Troy Brynelson
December 16, 2023
Introduction:
Read more here: https://www.opb.org/article/2023/12/1 ... truction/(OPB.org) The federal government is preparing to give a massive amount of money to replace the Interstate 5 Bridge between Washington and Oregon.
On Friday, delegates from Washington state announced that the yearslong effort to replace the bridge spanning the Columbia River will get $600 million from a U.S. Department of Transportation grant.
It’s the first check the federal government has written for the project, but likely isn’t the last. To date, the only public cash has come from the states of Oregon and Washington, which have notably pledged $1 billion each.
“Today marks a mega win for the State of Washington,” U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, D-Washington, said in a written statement.
Cantwell, who chairs the senate Commerce, Science & Transportation committee, helped draft the grant program. In recent trips to the bridge, she has mentioned to reporters that the program was practically tailored to fit the bridge itself, which is more than a century old.