jumped on the project from $ 25 million to $ 36 million . Marchione says the increase in costs were due to a rise in construction prices and because the bridge will be built on a diagonal in order to connect Microsoft 's original East campus with a newer West campus that are split by a public highway . Microsoft is hardly getting the bridge for free . The company is contributing $ 17.5 million or a little less than half the tab of the $ 36 million bridge , which would be open for public use . And even though the bridge goes from a parking lot behind Microsoft 's West campus across a highway to an entrance of Microsoft 's East campus , Marchione says , people other than Microsoft employees would use the overpass . `` We 're not a one-company town , '' Marchione says . `` Our traffic studies show that Microsoft traffic would be about 42 percent of the bridge , yet Microsoft is paying for about 50 percent of the bridge , so we think we are getting fair value . `` The United States taxpayer is leveraging their dollars , and I
REDMOND , Washington -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Should a bridge that would connect two campuses at Microsoft 's headquarters be funded with $ 11 million from the federal stimulus package ? An artist 's rendering shows how the proposed bridge would be constructed over a busy highway . Critics of using stimulus money for the bridge say it would give the software giant a break on a pet project . They also say it serves as a warning sign of how some stimulus money is not being used to finance new projects but is being diverted to public works already under way . Supporters argue the bridge is an ideal public-private partnership that will benefit an entire community while fulfilling the stimulus package 's goal of getting people back to work . `` It 's going create just under 400 jobs for 18 months constructing the bridge , '' says Redmond Mayor John Marchione . `` It 's also connecting our technical sector with our retail and commercial sectors so people can cross the freeway to shop and help traffic flow . '' See a larger image of the proposed bridge '' Marchione applied for federal stimulus money after costs