The transportation plan passed by the Legislature this year – you know, the one with the 9.5-cent gas-tax target on its back – isn’t perfect. For Snohomish County commuters, though, it’s pretty darned good.
Before you decide how to vote on Initiative 912, which would repeal that gas-tax hike, consider some of the $429 million in Snohomish County road projects the initiative would kill:
* Major improvements to eight busy intersections on Highway 9 through greater Snohomish, Lake Stevens and Marysville. Much of the daily congestion on Highway 9 would be unclogged with the addition of new turn lanes and signals to channel traffic more efficiently and prevent collisions. This is a much-needed followup to the widening of Highway 9 currently under way from the King-Snohomish county line to Maltby.
* A new I-5 interchange at 41st Street in Everett, further easing a major chokepoint. This would complement the current widening of I-5 from Everett Mall north to Marine View Drive. That project was part of a previous transportation project, and will proceed even if I-912 passes.
* A new I-5 access ramp from 172nd Street at Smokey Point, continuing the current interchange improvement. Commuters heading south from westbound 172nd could get right onto the freeway without waiting for a light. This project is sorely needed, given the area’s rapid commercial and residential growth.
* Interchange improvements in Lynnwood that will ease regular chokepoints on I-5.
* Major improvements to the increasingly congested Highway 532 corridor through Stanwood.
These projects will combat congestion. Without them, the long daily line of brake lights will just get longer.
Arguments in favor of I-912 are not without merit. Twenty-five percent of the gas-tax package, for example, goes to rebuild the Alaskan Way viaduct in Seattle, an earthquake-weakened structure that must be replaced. Problem is, no one has decided what a replacement will look like (a new viaduct? a surface road? a tunnel?), or how much it will cost. That’s worrisome. Our preference is to demand that anything beyond this $2 billion investment come from city or federal sources. Otherwise, design a $2 billion fix and make it work.
Some arguments for I-912 are off base, though. Charges that the state Department of Transportation isn’t effective or accountable, a notion that just refuses to die, are false. See for yourself. Go to www.wsdot.wa.gov/accountability/ for the latest quarterly report on how DOT has performed. And it’s worth noting that the transportation plan I-912 would kill includes the most in-depth performance audits of DOT ever done.
Traffic jams hurt everyone, individuals and businesses. That’s why the business community overwhelmingly opposes I-912. It understands that road improvements like these are essential to economic growth and good-paying jobs.
Without them, the only thing sure to grow is gridlock.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
