Senator Murray funded the Mega grant program in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law; Murray has been the leading Congressional champion of the I-5 Bridge Replacement Project going back decades, pushed Biden admin repeatedly on importance of project — MORE HERE
Senator Murray: “As anyone who has been involved in this process over the years knows, there has been no shortage of challenges and setbacks. And make no mistake: we still have a lot more work to do to see this project through. But failing to replace the I-5 bridge has NEVER been an option to me—because I know how important this is to Southwest Washington, and our entire region.”
***VIDEO of floor speech HERE***
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, spoke on the Senate floor about $600 million in federal funding she announced late last week to replace the aging I-5 Bridge connecting Vancouver, Washington and Portland, Oregon. The funding for the Interstate Bridge Replacement (IBR) Program—the organization tasked with replacing the I-5 Bridge—comes from the Mega Grant Program established in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law; Senator Murray helped negotiate and pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law as Assistant Majority Leader and wrote the provisions in the law that provided advance funding for the Mega program.
“I am just ecstatic that the I-5 Bridge Replacement Project will be receiving $600 million in federal funding from the Mega Grant Program to move us forward on a project that is hugely important to Washington state, to the Pacific Northwest, and really the entire country,” Senator Murray said on the Senate floor today. “This has been such a long time coming—and I should know, because I have been there for just about every step of this journey.”
“It has not been easy. As anyone who has been involved in this process over the years knows, there has been no shortage of challenges and setbacks. And make no mistake: we still have a lot more work to do to see this project through. But failing to replace the I-5 bridge has NEVER been an option to me—because I know how important this is to Southwest Washington, and really to the entire region,” Murray continued. “In just about every conversation I have had about the I-5 replacement project over the years—I have been clear: we cannot afford to forget about this, because if we keep kicking this can down the road, one of these days, that entire bridge will collapse. I’m not about to sit back and let that happen.”
“We have over 130,000 cars a weekday, and nearly 100 billion dollars of goods a year driving bumper to bumper across an antique that is at serious risk of collapse in the event of an earthquake—which is not exactly unheard of in our region. That is a recipe for disaster,” Murray said. “It’s frightening for everyone who has to drive across this bridge every day, and it’s a huge economic liability for the businesses and communities who rely on the goods trucked over it. And beyond the risk of collapse in the future, there are the losses caused by the traffic we are seeing today, which is hampering billions of dollars in trade and commerce and stealing one of people’s most precious, irreplaceable resources—their time,” Murray said. “Much like the citizens on the I-5, this bridge replacement project has been stuck in gridlock way too long. I have been pushing, hard, for years, to keep this moving forward—and with this announcement we are now making big progress.”
Funding for the Mega program comes from advance appropriations provisions that Senator Murray helped write into the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law as a senior appropriator, providing $5 billion over five years for the Mega program. Murray’s longtime leadership on the I-5 Bridge Replacement Project—encompassing her time as the top Democrat on the Transportation Appropriations subcommittee—includes passing into law a provision updating the Federal Transit Administration’s evaluation process for multimodal projects like the I-5 Bridge Replacement to make them more competitive for federal funding; to this day the project is relying on the authorities Murray secured for the transit components of this project.
The I-5 Bridge project received the highest amount of funding out of 11 awards nationwide. This year, the Department of Transportation sought applications for $1.8 billion in Mega program funding from Fiscal Years 2023 and 2024 advance appropriations. The Mega grant marks the second federal grant awarded to the current bridge replacement project; the first, a $1 million seismic study grant, was awarded in October 2022. The Mega grant award will fund 8-12% of the estimated $5-7.5 billion total bridge replacement project cost.
The I-5 Bridge is a linchpin in both the regional and national economy and plays a vital role in transporting freight along the I-5 corridor, but despite the bridge’s importance, it’s rated the worst truck bottleneck in Washington and Oregon and the fifth-worst on the West Coast. Beyond this, there are significant issues with the aging bridge—one span is more than a century old and the other is more than 65 years old. Neither span has had a seismic retrofit, which is a significant concern in a region susceptible to earthquake activity: the entire structure is at risk of collapse in the event of a major earthquake. Maintaining the existing structure is expensive—annual maintenance costs are about $1.2 million per year and larger maintenance projects needed to simply maintain the bridge are expected to cost $280 million by 2040, not including the cost of a seismic retrofit.
A timeline of Senator Murray’s longtime leadership on the I-5 Bridge replacement project over more than two decades—including many of the moments she highlighted in her floor speech—is HERE.
Senator Murray’s remarks, as delivered, are here:
“Mr. President, I come to the floor today, thrilled to announce major progress on something that I have been working on since my earliest days here in the United States Senate—replacing the I-5 bridge between Vancouver, Washington and Portland, Oregon.
