Murray Announces $200 Million Federal Investment in Hood River-White Salmon Bridge Replacement Project

Murray asegurado planning grant for transit elements of the project in June and met with local officials from White Salmon in November to discuss federal funding opportunities for bridge replacement project

Federal grant, funded by Murray, goes a long way towards funding $520 million total bridge replacement project cost

Washington DC – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced $200 million in federal funding for the Hood River-White Salmon Bridge Replacement Project to replace a critical bridge that is 100 years old and nearing the end of its usable life. The funding Murray announced comes from the Department of Transportation’s INFRA Grant Program, which Murray secured advance appropriations funding for in the Ley de infraestructura bipartidista. Murray reunido con local officials from White Salmon in November to discuss the bridge replacement project’s progress and their pending applications for federal grant funding.

“I’m thrilled to see the federal government backed the Hood River-White Salmon Bridge Replacement Project in a major way with this $200 million dollar INFRA grant—this is a huge deal for White Salmon and other communities along the Columbia River. There’s no question we need to replace the existing one hundred-year-old bridge that is far too narrow and an impediment to local agricultural growers and producers, lacks safe bike and pedestrian access, and would not be able to safely withstand the impact of an earthquake,” dijo el senador Murray. “Washington state residents make up more than half of bridge users, and with 4.5 million annual trips and millions of tons of products transported across this bridge each year—not to mention its critical role in connecting Washingtonians with life-saving medical and other services across the river—this replacement project is essential to local economies and the safety of residents in both states. This federal grant will make this bridge replacement project a reality.”

"YO worked hard to secure advance appropriations for the INFRA program when we were passing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and have worked closely with local leaders in White Salmon to make sure this region could benefit from the new investments we made in this program,” Murray continuó. “I look forward to continuing to do everything I can to support the construction of a new bridge between White Salmon and Hood River that’s fit for the future.”

As Assistant Majority Leader, Murray helped negotiate and pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and as a senior appropriator she secured a total of $8 billion for the INFRA grant program in the law—$3.2 billion of which came from advance appropriations, with the remainder funded via the Highway Trust Fund.

The existing bridge, built in 1924, is structurally deficient, functionally obsolete, and is nearing the end of its serviceable life—it is weight restricted and has a posted speed limit of just 15 miles per hour. The Oregon Department of Transportation recently rated the bridge at 6 out of 100 for sufficiency. The bridge’s two lanes are just over nine feet wide, hardly leaving two large vehicles sufficient space to pass—in fact, losing mirrors off larger vehicles is common and passing trucks often get stuck along the bridge. In addition, the bridge is one of the most challenging bridges on the Columbia River System for barge operators—only one vessel can navigate the opening at a time, while marine freight traffic on the lower Columbia River continues to grow. In 2015, a barge tow collided with the bridge’s north lift span pier, causing at least $1.1 million in damage. The lift span remained closed for almost a year before repairs were completed.

Having a functional bridge between Hood River and White Salmon is vital—an annual 4.5 million trips are taken across the bridge, and 3 million tons of wheat and barley and millions of barrels of petroleum products, logs, and wood chips are transported along the river. The potential failure or closure of the bridge would have severe social and economic impacts on the bistate communities of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, and the Pacific Northwest region as a whole. 55% of current bridge users are Washington residents and 45% are Oregon residents. In 2012, more than 9 million tons of commercial cargo traveled under the bridge’s lift span, accounting for at least 30% of imports and exports on the marine route from Portland/Vancouver to Lewiston, Idaho. The bridge is also critical to rerouting interstate traffic during wildfires, major weather events and serious accidents, and is used to connect Washington residents to life-saving medical services in Oregon.

In November, Senator Murray asegurado a $3.6 million RAISE grant to fund the planning, preliminary engineering, and design for pedestrian and bicycle access on the replacement bridge between Hood River and White Salmon. “The current bridge cannot safely support traffic between Washington and Oregon, so it’s a really big deal that this grant will help move the bridge replacement along—while adding pedestrian and bike lanes so people can get to their jobs, shop, and visit family safely,” Murray dicho at the time. Murray established the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Grant Program in 2009.