295,000 in airport infrastructure grants. The Packwood Airport received $110,000.
Additionally, the Port of Olympia received $9,270,000 for seaport throughput improvement projects.
Funding from the Biden Infrastructure Law will keep coming, as Washington state is expected to receive another $7.6 billion in the coming years, according to the release. This includes $4.5 billion for highways, $605 million for bridge work, $1.79 billion for transit, $300 million for roadway safety, $384.7 million in airport grants and $71 million to expand the electric vehicle charging network.
For more information, visit https://www.artba.org/economics/highway-dashboard-iija/federal-highway-program-impact-iija/?state=Washington.
