Wise investment supports essential transportation connections by maintaining Snohomish County infrastructure
Published 1:30 am Tuesday, May 12, 2026
Safe and reliable roads and bridges are essential to public safety, emergency response, economic opportunity, and access to daily services throughout Snohomish County. Yet the County’s transportation system faces a growing funding crisis that threatens its ability to maintain critical infrastructure.
Snohomish County Public Works is responsible for maintaining approximately 1,600 miles of roads, 210 bridges, and more than 200 traffic signals. At the same time, rising construction costs, inflation, increased regulatory requirements, and declining gas tax revenues have created a significant funding gap. The County has already reduced planned road projects by more than $100 million, making it increasingly difficult to keep pace with even basic maintenance needs.
The proposed transportation benefit district (TBD) and modest $20 annual vehicle license fee for residents of unincorporated Snohomish County is a practical, locally controlled solution. The fee would provide stable funding for essential transportation services, including pavement preservation, pothole repair, bridge maintenance, culvert replacement, guardrail repair, ADA-compliant sidewalk improvements, and emergency response readiness during floods and snowstorms.
Maintaining safe and accessible transportation infrastructure is critical to connecting people to jobs, healthcare, housing, and community services. Deferred maintenance not only increases long-term costs, but also risks road closures, infrastructure failures, and disruptions that affect residents, businesses, and emergency responders alike.
The proposed fee is modest, equitable, and consistent with TBDs already used successfully by cities and counties across Washington state. Revenue generated locally would stay local, directly supporting the infrastructure residents rely on every day.
Investing in preservation today is far more cost-effective than waiting for preventable failures tomorrow. The County Council should approve the proposed TBD vehicle license fee and continue pursuing long-term transportation funding solutions that protect public safety, mobility, and quality of life for Snohomish County residents.
Letter by Andrew Thompson, Chair of the Snohomish County Committee for Improved Transportation; Brock Howell, Executive Director of Snohomish County Transportation Coalition; Carrie Caffrey, Staff Representative of Washington State Council of County and City Employees (AFSCME AFL-CIO); and Lance Calloway, Northern District Manager of AGC of Washington.
