The Economic Development Administration (EDA) has placed the final piece in the funding puzzle for Tacomas D Street overpass, providing a $4 million grant for the project.
The economic impact the overpass will create – including 400 new jobs and increased rail and truck freight traffic through the Port of Tacoma – served as the key reasons the EDA chose the project for funding.
This is an exciting announcement for all of the partners involved, said City Councilman Kevin Phelps, at a Wednesday morning press conference held in the parking lot next to the building at 2310 East D. St. This project fits in with the FAST Corridor (Freight Action Strategy for the Seattle Tacoma Corridor) goals of streamlining how freight travels through the Puget Sound area.
East D Street serves as a major corridor for rail and truck freight and for people wanting to access the revitalized Thea Foss Waterway. Once completed, the $28.2 million D Street overpass project will separate train and motor vehicle traffic by raising the roadway over the railroad tracks.
The D Street overpass project will help the regions transportation and maritime industry succeed in the highly competitive West Coast market, said Port of Tacoma Commissioner Jack Fabulich. Due to growth and added capacity, the port anticipates that 400 permanent, family wage jobs will eventually be directly connected to the completion of this project, joining the 28,400 in Pierce County already generated by port activity.
