Rural communities around the state often balk at supporting Seattle-centric transportation projects. One big one might be a windfall for Grays Harbor County, however. The $4.4 billion project to replace the State Route 520 floating bridge across Lake Washington is getting closer, and the Port of Grays Harbor has a key role to play.

A 45-acre property near the mouth of the Hoquiam River would be ideal for manufacturing the pontoons the new bridge deck will rest on. By building a $100 million manufacturing facility there, the state Department of Transportation estimates it could shorten the production schedule by building several pontoons at once.

The plan, if put into action, could bring up to 250 jobs to a part of the state that desperately needs them.

According to the Port of Grays Harbor, the proposed site has been vacant for decades, and the new facility would be welcomed.