A 480-foot freeway overpass that would connect two campuses at Microsoft Corp.’s headquarters in Redmond is being criticized because about a third of its US$36 million cost would come from federal stimulus funding.
Proponents say the bridge is a “shovel-ready” project that will ease local congestion by adding vital routes for cars, bicyclists and walkers, and benefit workers at other companies and local citizens. Microsoft is agreeing to contribute $17.5 million, or 49%, of the bridge’s bill.
“We’re not a one-company town,” John Marchione, mayor of Redmond, Washington, told CNN. “Our traffic studies show that Microsoft traffic would be about 42% of the bridge, yet Microsoft is paying for about 50% percent of the bridge, so we think we are getting fair value.”
Critics say that funding should be reserved for more important projects such as repairing unsafe bridges, or building roads and overpasses that benefit a larger swath of the general public.
Critics add that Microsoft, which still has more than $20 billion in cash reserves despite announcing 5,000 layoffs and belt-tightening measures earlier this year, should pony up more or all of the construction cost.
“Let’s face it. Microsoft is one of the most lucrative companies in the country,” Steve Ellis, vice-president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, told CNN. “They could have easily funded this out of pocket change. This is really about getting while the getting is good. Uncle Sam has a big wallet that’s there for the taking, and Redmond wanted to take it — and Microsoft was happy to let them pick up that part of the tab.”
In February, President Obama signed the $787 billion economic stimulus package, called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which includes $27.5 billion in highway funding.
A map of the bridge, which would connect Microsoft’s newer West Campus with its older East Campus over State Highway 520, is viewable online.
Besides two traffic lanes, the overpass would have a bicycle lane, tree-lined and landscaped pedestrian walkways, and an off-ramp that leads to a major local bus transit center. Construction is expected to begin in June and would employ several hundred workers for the next several years.
The bridge is one of 138 transportation and infrastructure projects being funded by $551 million in federal money, Washington governor Christine Gregoire said on March 23.
“I see no question on the merits. It isn’t about Microsoft. It’s about reducing congestion. It’s about multiple employers. It’s about thousands of employees and residents,” Gregoire said during the press conference last week. “Almost 50% of the project is privately funded. That’s leveraging dollars. That’s what we’re trying to do, is to use private sector dollars with stimulus dollars and get a bigger bang for the buck. So I certified it.”
On the Seattle Times Web site, negative commentators vastly outnumbered supporters. One commenter likened the deal to the bailout of insurance giant AIG, which has been tainted by big bonuses paid to executives.
At StimulusWatch.org, the Microsoft bridge had slightly better support, with 43% of 188 voters deeming it “critical” and 57% calling it “not critical.”
The bridge project was in planning for many years before the Obama stimulus package. In 2006, when Microsoft agreed to contribute $17.5 million, that was expected to make up 70% of the bridge’s then $25 million budget, a Redmond public works director told Bloomberg earlier this month.
Microsoft has spent more than $50 million of its own money in the past for local infrastructure projects, according to a blog by Microsoft CFO Brad Smith.
