Moeller, Jacks hail essential regional projects in transportation plan

House Democrats are advancing a new, two-year job-building budget

OLYMPIA – Two Clark County lawmakers are praising the potential for thousands of new jobs in the two-year transportation budget rolled out by House Democrats and passed by the House Transportation Committee earlier this week.
State Reps. Jim Moeller and Jim Jacks, both Vancouver Democrats, said the $7.5 billion transportation budget proposed for the upcoming 2009-2011 biennium includes millions of dollars for Vancouver-area street, highway, rail and other transportation-infrastructure projects.
“This transportation budget is about creating good, family-wage jobs today as much as it’s about building a sound, high-quality infrastructure tomorrow,” said Moeller, who is a member of the House Transportation Committee.
“Our aim is twofold,” Moeller added. “We want to keep existing and planned projects on track and moving forward. And we want to get them finished and signed off on time.”
Jacks said the Democratic transportation budget “takes advantage of federal dollars included in vital stimulus proposals that have been advanced by the new presidential administration.
“This legislation continues our work toward completing highway, rail, and ferry- construction activities all over the state,” Jacks pointed out. “We’re looking at 400 projects that will launch approximately 49,000 good jobs in our own Clark County communities and other towns and neighborhoods all across Washington.”
Moeller and Jacks said the budget, combined with $341 million in federal money that has already been authorized, will send a crucial jumpstart to the creaky economy.
The lawmakers also pointed to savings in the new transportation budget – including operational efficiencies in the state’s transportation agencies, scaled-back ferry-terminal improvements, and other areas.
Here are some of the largest highlights for the 49th Legislative District in the budget plan that has been passed out of the House Transportation Committee:
* I-205/Mill Plain Boulevard exit (112th St. connector) / Ramp -- $2.7 million.
* I-205/Mill Plain Boulevard interchange to N.E. 18th St. / Stages 1 and 2 -- $8.8 million.
* SR 500/St Johns Blvd / Interchange -- $25.8 million.
* I-205/Glenn Jackson Bridge / Expansion joint -- $889,000.
* Advanced Traffic Information System / Phase II deployment -- $250,000.
* I-5/Highway 99/Main Street corridor / Freeway Operations and Incident Management
-- $175,000.
* SR 14/West infill freeway operations and incident management -- $627,000.
* Vancouver Advanced Traffic Management System -- $52,000.
* Clark County-owned Railroad / Vancouver Track Rehabilitation -- $367,000.
* Port of Vancouver / West freight access -- $595,000.
* Vancouver-rail bypass and West 39th St. bridge -- $ 68,942,000.
* West Vancouver freight access -- $4,552,000.
More information about the House transportation budget recommendation and other transportation-budget proposals can be found at this Web site: http://leap.leg.wa.gov/leap/budget/detail/proposals.asp.
Moeller, Jacks and the other lawmakers have until midnight Sunday, April 26, to reach a compromise on the transportation budget and then send it on to the governor’s desk.