OLYMPIA – The completion of the North Spokane Corridor and other big infrastructure projects could be delayed unless state lawmakers agree on a plan to increase revenue, which could ultimately mean increasing the state’s gas tax for the first time in nearly a decade.
“Based on the funding we have available right now, we can’t do everything,” said Sen. Marko Liias, D-Edmonds, chair of the Sen. Transportation Committee. “In that all-cuts budget, it shows that essentially all of the projects that aren’t currently under construction would be paused for at least six years in order to catch up.”
Initially conceived in the 1940s and partially completed, the 10.5-mile overpass will eventually stretch from U.S. Highway 2 to Interstate 90, offering drivers an express option to drive through Spokane. Construction crews are finishing the section of project that spans the Spokane River near Spokane Community College.
Things looked settled for the project, with a spokesperson for the Washington State Department of Transportation telling The Spokesman-Review last year it was “fully funded.” In October, a WSDOT representative told the Spokane City Council the agency remained optimistic the project would be completed in 2030.
The final phase of the project, however, could be in jeopardy as lawmakers look to fund previously approved projects. As they unveiled a bipartisan statewide transportation package Monday, the heads of the Senate Transportation Committee presented two avenues for closing an estimated billion-dollar shortfall in the next two years: cuts or increased revenue.
“Responsible spending is our top priority, and we’re always looking for ways to maximize the transportation dollars we already get. But we can’t simply cut our way out of the budget crisis we’re in,” Liias said in a statement.
According to Liias, the lack of funding became apparent within “weeks” of legislators beginning planning for the budget. If legislators opt to balance the budget through cuts, the capital projects budget would be reduced by $941 million and state agency operating costs would decrease by $156 million over the next two years.
“If we were to use our existing resources alone, it would mean significant delays to projects all over the state, it would mean suspending workforce development initiatives at ferries and state patrol, and it would mean an inadequate transportation system for Washingtonians,” Liias said.
As Liias and Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima, described what an all-cuts budget would look like, the North Spokane Corridor was cited as one of the “dozens” of projects impacted without new revenue.
“A barebones, all-cuts budget is unacceptable when we’ve made promises to Washingtonians. We need to finish projects, preserve our infrastructure, and make our roads safer – Democrats and Republicans agree we can only do that if our budget includes new revenue,” Liias said.
Spokane City Council Member Michael Cathcart said Thursday that when completed, the project will boost economic development and provide an alternative route for freight traffic in the area. Delays, he said, could further impact other projects planned for the area.
“Any delays to the NSC would put delays on the division project, and it really is just going to, frankly, saddle a lot of neighborhoods with sort of an unseemly situation for many years if that happens,” Cathcart said.
As an alternative, lawmakers in the Senate proposed a budget balanced by new revenue that would raise $10.2 billion over six years. The plan includes a 6-cent increase to the state’s gas tax, increased registration fees for electric vehicles and hybrids, and shifting 0.3% of the state’s sales tax, about $800 million a year, to the transportation budget.
“It fundamentally is about focusing on those core priorities of meeting our commitments we’ve already made, investing in preservation and maintenance and safety,” Liias said.
Hours later, House Transportation leaders unveiled their budget, which painted an equally grim picture for various projects if the state fails to increase revenue.
“With the revenue that’s discussed in our transportation and revenue proposal, we are able to put back in projects that are critical to the state,” said Rep. Jake Fey, D-Tacoma, again citing the North Spokane Corridor.
To increase funding, the House budget includes a 9-cent increase to the gas tax, which would then be indexed and tied to inflation. The gas tax, which is 49.4 cents per gallon, was last increased in 2016.
Sen. Marcus Riccelli, D-Spokane, said the need for more revenue can be tied to “overwhelming” statewide inflation.
“We see costs of escalation across the state, particularly hitting our megaprojects hard,” Riccelli said. “And we’ve known that we are also facing a funding cliff because the gas tax is regressive.”
According to Riccelli, the project would be fully funded under the bipartisan Senate transportation package and would open “on time and on target”, with additional funds from the Climate Commitment Act for the Children of the Sun trail.
“The new revenue budget will fund it all to completion,” Riccelli said.
“Which is what I’ve been fighting hard for in multiple packages, and what our community deserves.”
The revenue package, Cathcart said, shows legislators understand the importance of the project. Should the Legislature fail to increase revenue, however, Cathcart said he’s advocated for the completion of the project, including to local legislators.
“I really think that the North Spokane Corridor should be one of the highest, if not the highest, priorities, given its 70-year history, the number of stops and starts and pauses and delays, and the fact that this really came together that we really haven’t seen in a lot of transportation packages over the years,” he said.
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