The election of Joe Biden as America’s next president means “we have a federal partner,” said a relieved Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan at a noontime media briefing today. We attended since we’re continuing to cover the biggest project looming in need of federal dollars as well as other third-party money – the West Seattle Bridge. Durkan said she was “ecstatic” to hear this morning that Biden had won. A continued Trump Administration would mean, among other things, a threat to federal funding for local projects – particularly because of the review ordered by the so-called “anarchist jurisdiction” declaration.
We asked the mayor how soon she would start pushing the new administration to help fund the bridge project; she said “as soon as possible” and said she would continue working with the local/state congressional delegation as well. As we reported in July, there’s already a bit of federal money involved; plus, federal funding covered 40 percent of the cost of the original bridge project. As part of the justification for major federal funding, she said, a “chart” is being developed to show the nationwide impact of commerce facilitated by the port and the mobility enabled by the bridge. We also asked if she has a new date yet for announcing the repair-or-replace decision; “soon” was her only reply. (A member of the West Seattle Bridge Community Task Force says the mayor has promised they’ll be the first to know; their next scheduled meeting is November 18th.)
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