Here’s what you get for $787 billion

by NW Spotlight

Washington State’s Skagit River I-5 bridge collapsed last Thursday when an overloaded truck hit it. The bridge had not been considered structurally deficient, but it was listed as being “functionally obsolete.” KING 5 in Seattle reported “The bridge was built in 1955 and has a sufficiency rating of 57.4 out of 100, according to federal records. That is well below the statewide average rating of 80, according to an AP analysis of federal data, but 759 bridges in the state have a lower sufficiency score.”

Wasn’t this what President Obama’s 2009 stimulus package going to fix? What he needed $787 billion for? At the signing of the 2009 stimulus package in Denver, President Obama said “Because of this investment, nearly 400,000 men and women will go to work rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges…”

Where did all that money go? Which bridges did the 400,000 men and women fix? The 400,000 men and women with their new “shovel ready jobs.”

Now in the wake of the bridge collapse, Washington State is looking to increase their gas tax 10 cents a gallon – and it’s already the 9th highest gas tax in the nation.

WSDOT – Skagit River I-5 bridge