SEATTLE — Seattle leaders said Friday that more funding is needed to address Seattle’s aging bridges and give them the necessary attention.
They hope to help keep funding the Seattle Department of Transportation's (SDOT) work through the “Move Seattle” levy, which is set to be renewed this year.
The current levy that is about to expire is $930 million and was approved by voters in 2015. The cost of the upcoming levy proposal has not yet been revealed, as the mayor’s office is expected to send levy details to the Seattle City Council in the next few weeks.
A 2020 audit found that Seattle’s bridges are in need of infrastructure improvements and maintenance work. It said the city was not “spending enough on the upkeep and preservation of its bridges” and risked becoming “out of compliance with federal regulations.” It shows that of the 77 vehicle bridges in Seattle, there were 22 are in good condition, 50 in fair condition and five in poor condition.
The Spokane Street Swing Bridge, also called the West Seattle Low Bridge, recently had millions of dollars of work put into it.
“The last two years, we actually were in the process of refurbishing this entire hydraulic pump unit,” said Kit Loo, with the SDOT Roadway Structures Division.
Loo led a tour of the bridge Friday with Seattle Councilmember Rob Saka, SDOT Director Greg Spotts and several media members.
“This tour is about highlighting the unique opportunity that we have as a city to better invest and fund basic things like bridge preservation, maintenance and modernization efforts,” said Saka, who represents District 1 and chairs the Transportation Committee.
Saka said he is going to find more funding to address Seattle’s aging bridges.
“We have a huge, immediate, urgent opportunity to direct a lot of those investments towards things like this,” said Saka.
With the city currently facing big budget problems, with a $230 million deficit expected by next year, Saka hopes taxpayers will provide help this fall.
“I'm anchoring heavily right now on that levy,” said Saka.
In the next few weeks, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell’s office will present the city council with a proposal for the “Move Seattle” levy and later this year voters will decide whether it will be renewed.
“There is absolutely more money needed to upkeep the bridges,” said Spotts.
The current levy funds 30% of SDOT's budget.
“A lot of our bridge assets are very old and so there is more than $1 billion of potential work that you could invest in our bridge network, some of which you can get by federal matching funding,” said Spotts.
Spotts said SDOT will soon present a new plan to the city council, briefing them on what bridges need to be addressed first.
He said the need for bridge maintenance is nothing new.
“It's a problem that's been multiple decades in the making and will be multi-decade to resolve,” said Spotts.