OLYMPIA — The Washington House on Friday approved a bare-bones state transportation budget that would plug some big spending gaps, pay for new ferries and set the stage for construction of a new floating bridge across Lake Washington.
The measure cleared the House on a largely partyline 66-25 vote after heated objections from minority Republicans. Critics said Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire and the Democratic-dominated Legislature are doing too little to fix the state’s toughest transportation problems and break the “paralysis by analysis” of megaprojects in the Puget Sound region.
The Republicans mentioned the so-called Killer Highway, U.S. Highway 2 in Snohomish County; the protracted debates and delays over replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct and the State Highway 520 floating bridge in the Seattle area; and lack of clear commitment to the North-South Freeway in Spokane and a new crossing of the Columbia River in Vancouver.
Democrats, bristling at attacks from some of the Republicans who led the opposition to gas tax packages in recent years, said their budget keeps all of the 400-plus planned highway and bridge projects moving forward.
House Transportation Chairwoman Judy Clibborn, D-Mercer Island, responding to the GOP accusation that Democrats aren’t showing leadership, said the budget is keeping faith with projects promised to voters when they agreed to higher gas taxes.
Clibborn and other Democrats said the expected revenue falls far short of the demonstrated need across the state, particularly with the federal government backtracking and gas-tax revenue expected to grow more slowly than planned as prices soar and people buy less fuel and switch to vehicles that get better mileage.
Some Democrats goaded the Republicans, saying they should join in passing new financing next year.
The plan now goes to the Senate, where Democrats plan to roll out their own ideas Monday. After the Senate version passes, negotiators will hash out the differences by March 13.
House sponsors said their budget backfills a projected $1.8 billion deficit in the 16-year construction plan. The bare-bones budget contains almost no net new spending, boosting the current two-year, $2.6 billion transportation operating budget by just $36 million. The current highway construction budget, $4.9 billion, is actually reduced, by $140 million.
But Clibborn said the budget does rearrange spending so that three new, small ferries can be built and work can begin on three large boats. The budget maintains crucial safety and congestion-relief projects, she said.
Republicans, however, called the budget a product of status-quo thinking. Rep. Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale, the GOP transportation leader, said the state is reeling from transportation failures and Olympia can’t seem to deliver.
“At a time when we need a new vision and when we need real change, this budget offers us business as usual in Olympia,” Ericksen said.
“This budget is the equivalent of throwing a drowning man a short rope,” said Rep. Glenn Anderson, R-Fall City.
Republicans highlighted three examples:
U.S. 2: The highway that crosses Stevens Pass was described by Rep. Dan Kristiansen, R-Snohomish, as the deadliest highway in the state because of the 47 fatalities since 1999. He said it needs major widening and safety improvements. The latest proposal does include $5 million for a westbound passing lane between Sultan and Monroe and rumble strips and re-striping to help avert head-on collisions. Efforts to finance improvements along a 15-mile stretch were defeated.
New State Highway 520 bridge across Lake Washington: Republicans failed to force faster construction — by 2013 instead of 2018. The House also rejected their amendment to ban early tolling, as early as next year, on the old bridge to start financing the replacement project. Republicans also lost an effort to shift money from the Alaskan Way Viaduct project, and to require a bridge design that allows for future lane additions.
Alaskan Way Viaduct: Seattle’s major bayfront freeway was damaged in the Nisqually Quake seven years ago and there is still no replacement design, Republicans noted. Democrats rejected a GOP amendment to require Gregoire to pick a design by May 1 or else have $1.5 billion shifted to the 520 bridge project.
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