Ferries will get a little piece of the federal stimulus pie, U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen said Friday.

He said $60 million will be invested in state ferry projects as part of the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which cleared the House Friday by a vote of 246-183.

“I fought alongside my Washington state colleagues to make sure that funding for ferries was included,” Larsen said. “This is one of the great stories of the bill.”

The Everett Democrat from the 2nd District said the money would go to upgrade terminals and other facilities. It can’t be used for ferry construction, however, because of the state stipulation that Washington ferries must be built in Washington, he said.

The Washington state Department of Transportation recently submitted a long-range ferry plan to the state Legislature that would invest from $1.3 billion to $3.5 billion in the next 22 years.

The various provisions for legislators to consider include an increasingly unpopular reservation system which would be phased in over two years on the Clinton-Mukilteo run.

Vehicle usage on that route is expected to increase 24 percent by 2030, the DOT said.

The DOT said it will go ahead with one new high-speed ferry for the Keystone-Port Townsend route. It had originally put out a bid for two, at a projected cost of $84.5 million.

Todd Pacific Shipyards of Seattle, in conjunction with Nichols Brothers Boat Builders of Freeland, submitted the only bid, $65.5 million for one ferry and $124.4 million for two.

Meanwhile, the stimulus package was approved by the Senate Friday night. President Obama signed the bill Tuesday.

The bill includes $739 million for Washington state to modernize roads, bridges, transit and water infrastructure.

“This investment will create good-paying jobs and help get our economy moving again,” Larsen said.

The bill provides $492 million for

roads, bridges and highways in the state, $179 million for transportation projects and $68 million for water infrastructure, Larsen said.

Local projects long in the works may be eligible for the program, including Whidbey General Hospital’s new South End health services center at Bayview, expected to cost about $10 million, and a Freeland sewer system for the downtown core, expected to cost about

$15 million.

The package would also fund a 13-percent increase in the former food-stamp program, which is being replaced by a debit-card system. The increase would benefit 630,000 state residents who use the program, Larsen said.

And it provides $150 million for food banks nationwide. Larsen said his staff plans to meet soon with South Whidbey’s Good Cheer Food Bank to explain the options.

The package also provides $1.4 billion for school districts in Washington state, including $44 million for those in the 2nd District, Larsen said.

That includes a major federal investment in school modernization, he said, including $609,000 for the South Whidbey School District.

The legislation also provides $100 million for “impact aid” to help school districts across the country, including Oak Harbor, that serve a large number of military families, Larsen said.

He said 2nd District schools also are eligible for resources from the $1 billion in state stabilization funds the recovery package provides for Washington state.

The recovery act also includes $3.25 billion in borrowing capacity for Bonneville Power Administration to build a new transmission grid to bring along renewable energy sources such as windmills and solar, Larsen said.

He said that, overall, the stimulus package is designed to create 3.5 million new jobs, to help those hurt most by the recession and to set a foundation for economic recovery and long-term growth.

“The cost of doing nothing is far greater than the cost of the debt we’re going to incur,” Larsen said. “The acceleration of the recession surprised everybody.”

As for Republican criticism that the package is just another massive tax-and-spend proposal, Larsen said:

“When you lose 1.5 million jobs over the past month, it’s well past time to act. We’ll be judged on whether we did something. We may take our lumps later, but at least we’re going to act.”