Jayapal Continues Fighting For Transportation and Infrastructure Priorities
Submits 10 regional priorities to the powerful House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
WASHINGTON — Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) continued fighting for western Washington’s transportation and infrastructure needs today as she submitted 10 regional priorities to the powerful House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. The projects — which span the state’s Seventh Congressional District from Burien to Edmonds — were compiled following submissions from and conversations with regional stakeholders including local governments, city and port leaders, transit officials, and other partners.
“I am proud to submit the following critical projects for consideration by the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on behalf of our community as Congress works to write bold legislation that authorizes robust investments in our roads, bridges, transit systems, and waterways,” said Congresswoman Jayapal. “These proposed projects from across our region will bolster infrastructure throughout our district while supporting our state’s efforts to mitigate climate change and reduce carbon emissions. I appreciate everyone who advocated on behalf of these projects and other necessary investments throughout our community.”
Today’s submission comes just two weeks after Representative Jayapal testified in front of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Speaking at the committee’s hearing, she championed four key infrastructure priorities for Washington’s Seventh Congressional District: substantial funding for bridges, investments in public transit including light rail systems, dedicated funding for small and medium-sized cities, and earthquake resilience.
The 10 projects are outlined here, and listed below:
$2.34 million for East Marginal Way Corridor Improvements, Seattle Department of Transportation
2431 E Marginal Way S., Seattle, WA 98134
East Marginal Way South is a strategically located, highly traveled, multimodal corridor with regional significance due to its connection between Port terminals, rail yards, and local industry. It also serves as a major bicycle corridor connecting Downtown Seattle to West Seattle and communities further south. The first phase of the East Marginal Way Corridor Improvement project is a safety project that will remove conflicts and provide separate and predictable travel for people walking, biking, and driving in cars and freight trucks to access jobs and essential services. The project is a partnership between local, state, and regional agencies and the Port of Seattle.
$5 million for I-5/Lake Washington Ship Canal Bridge – Deck Overlay, Washington State Department of Transportation
I-5 Milepost 168.34 – 169.18, Seattle, WA 98102
The Ship Canal Bridge is one of the most important highway bridges on the West Coast. Nearly 200,000 vehicles use the double-deck 12-lane Ship Canal Bridge on a daily basis to move between North Seattle and downtown. It is also part of a major T1 freight route carrying over 45 million tons of freight per year. This bridge deck rehabilitation ranks #65 statewide and the express lane deck ranks #67 statewide on the 2017 Bridge List. The bridge deck has deteriorated and is long overdue for a new deck overlay. This project will help ensure that the bridge is in top shape to serve commuters and freight trucks for decades to come.
$3.1 million for Lyon Creek Culvert Replacement Project, City of Lake Forest Park
Lyon Creek, beneath 185th St. and 35th Ave. NE along Ballinger Way, Lake Forest Park, WA 98155
This proposal would replace undersized, structurally deficient fish barrier culverts on Lyon Creek. This is part of an ongoing project to replace culverts on Lyon Creek to restore it for salmon habitat. The City has 3 remaining structurally deficient culverts on Lyon Creek and 14 fish barrier culverts that need to be replaced. This funding would result in construction of the L70 and L80 culverts currently under design. These are two key fish barrier culverts that will help the greater region by providing passage for fish spawning from Puget Sound and Lake Washington.
$2 million for the SR-104 Adaptive Transportation System, City of Edmonds
SR-104 from 236th St. SW to 226th St. SW, Edmonds, WA 98020
Installing an ITS Adaptive Transportation System will reduce travel times, congestion and improve safety along this major regional corridor. Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) cameras will be installed at all signalized intersections so traffic conditions can be monitored along the entire corridor from a remote location and allow signal timing adjustments. This project will also improve transit and school bus on-time reliability and reduce gas emissions along the corridor with less cars idling at red lights.
