Stimulus microsoft bridge

It will provide a direct connection between Microsoft campus buildings on both sides. The tree-lined, foot overpass will have one vehicle lane in each direction, pedestrian paths and a bike lane. Other expected benefits include improved safety. Right now, pedestrians, bikes and vehicles traveling east and west through the area share the broad, busy Northeast 40th Street overpass. Last week, Washington Gov.

Chris Gregoire certified projects, including the bridge, to receive stimulus funding. Construction is expected to begin in June. Michael Ennis of the Washington Policy Center, a Seattle-based not-for-profit group that advises policy makers, said there are many reasons the bridge project is a good one. Even if Microsoft wanted to pay for this project on their own, legally they are required to work with the public sector. But Ennis also says the bridge does not fit with the kind of projects the stimulus plan is meant to bankroll.

As he pedaled on his bicycle to work, one Microsoft employee saw the issue in much simpler terms. Share this on:.

An artist's rendering shows how the proposed bridge would be constructed over a busy highway. E-mail to a friend. Proponents say the bridge is a "shovel-ready" project that will ease local congestion by adding vital routes for cars, bicyclists and walkers, and benefit workers at other companies and local citizens. Critics say that funding should be reserved for more important projects such as repairing unsafe bridges, or building roads and overpasses that benefit a larger swath of the general public.

This is really about getting while the getting is good. Uncle Sam has a big wallet that's there for the taking, and Redmond wanted to take it -- and Microsoft was happy to let them pick up that part of the tab.

A map of the bridge, which would connect Microsoft's newer West Campus with its older East Campus over State Highway , is viewable online. Besides two traffic lanes, the overpass would have a bicycle lane, tree-lined and landscaped pedestrian walkways, and an off-ramp that leads to a major local bus transit center.

Construction is expected to begin in June and would employ several hundred workers for the next several years. It isn't about Microsoft. It's about reducing congestion. It's about multiple employers.