State receives over $132 million for infrastructure investments - with $20 million for Shoreline projects

Concept design for the 148th pedestrian bridge
Courtesy City of Shoreline

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, announced $132,611,221 in grant funding for nine major infrastructure projects across the State of Washington. 

The funding for these grants comes from the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program, which was originally created under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as TIGER grants.

This is the most Washington state has ever been awarded. 

Washington state was awarded the most grants of any state and received the most in total funding. The state received 5.89% of the total RAISE funding available this year, compared to 4.35% received last year.

As Commerce chair, Sen. Cantwell authorized the RAISE grant program for the first time ever in the Surface Transportation Investment Act, which was included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). The BIL provided $7.5 billion to the program over five years, a 50% increase in funding.

The following RAISE grant was awarded to Shoreline.

West Side Transformation: Multimodal Connections to the Shoreline South Regional Transit Hub, City of Shoreline — $20 million

“The City of Shoreline is rapidly expanding – just the neighborhood surrounding the 148th Street Station is expected to add as many as 20,000 new housing units in the coming years. These new residents need safe, accessible transportation options,” said Sen. Cantwell. 

“This transformative, multimodal transportation project will support resident safety while providing transit access to the community and traffic efficiency on the 145th Corridor.”

Sen. Cantwell sent a letter of support to Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg for the City of Shoreline to receive this grant in March 2023.

This project is a combination of several elements that will complete multimodal connections from the west side of I-5 to a new Sound Transit light rail station on the east side, set to open in 2024. 

Project elements include:

• 145th Corridor improvements, including ADA accessibility sidewalk enhancements and creating left turn lanes and medians to reduce collisions and improve flow.
• An off-corridor bike network parallel to 145th Street complete with pavement markings, intersection improvements, flashing beacons, speed cushions, signage, and connections to the 145th Corridor/148th Street bridge.
• A foot bridge at 148th Street to connect pedestrians and cyclists to the regional transit hub and light rail station.

This project is the remaining part of a larger $80 million project funded by Connection Washington, State Legislative Funding, South Transit System Access Funds, King County funds, and City of Shoreline General Funds. The City of Shoreline will provide the local match for this portion of the project.

The project will substantially improve overall traffic flow and safety on the 145th Corridor, and improve access to the future light rail station. Currently, 80% of Shoreline residents commute outside of the city limits for work, with the majority traveling into Seattle.

This subarea, now known as the 148th Street Station Area growth center, will have nearly 4,000 housing units ready for occupancy in the next few years. This center has the capacity to build 20,000 housing units (due to mandatory inclusionary zoning requirements enacted by the City, nearly 20% of these units are anticipated to be affordable) and 9,000 new employees.

"The $20 million RAISE grant is a game changer for us," said Shoreline Mayor Keith Scully. 

"It will allow us to complete our vision for the 145th Corridor, creating safe, reliable multimodal connections to the Shoreline South/148th light rail station. 

"We are extremely grateful for the tireless efforts of Senator Cantwell, Senator Murray, and Representative Jayapal in helping us to secure this vital funding and for their leadership in securing significant funding for transportation projects across the state."