Senator Cantwell celebrates $19 million grant at Bothell City Hall

$19 million of the RAISE grant will go towards expanding and improving Bothell Way.

By Hannah Saunders • August 23, 2022 10:08 am
Sen. Cantwell gives remarks at Bothell City Hall on August 16 to celebrate the $19 million RAISE grant towards improving Bothell Way. Courtesy of Sen. Cantwell.
Sen. Cantwell gives remarks at Bothell City Hall on August 16 to celebrate the $19 million RAISE grant towards improving Bothell Way. Courtesy of Sen. Cantwell.

On August 16, Senator Maria Cantwell visited Bothell City Hall to celebrate the new $19 million federal Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant, which will go towards expanding and improving Bothell Way.

“Of the $100 million dollars that the State of Washington got out of the federal infrastructure bill, and seven projects, this $19 million that we’re talking about here is the biggest investment that Bothell has ever had in transportation infrastructure from the federal government,” said Sen. Cantwell.

The RAISE grant was made possible through the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the award is one portion of the almost $100 million in grant funding for Washington state. RAISE grants were originally created under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and as chair of the Senate Commerce, Science and Technology Committee, Sen. Cantwell worked to authorize the RAISE grant program in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Under the $19 million grant, improvements will be made to Bothell’s transportation system, in addition to addressing key safety concerns in the community. The project will install rapid bus transit lines, reconstruct and widen roadways, and construct protected bike lanes to reduce interactions between motorists and cyclists.

“This kind of capacity for buses, cars, and individuals and roadways will all connect this region in a much more safe, secure and easy mobility way that is so critical to having vibrant communities today,” said Sen. Cantwell.

In addition to the plans to increase capacity on the roadways, the grant will help install adaptive traffic signals to enhance safety and improve traffic flow, while allowing for the construction of new sidewalks that will connect residential and retail areas.

“When we can move more people in and out of a city, that’s more people coming into town to have dinner, that’s more people coming into town to shop, that’s more people coming into town to have fun, do business, and create a vibrant, but also more economically sustainable Bothell,” said Mayor Mason Thompson.