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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Tuesday, March 25, 2008 Gregoire signs transportation budget By Jerry Cornfield Herald Writer SEATTLE – Gov. Chris Gregoire this morning signed the 2008 state transportation budget to provide funding for new car ferries, safety projects on U.S. 2 and concrete barriers on I-5 in Marysville. With her signature, Gregoire also put into law new requirements for how Washington State Ferries manages its fleet of vessels and what lawmakers must do before imposing and collecting tolls on state roads. The budget contains $14 million for projects on U.S. 2, the largest investment in years toward making that road safer. Of this amount, $10 million of state gas tax revenue will be spent on improvements between Gold Bar and Monroe, a stretch where several fatal accidents have occurred. Another $4 million of county, federal and state dollars will go to grind centerline rumble strips and apply longer-wear striping paint between Monroe and Sultan. In addition, six state troopers will be assigned exclusively to patrolling the U.S. 2 corridor. Also in the budget is $27 million for installing a concrete barrier in place of a cable one on a section of northbound I-5 in the Marysville area. The cable barriers have failed to prevent crossover accidents on this section of I-5. Regarding ferries, the spending plan appropriates $85 million to build three new vessels to replace the Steel Electric-class boats pulled from service in November 2007. Bids for constructing the boats are scheduled to be opened Thursday. Barring any unforeseen issues, state ferry officials look to launch the first of three vessels in April 2009.

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