It was a mixed bag this week for citizens in southwest Washington following the Columbia River Crossing project. First, the good news.
On Tuesday, President Bush issued an order
elevating the I-5 improvements to "high 
priority" status, a rating that
has been extended to just 20 other projects in the last five years. The
priority was requested jointly by the Oregon and Washington Departments
of Transportation and is supposed to help expedite decisions by
officials reviewing federal and state environmental review requirements
related to the project.
The bad news? The Federal Highway Trust Fund, which provides a third of the funding states use for projects like the Columbia River Crossing, faces bankruptcy next year unless Congress acts this year to resolve the crisis. According to Kathie Durbin's piece in the Columbian, the fund was supposed to finance about $40 billion in transportation projects next year, but gas prices have put a huge dent in federal gas tax revenue. The fund is facing a $3.2 billion deficit in 2009.
U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Transportation Subcommittee, shared the news at a state labor convention in Vancouver earlier this week but did not, apparently, offer specifics on how this might affect the Crossing. According to the Columbian, Gov. Gregoire expects the federal government must provide more than the $400 to $600 million estimated for the project's bridge and highway improvements. And Washington and Oregon are expected to contribute between $401.5 million and $715 million each for a project that could total upwards of $3.5 billion. But with declining gas tax revenue in our state (and Oregon), this could generate a perfect storm for lawmakers come January with many of those same dollars already committed to other projects.
As AWB's Don Brunell noted in a column this past spring, "while the cost of the project is high, the cost of doing nothing is even higher." Leadership is needed now to ensure the future economic vitality of both states and the communities along the Columbia River.
