PORT ANGELES — The City Council has officially given the OK for city staff to seek nearly $37 million for 11 transportation-related projects.
The city, county and port are submitting one single bid for each of the projects.
The port and county commissions both have given the go-ahead to their administrators to include them in the bid.
Nine of the projects would be carried out by the city.
The council’s Tuesday unanimous vote, with council member Karen Rogers absent, authorized City Manager Kent Myers to apply for the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant, or TIGER, on each of the public entities’ behalf.
The deadline is Sept. 15.
About $1.5 billion is available through the grant. Each bid must have a minimum of $20 million in projects, which is why the three entities submitted a single bid.
Eligible projects for the funds — which will be awarded in February by the U.S. Department of Transportation — must have a “significant impact on the nation, a region or metropolitan area and can create jobs and benefit economically distressed areas,” according to a city staff memo.
The city contracted with Exceltech Consulting Inc. to prepare the bid for $15,840.
List of projects
The projects are:
• Improvements to the Black Ball ferry terminal, $9 million.
• Scenic center, rest stop and overpass at Deer Park Road and U.S. Highway 101, $8.2 million.
• Eastbound on-ramp at state Highway 117 and U.S. Highway 101, $6 million.
• Waterfront promenade, $4.5 million.
• Replacement of Lauridsen Boulevard bridge near Race Street, $4.2 million.
• Pedestrian overpass over Marine Drive and Tumwater Street, $1.8 million.
• Adding a roundabout at Lincoln Street and Lauridsen Boulevard, $1.5 million.
• First, Front and Race streets rehabilitation, $825,000.
• Peabody Creek and Lincoln Street culvert rehabilitation, $760,000.
• Race Street bicycle lanes, $100,000.
• Improved bicycle and pedestrian access on First, Front and Race streets, $50,000.
The total local match on the projects would be $7.8 million, with about $240,000 from the city, about $5.16 million from the county and about $2 million from Black Ball Ferry Line, operator of the MV Coho.
The money for the ferry terminal would go toward replacing the building that handles ticket sales and acts as waiting area along with structural improvements to the terminal itself, said port commission President John Calhoun.
Glenn Cutler, city public works and utilities director, said the Lauridsen Boulevard bridge over Peabody Creek is structurally sound but needs to be replaced by a wider bridge to better accommodate truck traffic.
Each state can receive only $300 million through the TIGER Grant.
Cutler said that means the local bid will be competing with larger bids from King County but added, “I think it’s worth the effort to go for it and try to ask.”
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
