Washington is our nation’s most trade-dependent state, and the Interstate 5 Columbia River Crossing is a critical link in the transportation system that delivers goods to foreign markets. Yet, after 15 years of debate, we still don’t agree on a final design to replace it or how to pay for it. The importance of this aging bridge to our region, its deterioration and how to pay for its replacement actually mirror what’s happening in several parts of our state.
Most of our highway system was built between the 1950s and 1970s and needs maintenance or replacement. Yet gas tax revenues are declining due to the poor economy and more people turning to fuel-efficient vehicles or taking the bus or light rail.
As chairman of the Washington State Transportation Commission I have traveled the state listening to people who are worried about how to improve travel in their area and how to pay for it, especially for shipping and receiving freight. Whether it’s getting to work, getting crops to market, stocking store shelves, or taking a vacation, we all depend on our transportation system.
Last month the commission issued “Washington Transportation Plan 2030.” To read the plan, visit http://wstc.wa.gov and click on “Read the WTP.” It is the policy and spending guide for the governor and Legislature for the next 20 years. The plan is the result of a two-year effort involving representatives of local and regional governments, ports, businesses, tribes, social services and environmental interests.
Nearly half the state’s jobs are linked to freight mobility, so the commission’s plan calls for identifying and prioritizing projects in crucial freight corridors such as the I-5 Columbia River Crossing. This crossing is vital to those of us living and working in the Vancouver-Portland metro area, but it’s also essential to the rest of the state and the entire West Coast.
We are all feeling the downturn in the economy, but we have to look at transportation as an investment in our economy and jobs. The longer it takes to cross the Columbia River, the more it costs you and me in time that could have been spent with our families. Gas wasted idling in traffic impacts both our environment and our wallets. We can pay now to improve mobility and prosperity or we can wait and pay more when costs are higher.
Money is tight
From Vancouver to Bellingham, and Seattle to Spokane, money is short for critical projects. In the past the federal government often paid upwards of 90 percent of major projects, but the federal highway fund is depleted. Tolling has to be more broadly used in the mix of funding for projects including the I-5 Columbia River Crossing. It’s actually a user fee; you don’t pay if you don’t use the bridge.
The plan also offers strategies to increase the efficiency of our current system by improving travel connections for land, water and air. And like here, people across the state, both urban and rural, want to be able to walk and bike safely and have reliable transit service that reduces the number of cars on highways. We need simple things like making sure bus schedules coordinate with those of planes and trains so people won’t have to drive to and from the airport or Amtrak station.
Lastly, the plan lays out what is needed now and what our grandchildren will need in the future to get to work safely, to get products to market efficiently and to keep jobs and businesses in Washington state. The plan asks us to begin tackling the staggering backlog of transportation needs with investments now rather than waiting while needs and costs grow. Coming from the construction trades, I know first-hand that improving transportation not only creates construction jobs, but the resulting improvement helps us all prosper. This plan is an important guide for our elected leaders as they make transportation decisions during difficult economic times. These decisions and our willingness to invest in our economy will determine whether our transportation system will help our state’s economy thrive in the 21st century.
Philip A. Parker of Battle Ground is a retired journeyman electrician and has served on numerous boards and commissions in work force development and transportation. He was appointed to the commission by Gov. Chris Gregoire in 2007 for a term that expires June 30, 2013.
