SI Online

Tick Tock

Posted: June 3, 2010

Federal funding for the South Park Bridge? Should be no problem.

President Obama wants to double US exports, and there are few better things he could invest in than a bridge that leads to Boeing Field. In 2009, Boeing workers completed 372 commercial jetliners at that facility, most of them bought by foreigners. So, the bridge is in good shape when it comes to national economic value.

And, we know the President is concerned about global warming. Well, the bridge just so happens to stand smack dab in the middle of one of the world's most productive industrial job centers and it is powered almost entirely by hydroelectricity that's nearly carbon free.

Throw in the federal bonus points that are usually awarded for projects that aid the disadvantaged, and federal funding should be a slam dunk, given that the bridge connects the hard working but hardscrabble communities of South Park and Georgetown.

Which should all be good news since there's a giant pot of federal funding available that could contribute mightily to construction of a new South Park Bridge after the existing one closes on June 30.

Just one problem.

Elected leaders for Seattle and King County have bickered about who should pay how much to replace the bridge since Ozzie and Harriet served as Reality TV. The deadline for the federal grant application is August 23, which gives the elected leaders 84 days to reach an agreement that has eluded them for decades.

Here's hoping, but tick tock. The clock is winding down.