Washington state Number Two in the nation for gas tax
The Tax Foundation is out with its annual rankings for state gas taxes (see map below), and Washington ranks second in the nation at 49.4 cents per gallon (numbers don't include the federal gas tax of 18.4 cents per gallon). But before you start wringing your hands, consider the Foundation's take on this particular form of […]
29th of October 2015
26th of October 2015
State Dept. of Transportation releases annual congestion report
The Washington State Department of Transportation’s (WSDOT) 2015 “Corridor Capacity Report” is out today. It takes a sweeping view of transportation system usage statewide, including some of the state’s worst congestion points. You can read media coverage of the report in The Seattle Times, The News Tribune, and at MyNorthwest.com. Here are some of the […]
7th of October 2015
Washington scores good – not great – on new "Opportunity Index"
Our friends at Opportunity Washington are out today with a brand-new assessment – called the “Opportunity Index” – of how Washington stacks up against the rest of the country on education, transportation and economic vitality. In partnership with the Association of Washington Business and the Washington Roundtable, the Research Council conducted a data-driven analysis of performance of all 50 states […]
31st of August 2015
I-5 congestion relief at JBLM
The News Tribune reported this weekend on the massive changes coming for Interstate 5 along the Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) corridor, now that the Legislature and governor have approved the latest transportation revenue package. Lane-widening (at least eight lanes all directions and at a certain point 10 lanes) and new interchanges, among other improvements, are planned for this […]
26th of August 2015
Where do transportation dollars go?
The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is out with a comprehensive analysis of where transportation dollars come from, and where they’re spent. The official title is “County By County Comparison: Estimated Return Per Dollar Contributed by Citizens within Each County.” It looks at state and federal transportation funds from 2003 through 2014. Total contributions and expenditures in […]
28th of July 2015
Special Report on 2015 state transportation package
The Legislature has passed, and the governor signed, Washington’s first transportation revenue package in a decade. Our special report on the new measure, “Transportation Package Makes Critical Investments for Commuters, Economy,” is now available for you to read. You’ll find an analysis of all the package’s major elements, including: The new state transportation package will […]
7th of July 2015
New transportation reforms become law
We’re still waiting on some elements of the new transportation funding package to clear the Legislature (the transportation revenue bill has passed; the spending bill with the project list and the bonding bill have not). In the meantime, Gov. Inslee yesterday signed some important bipartisan reform bills that should help reduce costs and speed up […]