It’s encouraging to see the Washington state Senate muster the political will to pass a transportation funding bill after failing to do so last year. Now, the state House of Representatives and Gov. Jay Inslee must find a way to reconcile any differences with the Senate measure and put the wheels in motion to fund much-needed improvements to the state’s roads and transit systems. 

Senate Bill 5987 calls for $15 billion in transportation improvements, including almost $1 billion in projects in the Spokane area. The lion’s share of that Spokane-area allocation—about $862 million—would go toward completion of the North Spokane Corridor, which needs to be part of any comprehensive transportation funding proposal. 

Roughly $680 million already has been invested in the new freeway, which presently ends abruptly at Francis Avenue. For that project to reach its full potential, the thoroughfare must be extended to and tied into Interstate 90, thereby providing a faster north-south route and easing truck traffic on Division Street and other arterials.

Another $71 million in the proposed transportation bill would go toward work along the I-90 corridor. Those projects would include a $26.5 million interchange improvement at I-90 and Henry Road, near Liberty Lake, and $23.6 million in interchange upgrades at Geiger Road and Medical Lake. Also, nearly $21 million would go toward improvements on the freeway between Barker and Harvard roads, and a $13.6 million project along U.S. 195 would add a passing lane between Spangle and Colfax, south of Spokane.  

Not only is the work needed, but the jobs they would create would be a welcome boost to the construction industry.

To fund the improvements, the passed bill calls for raising the state gas tax by 11.7 cents a gallon over three years, something the Senate balked at doing last year. While a tax increase is difficult to embrace, it’s a necessary step to get essential projects underway. 

The House is expected to open discussion on the bill yet this month. When it does, some anticipate that the Democrat-controlled body will have some issues with certain provisions in the bill passed by the Republican-controlled Senate. Specifically, language that delays climate-control measures is expected to be a bone of contention. 

While some details must be hashed out, it’s important to prevent ideological differences from getting in the way of funding for sorely needed projects.

The House did its part last year, passing a bill only to see it languish in the Senate. Now, the estimated cost of the projects is greater, and the overall funding package is larger. Last year’s House bill called for $12.3 billion and a slightly smaller gas-tax increase of 11.5 cents a gallon. Let’s hope the House finds a way to get it done again this year. The politicians in Olympia will be doing a tremendous disservice to the citizens they are elected to serve if they don’t get these projects rolling.