Murray Announces that North Spokane Corridor Freeway is the First TIGER Grant Project Funded Nationwide

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray
(D-WA), Chairman of the Senate Transportation Appropriations Committee,
announced that the North Spokane Corridor freeway has become the first project
funded nationwide 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 Washington state
DOT and U.S. DOT the project will receive $35 million to complete a critical
3.7 mile stretch of the freeway. Murray
set up the TIGER program to fund transportation projects, like the North
Spokane Corridor freeway, that
create jobs, boost local economies, and improve transportation infrastructure.

“It goes to show how vital the North Spokane freeway
is that it was the very first TIGER project funded out of fifty-one projects
selected nationwide,” said Senator Murray. “This project is not only going to put people to
work, it’s also going to have a big impact on reducing congestion and making
Spokane a more competitive region. Spokane has invested its time, energy and
resources into completing this freeway. I’m so pleased that we were able to add
this important federal help.”

“We
are proud to be the first TIGER grant project to begin construction, putting
people to work and improving Spokane’s freight and community access,” said Paula Hammond, Secretary of
the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT).

WSDOT plans to use TIGER funding to build two
southbound lanes from Francis Avenue to US 395, completing 3.7 miles of the
highway in an economically important corridor. Expansion and replacement of
U.S.395 through Spokane remains one of the region’s top transportation
priorities.  The corridor has become increasingly congested due to population
growth in the region as well as increased truck volumes.  The project
creates a thoroughfare through the city of Spokane connecting I-90 with U.S.
395, north of the city.  When fully completed, the North Spokane Corridor
will be a 60-mile per hour, limited access highway.  However, it will also
facilitate enhanced transit service as well as improved facilities for bicycles
and pedestrian traffic. 

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.