Washington state lawmakers have unveiled the 2019-21 Transportation Budget, which totals nearly $9.8 billion in appropriations.
“This budget keeps the promise we made in Connecting Washington to reimagine transportation in Washington,” State Sen. Steve Hobbs, chair of the Transportation Committee, said. “These projects continue forward and are [complemented] by the additional investments made in this budget. By ensuring the continuation of the Connecting WA package and making additional investments, the present and future of Washington’s transportation infrastructure is strong, but this budget contains more modest investments than we’ve made in recent years.”
The funding initiative includes an $8.5 million investment in the creation of a project office to continue the work of replacing the Interstate 5 Bridge across the Columbia River, as well as completion of the right-of-way acquisition for the I-405 north end completion.
Several projects had funding advanced, officials noted, including $40 million for the SR 167/SR 509 Puget Sound Gateway project and $17 million for I-90 Snoqualmie Pass.
The ferries division was provided $990,000 for the planning work needed to prepare for hybrid-electric vessel terminal charging investments and $160,000 was allocated for a vessel noise reduction study aimed at helping protect the endangered southern resident orcas.
“We have many transportation needs in this state,” Hobbs said. “We must pay for fish culverts, stormwater cleanup, and numerous new projects throughout Washington. In order to keep up with demand, we will need to identify new ways to fund these projects going forward.”