Washington state lawmakers on Monday backed a huge increase in the amount of toll revenues they’ll count on to help pay for construction of a replacement bridge on Interstate 5 across the Columbia River.
The House Transportation Committee amended then approved House Bill 1958, authorizing the sale of $2.5 billion in general obligation bonds. That’s $900 million more than assumed in the original bill. The legislation now goes to the Rules Committee and a likely floor vote in the coming days.
With significant cost increases on major highway and bridge projects in recent years, it made sense to recalibrate to a higher bonding capacity to avoid getting into a pinch, backers said.
“The idea is that we have to have enough resources for construction. We think we have enough, but we want to make sure,” said Rep. Jake Fey, D-Tacoma, chair of the House Transportation Committee and the bill’s sponsor.
Sen. Marko Liias, D-Edmonds, chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, said, “We need to make sure this project is well-positioned to stay on schedule and get built as soon as possible.”
Project planners have estimated the price tag for replacing the bridge will range from $5 billion to $7.5 billion, with a likely figure of around $6 billion. Permits are anticipated by 2026. Once rolling, construction is expected to last until 2032.
Washington and Oregon have committed about $1 billion each and the states have snagged federal grants totaling $2.1 billion.
Tolls were counted on to raise at least $1.2 billion of the current projected cost.
