On August 17, 2011, Congressman Norm Dicks notified Raft Island Improvement Association
that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Branch
approved a Direct Loan ($1,849,400 / 30 years at 4.25% fixed) and Guaranteed Loan to
replace the aging Raft Island Bridge. See 2011 Award Letter. See News Release.
NEW INFO:
On May 3, 2012, Congressman Norm Dicks notified RIIA that USDA has approved a subsequent Direct Loan ($2,893,000 / 30 years at 3.375% fixed) that will take the place of the Guaranteed Loan for the balance needed to reconstruct the Bridge. See 2012 Award Letter.
As part of the process and in order to refine the cost of a new bridge and the corresponding
amount of the loan, Geoffrey Baillie of Baillie and Associates in Gig Harbor was hired as Project
Manager in March of 2012 to act as RIIA's "owner-representative". This will allow us to meet USDA's loan commitment timeline requirements assuming the membership approves moving forward with the bridge replacement project.
If you would like more detailed information, please give any one of your Board Members
a call. We will continue to circulate updates via the newsletter, website, direct mailers
and open meetings. Please attend the Bridge Update Meetings that will be posted on the website and on the bridge.
|