Joel Connelly: "Social Justice and the South Park Bridge"

Joel Connelly (seattlepi.com):

The South Park Bridge is a bread-and-butter resource, one that has stayed on the shelf as transportation dollars get spent on light rail and streetcars, boulevards and bike lanes.

The federal government is shelling out Stimulus dollars to clean up nuclear waste at Hanford, speed removal of two salmon-destroying Elwha River dams, insulate homes, upgrade power grids and monitor University of Washington power use.

Millions of dollars of U.S. Department of Transportation TIGER grant money is being spent to rebuild Mercer Street and provide an attractive entrance to Vulcanville.

Sen. Patty Murray, Gov. Chris Gregoire, Mayor Mike McGinn, a bevy of state legislators and Seattle City Council members -- and a batallion of their flacks -- showed up earlier this year to kick off the Mercer project.

But a cost-sharing agreement for a new South Park Bridge -- estimated cost $130-150 million -- has never seemed to come together. MORE...