Green, Kelley secure Chambers Creek Bridge funding

Pedestrian bridge funding will allow public access to waterfront

February 28, 2008 

OLYMPIA – Both the House and Senate’s proposed budgets released this week include funding to complete the Chambers Creek pedestrian bridge.  The bridge would go over a rail line and connect area trails to beachfront previously inaccessible to the public.

The area received additional good news last week, when the Chambers Creek Golf Course was selected to host the 2010 U.S. Amateur and the 2015 U.S. Open—the first one ever held in the Pacific Northwest.

Reps. Tami Green, D-Lakewood, and Troy Kelley, D-University Place, helped ensure funding of the pedestrian bridge to link the golf course and other trails to the water.

“I am really excited about this project,” Green said.  “The public has not been able to access this waterfront property in 90 years.”

“Further development near the golf course, plus these coming events, makes getting this bridge built all the more important,” Kelley said.  “This bridge is good for our quality of life and it is good for the economic development of our area.  Connecting the trail to the beach will be yet another exciting reason to visit or live in University Place.”

The House passed their proposed Supplemental Capital Budget on Monday, increasing the amount for the project from $1 million to $2.4 million for the biennium.  The Senate unveiled their version of the budget on Wednesday and also proposed $2.4 million to finance the construction costs of the bridge.

The pedestrian bridge will be constructed on Chambers Creek Properties, public land which features saltwater shoreline, creek, canyon, trails, a golf course, and views of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains.

Both the House and Senate must reach agreement on the overall budget before it’s passed by the Legislature for consideration by the governor.