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Lewis County continues to feel the effects of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), two years after President Joe Biden signed the $1.2 trillion legislation into law.
Across the state, the legislation has pumped $7.9 billion into local projects, which includes $5.3 billion for 1,192 road, bridge, transit and “climate resilience” projects, according to a news release from Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Washington.
According to Cantwell, the bill delivered 465 grants to the state as of October.
Cantwell, chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, helped craft large portions of the bill, including:
• The INFRA grant, the first freight infrastructure-focused grant program, received $8 billion over five years.
• The National Culvert Removal, Replacement and Restoration program, which aims to improve salmon migration. Washington received $58 million in funds for 23 projects, the most in the country.
• A Railroad Crossings Elimination grant program, which funds replacement projects like overpasses and bridges. In June, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced $570 million to fund the removal of intersections between highways and railroads, including nearly $40.5 million to Washougal.
• The Port Infrastructure Development Program, which supports the state’s 71,000 direct and 175,000 indirect and induced port jobs.
• The National Infrastructure Project Assistance (Mega Projects) $5 billion grant program, which is expected to announce a second round of funding in the months ahead.
• Airport Improvement Program, Airport Terminals Program and Air Traffic Control Facility funds. Cantwell helped secure $5 billion for air traffic control facility upgrades.
“The infrastructure law continues to give Washington's growing economy a big boost. 57 of our state’s airports received money to upgrade their service. $7.9 billion and 1,200 projects later, we have kickstarted much-needed improvements to our roads, bridges, and transit lines to help move Washington’s products and people faster and more safely. Federal investments in broadband infrastructure keep driving down the cost of internet and improving services for thousands of Washingtonians,” Cantwell said in a statement.
Locally, Lewis County has seen funding for a variety of projects, including:
• $211,000 from the National Culvert Removal, Replacement,and Restoration Grant Program to replace a fish barrier on Allen Creek on Newaukum Valley Road with a passable fish structure. Once completed, the project will restore 2.5 miles of habitat for coho salmon and 1.67 miles for winter steelhead trout.
• $295,000 from Airport Improvement Program formula grants, for the Chehalis-Centralia Airport in the Fiscal Year 2022.
• $292,000 from Airport Improvement Program formula grants, for the Chehalis-Centralia Airport in the Fiscal Year 2023.
• $450,684 from the Mobility Management Program for Twin Transit.
• $1,200,000 from Federal Highway Administration funding for improvements to Harrison Avenue, from High Street to Main Street.
• $1,308,000 from Federal Highway Administration funding for the Scammon Creek at Graf Fish Passage improvements
With a total price tag of $1.2 trillion, the BIL includes $550 billion in new funding for infrastructure projects over five years. The Senate voted 69-30 to approve the bill, while the House voted 228-206 to pass the bill.
President Biden signed the bill on Nov. 15, 2021.
An interactive version of the map showing the highway, road, port, airport, ferry and culvert projects that received funds over the past two years in Washington state can be found online at https://tinyurl.com/4zh923pe.