“Late last week, the Administration began the notification and review process for grants from the brand-new Mega Grant Program we all worked together to establish in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law—and I was proud to help write the provisions that made sure the Mega program was funded when we passed that law.
“So I am just ecstatic that the I-5 Bridge Replacement Project will be receiving $600 million dollars in federal funding from the Mega Grant Program to move us forward on a project that is hugely important to Washington state, to the Pacific Northwest, and really the entire country.
“This has been a long time coming—and I should know, because I have been there for just about every step of this journey.
“I remember meeting with Senator Hatfield from Oregon when I was first elected, to talk about the need to replace the I-5 crossing between our states, Washington and Oregon—which was already in bad condition in the early 1990s.
“We sat down with folks to hold one of the first of many, many, many conversations about what needed to be done and how we could make it happen.
“Then, in 2003, as the top Democrat on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, I held a hearing in Vancouver to discuss why this project was so important.
“Back then, I was raising the alarm about predictions that peak congestion for traffic would hit ten hours by 2020, and wouldn’t you know it—today we are dealing with seven-to-ten hours of slow-moving traffic during the morning and evening rush hours.
“Ever since I held that field hearing twenty years ago, I have continued to champion this project at every possible opportunity and every juncture over the years—from securing tens of millions of dollars in federal funding for the early stages of this project, back when it was known as the Columbia River Crossing, to sitting down with stakeholders and community leaders dozens of times and holding countless conversations on the thorny issues of moving ahead with a massive project like this…
“To passing a new provision into law to ease the FTA’s evaluation process for multimodal projects, and make the I-5 Bridge Replacement Project more competitive for federal funding.
“And of course—pressing hard to keep this dream alive when previous efforts fell apart.
“It has not been easy.
“As anyone who has been involved in this process over the years knows, there has been no shortage of challenges and setbacks.
“And make no mistake: we still have a lot more work to do to see this project through.
“But failing to replace the I-5 bridge has NEVER been an option to me—because I know how important this is to Southwest Washington, and really to the entire region.
“And let me just spell out the stakes for everyone here, because too often we take our infrastructure for granted—and ignore it until it completely fails.
“In just about every conversation I have had about the I-5 replacement project over the years—I’ve been clear: we cannot afford to forget about this, because if we keep kicking this can down the road one of these days, that entire bridge will collapse.
“I’m not about to sit back and let that happen. We are talking about infrastructure that dates back to World War I!
“We have over 130,000 cars a weekday, and nearly 100 billion dollars of goods a year driving bumper to bumper across an antique that is at serious risk of collapse in the event of an earthquake—which is not exactly unheard of in our region.
“That is a recipe for disaster.
“It’s frightening for everyone who has to drive across that bridge every day, and it is a huge economic liability for the businesses and communities who rely on the goods that are trucked over it.
“And beyond the risk of collapse in the future, there are losses caused by the traffic we are seeing today, which is hampering billions of dollars in trade and commerce and stealing one of people’s most precious, irreplaceable resources—their time.
“It is wasting hours of their lives every day, making them late for work, making them get home late, keeping them away from family, friends, and loved ones.
“Replacing this bridge that is overcrowded, over 100 years old, and underprepared for an earthquake should be a no-brainer.
“Especially since this project also includes vital public transit and roadway improvements like extending the light rail from Portland, Oregon to Vancouver, Washington, and making the crossing safer and more accessible for cyclists and pedestrians.
“And as everyone who has been involved in these discussions knows, Mega funding is critical to building out those key components of the project.
“This is a great and important reminder for all of my colleagues—good things happen when we all roll up our sleeves, and work together to make good bipartisan legislation a reality!
“So a special thank you—especially to the ten bipartisan Senators whose resolve and determination to work together and hammer out the details of the legislation made the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law a reality.
“Now, the importance and urgency of this project should be obvious.
“Unfortunately, as someone who has had to make this argument over and over again—I can tell you it’s not always been the case.
“Much like the citizens on the I-5, this bridge replacement project has been stuck in gridlock way too long.
“I have been pushing, hard, for years, to keep this moving forward—and with this announcement we are now making big progress.
“So, I really was delighted to have secured this funding which I have worked on for so long—along with my amazing partners like Vancouver Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle, State Senator Annette Cleveland, Secretary Roger Millar at the Washington State Department of Transportation, Greg Johnson and his incredible staff, and all of our Southwest Washington labor allies and so many others who have joined me in this effort over so many years.
“This Mega grant will be an important mile marker, and a sign that we are finally picking up speed.
“Now, I’m determined to secure the additional federal funding we will need to get this done.
“But this announcement is bringing a goal we’ve been working together on for decades—replacing the I-5 crossing—closer into view.
“And that, Mr. President, a big deal.
“And I’m as ready as I’ve ever been to keep moving forward—and finish the job.”
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