WEST SEATTLE BRIDGE: Election boosts mayor’s federal-funding hopes

(WSB photo, last month)

The election of Joe Biden as America’s next president means “we have a federal partner,” said a relieved Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan at a noontime media briefing today. We attended since we’re continuing to cover the biggest project looming in need of federal dollars as well as other third-party money – the West Seattle Bridge. Durkan said she was “ecstatic” to hear this morning that Biden had won. A continued Trump Administration would mean, among other things, a threat to federal funding for local projects – particularly because of the review ordered by the so-called “anarchist jurisdiction” declaration.

We asked the mayor how soon she would start pushing the new administration to help fund the bridge project; she said “as soon as possible” and said she would continue working with the local/state congressional delegation as well. As we reported in July, there’s already a bit of federal money involved; plus, federal funding covered 40 percent of the cost of the original bridge project. As part of the justification for major federal funding, she said, a “chart” is being developed to show the nationwide impact of commerce facilitated by the port and the mobility enabled by the bridge. We also asked if she has a new date yet for announcing the repair-or-replace decision; “soon” was her only reply. (A member of the West Seattle Bridge Community Task Force says the mayor has promised they’ll be the first to know; their next scheduled meeting is November 18th.)

KTq November 7, 2020 (9:00 pm)

“We also asked if she has a new date yet for announcing the repair-or-replace decision; “soon” was her only reply. ” Bridge went belly up on March 23rd and it’s now November 7th. Soon.

BBILL November 8, 2020 (11:33 am)

How many months (years?) is “soon” for a major highway bridge project?

Thomas November 7, 2020 (9:49 pm)

Show me the money.

Bee Ess November 7, 2020 (11:20 pm)

Why did’t she just tell the truth from the beginning: I am waiting until the elections to make a decision on the bridge.

And now: I will wait to see how much funding I can get to replace and toll, if not enough we will repair.

And prior to that from the VERY beginning as far as a no notice indeinite bridge closure one hour after Inslee announced lockdown: We knew about the cracks in the bridge for a while but waited until Inslee called mandatory stay at home orders to close the bridge knowing this would be perfect timing and our opportunity to start repairs with fewer demands and less impact on drivers. And Covid has provided us with a no rush need to repair.

C’mon.

John November 8, 2020 (5:48 am)

Good thing Biden won.

I’d hate to think the mayor of Seattle would wait another 4 years before asking for federal money due to a lack of confidence.

heartless November 8, 2020 (12:44 pm)

Odd way of phrasing that.

FixTheBridge November 8, 2020 (9:13 am)

Fix the bridge Durkan. No one will be cheering to know West Seattle is cut off for 8 years.

Will S. November 8, 2020 (9:16 am)

This is ominous. The city can afford a $47 million repair project. Federal funding is needed only if Mayor Durkan chooses to keep the bridge closed for the longer time period needed to replace a repairable bridge. Even then, it seems we’d have to wait months or possibly years for a federal grant award.Here’s hoping that Durkan is ecstatic because she expects to be offered a job in the new administration. We need local officials who will move decisively to fix local emergencies.

L November 8, 2020 (9:28 am)

Don’t use the election as an excuse to replace. REPAIR the bridge quickly.

BBILL November 8, 2020 (11:31 am)

Unless and until there is a major change in support in the Senate, there will be little funding for a new bridge. As a reminder, the CRC was not sufficiently federally funded (https://wsdot.wa.gov/accountability/ssb5806/), and that was after about $175 million was spent, including $105 million on the EIS. While the bridges are clearly different structures, the EIS answers many of the sorts of questions that people have about the West Seattle Bridge, such as economic impacts. The big difference between the two projects is that the Interstate Bridge is open today, and repairs are ongoing, including the recent trunnion repair (https://www.interstatebridge.org/bridge-closure). Recently, after being dormant for about 7 years, both Brown/ODOT and Inslee/WSDOT have suggested the replacement is a current priority, and Greg Johnson was recently hired as a program administrator (https://wsdot.wa.gov/news/2020/06/11/odot-and-wsdot-name-key-leader-head-interstate-bridge-replacement-program). Hopefully there will be some federal funding, for both the West Seattle Bridge and the Interstate Bridge, but everyone should understand that funding this sort of project is going to require the Senate’s approval.

Mj November 8, 2020 (12:15 pm)

L – totally agree. Pier 18 has finally been fixed, 7 years late, and basic maintenance/stablelization work in process.

Repairing the bridge is clearly the best option and if the City gets its act together it could be repaired by Fall 2021.

Barb November 8, 2020 (12:33 pm)

Shame on SDOT. Imagine having a bad wheel bearing and continuing to drive on it for 7 yrs. So irresponsible.

BBILL November 8, 2020 (1:15 pm)

You’re suggesting the bridge should have been shut down 7 years ago?

Mj November 8, 2020 (1:54 pm)

BBILL – a two to three weeks shutdown seven years ago with ample notice certainly would have been better than the misery SDoT’s failure to maintain the bridge is causing now! And if it was not for the pandemic it would be far worse.

BBILL November 8, 2020 (2:55 pm)

Do you have any evidence that the shutdown would have been “two to three weeks” if the bearing were replaced seven years ago? Furthermore, while I will agree that the reports do suggest that the engineers do think that the bearing had some contribution to the bridge’s overall premature failure, from the reports I’ve read, it is not entirely clear that the failure would not have happened if the Pier 18 bearing were replaced seven years ago. Do you have any evidence that the bride would not have otherwise failed if the bearing would have been replaced seven years ago?

Mj November 8, 2020 (4:49 pm)

BBILL – 30+ years in Engineering occupation, PE, and timing of other large infrastructure maintenance projects. And yes I believe the Pier 18 bearing was a significant factor, the bridge was designed to flex and was unable too for at least 7 years.

Do you have evidence to the contrary?

BBILL November 8, 2020 (5:48 pm)

I’m not quickly locating the report which suggested that it is suspect that both the Pier 18 bearing and other factors are in play. Maybe it was mentioned during one of the meetings and I didn’t take note of such at the time so that I could quickly find the video and point out the time. Whatever the case, the burden of proof remains with the person who makes the claim about cause–it’s not up to me to prove that your theory is wrong, and absence of evidence to the contrary does not prove that you’re correct.