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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Spin Control

Revived transpo package has $1 billion in Spokane projects

UPDATE: OLYMPIA -- The Spokane area would have more than $1 billion in road projects if the Legislature musters the votes to raise gasoline taxes by 11.9 cents a gallon over three years..

Completion of the North Spokane Corridor would receive some $879 million through 2029 million under the recently negotiated transportation package, which was announced Sunday.

Interstate 90 between Barker and Harvard Road would get $26.5 million over the next four years, and the Medical Lake/Geiger interchange project on the West Plains would receive a like amount.

The University District Gateway Bridge would get $8.8 million as one of the top tier pedestrian and bicycle safety projects.

Improvements worth $17.6 million on US 195 between Colfax and Spangle would take place over six years, and $47 million would be set aside for renovations of the Palouse River - Coulee City Railroad.

The Spokane Central Line, a transit project in the city of Spokane, would receive $15 million.

 Full details of the projects were just released and are listed online here.

The bill would raise gasoline taxes in stages over two years, to a total of 11.9 cents per gallon. It would also assess a $5 fee on each new studded tire sold after July 1, 2016, and increase weight fees on trucks and passenger vehicles.

The $16.1 billion package, which involves separate legislation for new taxes and fees, bonding authority, and list of projects, could come up for a vote later today in the Senate as the Legislature tries to wrap up work after 103 days of its regular session, two 30-day special sessions, and is now in the second day of its third special session.

Legislative leaders are counting votes to see if it has enough to pass.



Jim Camden
Jim Camden joined The Spokesman-Review in 1981 and retired in 2021. He is currently the political and state government correspondent covering Washington state.

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