Lawmakers OK $7.5 billion for transportation
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - The Legislature passed a $7.5 billion transportation budget Saturday, including money for new ferries, statewide road paving, and some financing to replace the aging Alaskan Way Viaduct in Seattle.
The House, on a 77-19 vote, approved the compromise between the House and the Senate. The budget now goes to Gov. Chris Gregoire.
Many of the road projects included in the budget will begin this summer and are part of the plan to spend about $5 billion on what lawmakers are calling the state's most ambitious construction season, creating 49,000 jobs.
Using a combination of $372 million in federal stimulus money and revenue from the state's gas tax, the proposed budget provides money for more than 400 statewide projects, lawmakers said. Still, some 18 projects had to be delayed or shelved because state gas tax revenue is shrinking.
The budget passed Saturday includes a portion of the $2.4 billion the state has set aside for the multi-year replacement of the Alaskan Way Viaduct in Seattle. The budget also pays the 2009-2011 share of an estimated $2.6 billion for replacing the State Route 520 floating bridge across Lake Washington.
Also set aside in the budget was nearly $300 million for new ferry construction.
Also Saturday, the House, on a 52-43 vote, concurred with the Senate on a bill approving a plan to toll drivers crossing the State Route 520 floating bridge across Lake Washington in King County. Tolls would be collected before construction of a replacement for the aging structure, which is vulnerable to earthquakes and rough weather. The measure now goes to Gregoire.
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The transportation budget bill is Senate Bill 5352. The 520 tolling bill is House Bill 2211.
The House, on a 77-19 vote, approved the compromise between the House and the Senate. The budget now goes to Gov. Chris Gregoire.
Many of the road projects included in the budget will begin this summer and are part of the plan to spend about $5 billion on what lawmakers are calling the state's most ambitious construction season, creating 49,000 jobs.
Using a combination of $372 million in federal stimulus money and revenue from the state's gas tax, the proposed budget provides money for more than 400 statewide projects, lawmakers said. Still, some 18 projects had to be delayed or shelved because state gas tax revenue is shrinking.
The budget passed Saturday includes a portion of the $2.4 billion the state has set aside for the multi-year replacement of the Alaskan Way Viaduct in Seattle. The budget also pays the 2009-2011 share of an estimated $2.6 billion for replacing the State Route 520 floating bridge across Lake Washington.
Also set aside in the budget was nearly $300 million for new ferry construction.
Also Saturday, the House, on a 52-43 vote, concurred with the Senate on a bill approving a plan to toll drivers crossing the State Route 520 floating bridge across Lake Washington in King County. Tolls would be collected before construction of a replacement for the aging structure, which is vulnerable to earthquakes and rough weather. The measure now goes to Gregoire.
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The transportation budget bill is Senate Bill 5352. The 520 tolling bill is House Bill 2211.