Partnerships are key to
transportation fixes

 

Legislator urges private sector participation

 

By Paul Archipley

 

The state Department of Transportation had set aside a chunk of change for a new ferry terminal for Mukilteo. It wasn’t enough.

That prompted a delay of several years in plans to build a new, two-slip terminal east of the current landing.

Then, some of the state’s older ferries turned out to be rust buckets, unsafe for public use.

Gov. Gregoire raided the Mukilteo fund to help finance new ferries. That’s pushed Mukilteo’s terminal project back several more years. Do you see a trend?

State Rep. Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale, thinks there’s a better way.

Ericksen was the guest speaker last week at the monthly breakfast meeting of the Mukilteo Chamber of Commerce.

As the ranking Republican on the House Transportation Committee, Ericksen is pushing public-private partnerships, speeded up permitting processes, and an overhaul of the state’s regulatory practices as ways to fast track needed transportation improvements.

For example, he is a prime sponsor of HB 1982, a bill that would permit a pilot project on a section of the I-5 freeway through public-private agreements for expansion, operation and maintenance of that major interstate.

He’s convinced such efforts will lower costs as they bring needed upgrades to the transportation system more quickly.

The wait for a new 520 bridge over Lake Washington, for instance, is costing the state $10 million per month in increased construction costs, Ericksen said.

He estimates that by speeding up the permitting process and pushing construction work to be completed five years earlier than currently projected would save the state $600 million.

Ericksen also would like to see the Alaska Way Viaduct project handed over to a private sector developer who would build a tunnel to replace the elevated roadway and, in return, be given the prime waterfront property above to develop.

That would free up an estimated $1.8 billion for other projects, he said.

“If we can get these jobs done better and faster, we can redirect those dollars to other transportation needs around the state,” Ericksen said.

Business as usual won’t cut it. The Washington Policy Center reported that 70 percent of the public think Olympia is doing a poor job on transportation, he said.

Voters’ rejection of last year’s transportation package was reflective of their belief that the state already is redirecting transportation funds to other uses.

“People don’t trust us to do the job right,” Ericksen said. “We need a lot fewer commissions and a lot more decisions.”