By RACHEL LA CORTE
Associated Press Writer
Washington state, which has the nation’s largest ferry system, applied for more than $56 million in a new round of federal stimulus money for ferries, but it won just one grant for $750,000.
The federal Transportation Department announced $60 million in grants Tuesday to build ferries and fix terminals, but Washington state received only about 1 percent of the money.
That angered Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., especially since she inserted the $60 million for ferries into the stimulus bill, Murray spokeswoman Alex Glass said.
Murray, the senior member of the Washington delegation, spoke by phone with U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to “express her concern and disappointment,” Glass added.
“The secretary said he would do an expedited review on the process and get back to her,” Glass said. “We want to know what happened, and we’re going to hold his feet to the fire on it.”
A message left with LaHood’s office was not immediately returned Tuesday evening.
In a news release announcing the grants, LaHood said the projects that were selected “will help put people back to work and at the same time offer more access to areas that lack transportation options.”
Of the 19 states and one U.S. territory that received money, Washington received more than only Arkansas and Kentucky.
Michigan received the most ferry money, with two grants worth $8.3 million. Maine was next, with two grants totaling $6.8 million, and New York received $6.5 million in two grants.
Washington’s lone grant is for a new ferry terminal for Guemes (GWEE’-miss) Island in Skagit County.
State Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond said the state and county ferry systems applied for 11 grants for various projects that totaled about $56 million.
“We didn’t expect to get all the money we asked for, but we certainly expected to get more than we did,” she said.
Last week, LaHood was in Washington state and rode a ferry from Seattle to Bremerton with Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Wash., and Gov. Chris Gregoire, a Democrat.
Gregoire spokesman Pearse Edwards said the governor was disappointed by the news.
“We are looking for answers as to why the state with the nation’s largest ferry system received such little recovery funding,” he said.
