Details for ports on the Move Ahead Washington transportation package

Today, transportation chairs Representative Jake Fey and Senator Marko Liias introduced the $16.8B, 16-year “Move Ahead Washington” transportation package. If passed, this would mark the first significant new revenue dedicated for transportation since 2015’s Connecting Washington. The package builds on the passage of the Climate Commitment Act (CCA) in 2021. For ports, three of the five spending buckets of CCA money provide opportunity: active transportation (bicycle and pedestrian investments), alternative fuel & electrification, and rail infrastructure. Revenue from the CCA alone is estimated at $5.4B, close to one-third of the entire package.

In addition to CCA revenue, Move Ahead Washington uses increases in federal funds from the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA) to the tune of $3.4B, $2B in a one-time transfer from the state operating budget, and a dozen or so fee increases, including a fee on the export of fuels refined in Washington and consumed outside of the state. The fuel export tax raises about $2B and is expected to undergo scrutiny in the coming days.

As with new revenue proposals of the past few years, Move Washington Ahead includes project lists for roadway and rails projects. A difference with this package is the list of projects is shorter and notably far less geographically diverse than previous proposals, stemming from the negotiations being restricted to the Democratic caucuses.

Here are some highlights of the Move Washington Ahead spending summary:

·       Ferries – provides funding to for four new vessels and provides $350M to ferry operating support

·       Finish What We Started: Connecting Washington projects that have seen cost increasing receive $1.4B in additional funding in this proposal. This includes funding for projects of statewide significance like the Puget Sound Gateway Program, I-90 Snoqualmie Pass and Everett’s SR 529 & Marine View Drive interchange.

·       New Project Funding (including infrastructure replacement): $2.6B in new project funding is included with the new package. $1B is provided for the I-5 Interstate Bridge Replacement, SR 18 receives funding as does the US-2 trestle, the Hood River Bridge and two projects improving SR 3 in both Gorst and Belfair. A dozen local projects also receive funding including Fife’s Port of Tacoma Road Interchange. A full project list can be found here: http://leap.leg.wa.gov/leap/Budget/Detail/2022/sthtLEAPDoc2022-NL-1-CapitalProjects-020822.pdf

Important programmatic funding for ports and local government partners received little-to-no funding in the Moving Ahead Washington proposal. Notably, the Freight Mobility Strategic Investment Board, WSDOT’s Freight Rail Assistance Program, the County Road Administration Board, and the Freight Rail Investment Bank all receive nothing from this package. The Transportation Improvement Board received an appropriation to expand their Complete Streets program only. Ports need these valuable tools, particularly to complete first and last mile connector projects or for funding matches for federal competitive grant programs in the IIJA.

WPPA will continue to evaluate this important proposal and will provide feedback to our transportation committees beginning on Thursday when the Senate Transportation Committee will take testimony on the new package. In addition to providing additional detail on this proposal in the coming days, we’d like your thoughts. What projects important to your port are included or missing from Moving Ahead Washington? Your feedback will help shape WPPA’s feedback and our ongoing advocacy.

To view all the materials released with today’s proposal visit: http://leap.leg.wa.gov/leap/budget/detail/2022/st2022Supp.asp

Watch the Transportation Package Press Conference here: https://tvw.org/video/legislative-democratic-transportation-package-press-conference-2022021177/