Governor’s signature on $7.5 billion transportation budget starts ferry, road improvements
Published 10:40 pm Wednesday, May 13, 2009
TACOMA — With the state’s first new car ferry under construction, Gov. Chris Gregoire acted Wednesday to ensure it won’t be the last.
The governor signed a $7.5 billion transportation budget that lays out spending to widen highways, pave roads, fix bridges, buy buses and build ferries through mid-2011.
Of that total, about $4.7 billion is designated for equipment and construction. With $500 million in federal stimulus dollars added in, the state expects to undertake up to 400 new projects by June 30, 2011.
“This was a tough legislative session. But this was the bright spot,” said Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island, chairwoman of the Senate Transportation Committee. “We really did try to keep our commitment to keep projects moving forward and to create jobs.”
Haugen added, “I hope people don’t get too mad if they get stuck in traffic. Every time they see those orange cones it’s jobs.”
Money to build two 64-car Island Home-class ferries for travel between Whidbey Island and Port Townsend is one of the big prizes.
Steel for the first vessel is being cut, sandblasted and having primer applied this month, according to a ferry system official. The boat’s delivery date is now pegged for the summer of 2010.
Bids for a second ferry will be sought this summer. When it arrives, possibly by August 2011, it will restore service to levels enjoyed in 2007 before the state pulled its aging Steel Electric-class boats out of the fleet because of safety concerns.
Looking further ahead, the budget calls for building a third Island Home boat and possibly a larger 144-car vessel between 2011 and 2015.
One of the major successes for Snohomish County was the preservation of funds for two more lanes on Highway 522 between the Snohomish River and U.S. 2 in Monroe. A new bridge across the Snohomish River is also part of the $182.4 million project that is on pace to go to bid in December 2010.
This expansion has been promised for years and funded since 2003 only to have the project postponed. Last December, Gregoire proposed delaying it again but the Legislature disagreed and the governor did not overrule it.
Among new proposals in the budget is money to help Community Transit buy double-decker buses and for Everett Transit to build stations for the new Swift service.
The budget also pays for archaeological investigation of sites proposed for a new Mukilteo ferry terminal, a study on ways to ease congestion on U.S. 2 through Everett and initial planning of a new bridge across the Snohomish River on Highway 9.
There is $9.2 million allotted for safety improvements on U.S. 2.
The new budget does contain money from the current budget for constructing 10 miles of concrete median on northbound I-5 from Highway 528 in Marysville to the Stillaguamish River. Advertising for bids went out in April with work expected to start this summer.
The state will use $2.5 million of federal stimulus dollars to install traffic cameras, electronic message signs and traffic sensors on this stretch.
Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623, jcornfield@heraldnet.com.
