Governor Gregoire's Budget for Transportation
“We are making our roads safer for Washington families with critical transportation investments throughout the state.”
Moves traffic
Quickly removes big trucks at accident scenes. Creates a pilot project to reduce clearance times and congestion in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties by providing a $2,500 incentive to towing companies that meet rapid response and quick clearance goals related to heavy truck incidents. The pilot will be similar to a successful Florida program that is responsible for clearing 94 percent of heavy truck collisions in under 90 minutes. $300,000 Motor Vehicle Account-State
Improves traffic light timing on state highways. Expands the signal retiming program to allow traffic lights on state highways, like SR 99, to be timed to the optimal schedule, reducing delays for travelers. Programs traffic lights to better accommodate incidents, emergencies or special events. $700,000 Motor Vehicle Account-State
Takes more cars off the road. Fights traffic congestion by reducing the number of cars on the roads. Expands vanpools, park and ride lots, HOV lanes, buses and commuter rail, sidewalks and bike lanes. Funds the Regional Mobility Grant Program to support projects that will annually reduce more than 1 million vehicle trips and 21 million vehicle miles traveled, reducing congestion on regional corridors. $368 million Multiple Fund Sources
Tests new traffic management techniques. Allows people to pay to travel in a High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane even if they are driving alone. Designates the HOV lanes on SR 167 within King County as a High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes pilot project - a four-year effort to determine if HOT lanes are a viable solution for managing congestion. $3 million Motor Vehicle Fund-State
Moves forward on construction
Honors commitment to voters. Continues to honor commitments to build all of the projects included in the voter-approved 2003 Nickel and 2005 Transportation Partnership Act project lists, although costs have increased due to inflation, higher materials costs and other factors. $3.2 billion Nickel and TPA Funds
Builds four 144-car auto-passenger ferries. Replaces older ferries that are being retired with four new ferries. The first vessel is scheduled to be delivered in spring 2009, and the total cost will be $341.7 million over time. $142.7 million Multiple Fund Sources
Replaces the Alaskan Way Viaduct. The viaduct carries 110,000 cars and trucks each day, bringing essential goods and services to the city. Replacing the viaduct and adjoining seawall is necessary to protect the public in the event of an earthquake. The state’s commitment is to invest $2.8 billion over time. $371 million Multiple Fund Sources
SR 520 - Floating Bridge. Begins replacement of the 42-year-old SR 520 Evergreen Point Bridge. The bridge is a gateway that links eastern and western Washington from our plains to our ports. It carries 115,000 cars and trucks each day, and must be replaced because it is vulnerable to windstorms and earthquakes. The total cost will be between $2.8 and $4.4 billion over time. $126.7 million Multiple Fund Sources
SR 395 - North-Spokane Corridor. Provides multiple projects along the corridor from I-90 to US 395 at Wandermere to improve traffic through metropolitan Spokane. These projects include park and ride lots to support transit and vanpooling, as well as an expanded and enhanced pedestrian and bicycle facility. Right of way will be reserved for possible high-capacity transit use in the future. These projects are all part of the 10.5 mile, $3.3 billion, North Spokane Corridor. The first project is under construction and the second is anticipated to begin in 2008 and be completed by 2011. $140 million Multiple Fund Sources
Hood Canal Bridge. Completes the Hood Canal Bridge, making it wider with safety shoulders to increase motorist and bicyclist safety across the bridge. The new east half will not have the “bulge” for a more direct and easier to travel bridge during winter weather. The total cost will be $470.9 million over time. $156.3 million Multiple Fund Sources
Tacoma Narrows Bridge. The new Tacoma Narrows Bridge opens to traffic in the summer of 2007 and the old bridge will be retrofit in the spring of 2008. The total cost will be $849 million, and tolls will account for $800 million of that total cost. $142.5 million Multiple Fund Sources
I-5/SR 16 Tacoma area HOV. Constructs High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) projects to improve traffic flow on I-5 and SR 16. Upon completion, HOV lanes will extend in both directions on SR 16 from Olympic Drive in Gig Harbor to the I-5 interchange and on I-5 from the I-5/SR 16 interchange north. The weave that currently exists between SR 16 traffic and northbound SR 705 traffic will be eliminated. The new configuration will allow safer movement of traffic through the downtown Tacoma area and help reduce accidents. The total cost is $1.4 billion over time. $189 million Multiple Fund Sources
Columbia River Crossing. Continues design and environmental assessment of a Columbia River bridge between Vancouver and Portland. No Extra Cost
Moves freight more efficiently
SR 519. Increases mobility and safety with the SR 519 Intermodal Access Project by improving connections between I-5, I-90, and the waterfront in downtown Seattle near the stadiums. The project will benefit rail and truck freight, increase capacity for vehicles and improve safety for pedestrians as they walk to events, work and neighborhoods. The first phase of the project is complete, and the second phase is estimated to cost $74.4 million. $8.5 million Multiple Fund Sources
Lincoln Avenue Grade Separation. Eliminates an at-grade crossing and constructs a roadway over the railroad tracks at the Port of Tacoma. The total cost is over $42.5 million, and the state share is $10.2 million. $9.2 million Multimodal Transportation Account-Federal
US 12 Tri-Cities to Walla Walla. Constructs a four-lane divided highway for forty miles from the junction of SR 124 to Walla Walla to reduce congestion and intersection related accidents. Average daily traffic ranges from 7,000 to 13,000 vehicles. As many as one-third of the vehicles are heavy trucks, and over ten million tons of cargo travel this section of US 12 each year. The total cost is $143.2 million over time. $70.4 million Multiple Fund Sources
SR 167 between SR 509 and SR 161. Connects the Port of Tacoma to I-5 and further south to SR 161. The total cost will be between $1.6 and $2.2 billion. The Regional Transportation Investment District is expected to pay for over $1.5 billion, and the state share will be approximately $140 million. $63.9 million Multiple Fund Sources
I-90 Snoqualmie Pass. Widens 4.8 miles from Hyak to Keechelus Dam and addresses avalanche closures by constructing new bridges near the existing snowshed. This is the first phase of a larger project expanding I-90 from four lanes to six lanes from Hyak to Easton to improve traffic flow and accommodate projected volume. Deteriorated concrete pavement will be replaced with pavement designed for the heavier freight trucks in use today. The total cost to complete phase one is $524.6 million. $28.4 million multiple fund sources