Investing in transportation infrastructure not only fuels
thousands of jobs statewide, it also helps to avoid expensive delays in work
that needs to be done. The supplemental budget the House just passed creates or
sustains 43,000 jobs over the next biennium.
In the face of declining receipts from gas taxes and other
transportation revenue streams, the Connect Washington Task Force recently
predicted Washington would need roughly $21 billion over the next decade just
to preserve the system and make strategic investments in the transportation
backbone of our economy.
The $9.8 billion budget adds about $876 million to the
two-year budget enacted last year. While Moving Washington Forward is not the
long-term answer to financial challenges identified by Connect Washington, it
will provide the short-term means to…well, to continue moving Washington
forward.
In addition to investing in roads and highways at the state
and local level, the supplemental budget invests funds to keep the ferry system
afloat and fund a second 144-car ferry. There are also important investments in
transit, freight mobility, the Washington State Patrol and Washington’s highly
successful Safe Routes to Schools program.
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| Photo credit: WestSeattleBlog.com |
The Moving Washington Forward budget also looks to the
future with $33 million in seed money for projects such as fixing I-5
congestion in the Joint Base Lewis-McChord area. The seed money will enable
shovels to hit the ground quickly once future revenue sources for major projects
have been agreed upon.
All told, the Moving Washington Forward budget that House
Transportation Chair Judy Clibborn led through the House will mean more jobs
today, more jobs tomorrow, and a good start on solving transportation problems
in every corner of the state.
To read this post in Spanish, click here.
To read this post in Spanish, click here.
