Senate OKs road budget with money for Lake Stevens

Published 4:33 pm Saturday, February 27, 2010

OLYMPIA – The state Senate overwhelmingly passed a transportation budget today that, among other expenditures, includes $500,000 to should make it easier for drivers to get in and out of the Frontier Village shopping center in Lake Stevens.

The money would enable the Department of Transportation to start designing improvements to the messy traffic alignment at the intersection of Highway 9 and Highway 204 in front of the center.

Those dollars are included in a budget outlining $8.6 billion in spending statewide between July 1, 2009 and June 30, 2011. That amount is roughly $1 billion more than the budget senators approved last year with the increase due primarily to new federal funds for rail projects and restructuring of spending on major road projects.

Also included in the budget is money for hiring extra workers at the Mukilteo ferry terminal where the number of cars in holding lanes has increased since new lanes opened last year.

Dealing with another ferry-related matter, senators patched a $38 million hole in the Washington State Ferries fuel budget with money from road maintenance and preservation reserves, delaying a possible fuel surcharge fee until at least July 2011. Gov. Chris Gregoire’s proposed budget endorsed putting a surcharge in place this May.

The budget also provides $3.6 million for training a new class of Washington State Patrol troopers.

The proposed Senate budget now goes to the House of Representatives for action.