Senator Murray Announces Federal Help for Mercer Corridor Pro

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator
Patty Murray (D-WA), Chairman of the Senate Transportation
Appropriations
Committee, announced that the Mercer Corridor Project has become funded
under
the TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) Grant
program that she created in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Under a
grant agreement signed today by the Seattle DOT and U.S. DOT the project
will
receive $30 million to complete critical improvements to the Mercer
Corridor.
Murray set up the TIGER program to fund transportation projects, like
the
Mercer Corridor project, that create jobs, boost local economies, and
improve
transportation infrastructure.

“I’m
proud that the Mercer Corridor
project is receiving federal help,” said
Senator Murray. “Rebuilding the
Mercer Corridor will provide both short and long term benefits to our
economy
by directly creating construction jobs, improving port and highway
access and
significantly reducing the commute time in an area that hosts some of
the
region’s most vital employers.”  

The Mercer Corridor is a critical
transportation corridor that carries more than 80,000 people a day. It
has been
a major traffic bottleneck in the Seattle area, limiting access to the
growing
South Lake Union area, ports and highways, the Seattle Waterfront, and
the
Seattle Center. It is also directly connected to the Alaskan Way
Viaduct. The
project supports growth in many key sectors of Washington state’s
economy
including information technology, biotechnology, tourism, and
international
trade. Major employers located directly in the region include the
University of
Washington Medical Center, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center,
Amazon.com, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

SDOT plans to use the TIGER Grant funding to
build multi-modal improvements along Mercer and Valley streets including
widening Mercer to create a two-way boulevard, reconstructing Valley
Street as
a local access street, providing new and wider sidewalks, improving
connections
to transit and adding bicycle lanes. The project replaces major utility
infrastructure and integrates many environmentally friendly and
sustainable
design features. It supports the Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Project
(SR
99) and rebuilds the street grid in South Lake Union

Senator Murray created the TIGER
(Transportation
Investment Generating Economic Recovery) Grant program in
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).  The grants were
awarded competitively by the U.S. Department of Transportation.