For more than a year and a half, House Democrats have been working for a major
investment in our transportation system by way of a new revenue package. It would dramatically modernize and improve our roads, bridges, highways, ferries and public transit – which is a priority for many members of the legislature.
But just how outdated is our transportation infrastructure? A new study put together by TRIP, a national transportation think tank, shows just how bad the situation is for Washingtonians
The report shows that the sorry state of our roads and bridges costs Washington drivers more than $6.5 billion each year in vehicle operating and maintenance costs, traffic accidents, and congestion-related delays. The average cost to a Seattle driver is $1,845 per year, while the average cost to a driver in Spokane is $1,423 per year.
These costs are driven by our worn-out transportation system. 21 percent of our roads and highways are in poor condition, and the figure rises to 45 percent or higher in major urban areas. There are 138 structurally deficient bridges in Washington – a designation that ranks them worse than the Skagit River Bridge that collapsed last year.
Perhaps most importantly, more than 2,371 people have been killed in traffic crashes over the past five years. Better roads, highways, and bridges wouldn’t have prevented all of these deaths, but they certainly could have avoided some.
The House of Representatives passed a proposal last year that would have directed $8.4 billion to fixing these problems. Unfortunately no compromise has been reached with the other chamber, and until a proposal passes out of the Senate, Washington residents will continue to drive dilapidated and dangerous roads.