$5 million for the SR-518/Des Moines Memorial Drive Westbound On-Ramp Project, City of Burien
14800 Des Moines Memorial Drive, Burien, WA 98168
This project will design and construct an on-ramp from Des Moines Memorial Drive to westbound SR-518. The interchange currently includes off-ramps for both eastbound and westbound traffic as well as an eastbound on-ramp to SR-518. To make the interchange fully accessible, a westbound on-ramp is needed. This project will help attract quality businesses and development (without having transportation deficiencies) that will create new jobs and revenues for Burien. The surrounding residential neighborhoods would not be impacted by truck traffic and would also have full interchange access to SR-518.
$3.216 million for the Terminal 30 Substation Replacement Project, Northwest Seaport Alliance
1731 Alaskan Way S., Seattle, WA 98134
Terminal 30 (T30) is one of four Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) container terminals in Seattle Harbor and one of only two operating container terminals. This project would repower Terminal 30 to address the failure of the previous substation in late 2020 and replace it with a substation that is able to support future electrification of the terminal. Power currently is being supplied by generators that create diesel and carbon emissions. The T30 Substation Upgrade Project will ensure long-term cargo operations at the facility and will help NWSA reach their goal of electrification of all their terminals by 2030.
$2.4 million for the Town Center to Burke Gilman Trail Grade Separated Crossing, City of Lake Forest Park
17425 Ballinger Way NE, Lake Forest Park, WA 98155
The City of Lake Forest Park is cut off from the Lake Washington waterfront and the Burke-Gilman Trail by Bothell Way NE, also known as State Route 522 (SR 522). This seven-lane arterial with heavy traffic presents a daunting crossing for pedestrians, cyclists, and school groups who park in the City Hall parking lot and wish to access the trail or the city-owned waterfront parks. This project will not only serve the residents of Lake Forest Park but also the greater region by providing a safe crossing of SR 522 for users of the regional Burke Gilman Trail and riders of Sound Transit and King County Metro as they access the adjacent transit stations and parking garage. The project will also enhance regional mobility by no longer requiring traffic to stop on SR-522 to allow for pedestrians to cross from the Burke Gilman Trail to the Town Center and Southbound Bus Rapid Transit station.
$4.2 million for Washington State Ferries Seattle Ferry Terminal Shoreside Electrification, Washington State Department of Transportation
801 Alaskan Way, Seattle, WA 98104
Washington State is proud to have the world’s second largest ferry system. However, our ferries are also the State’s largest consumer of diesel fuels and generate the most carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions within the State’s transportation system. This project will support Washington State Ferries as it moves toward a zero emissions fleet. This request is for Terminal Electrification at the Seattle Terminal and supports full hybrid-electric propulsion for the Jumbo Mark II (JMII) class ferries that are currently being converted to hybrid-electric propulsion systems.
$7.16 million for the West Seattle and Ballard Link Extensions (WSBLE), Sound Transit
The project is located within Seattle extending from Ballard through Downtown Seattle to West Seattle.
In November 2016, Washington State voters approved the Sound Transit 3 ballot initiative to implement one of the most ambitious light rail expansions in the country. This project will help advance the West Seattle and Ballard Link Extensions, providing an additional 11.8 miles of fast, reliable light rail connections to dense residential and job centers throughout the region. The project is estimated to generate travel time savings of almost 40 percent from West Seattle to downtown and 70 percent from Ballard to downtown. In addition, the project is estimated to reduce vehicle miles traveled by almost 115,000 miles per day, which is the equivalent of almost 11,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year.
$3.22 million for the 145th Street Corridor/Light Rail Access Project, City of Shoreline
145th Avenue, Shoreline, WA 98133
This project will better connect the residents of Seattle, south Snohomish County, and Shoreline to the new regional light rail system that is scheduled to open in 2024. These improvements will also be an important element to support transit-oriented development in the newly up-zoned area around the 148th St. light rail station. By upgrading sidewalks and removing obstacles, access for people with disabilities will be greatly enhanced. Additionally, improvements will also include sustainable design, including green stormwater measures.
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