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Warnick, Hinkle disappointed with House vote against Highway 17
13th District lawmakers sought to move up funding
for highway expansion
During Monday's debate on
a proposed $7.4 billion transportation budget for 2007-09, 13th District
Reps. Judy Warnick
and Bill Hinkle
sought an amendment to accelerate funding for several major state
highway projects, including the widening of State Route 17 between
Ephrata and Moses Lake.
Hinkle and Warnick said
House
Amendment 466 would have created the "One Washington Road Fund."
“We tried to make the
House transportation budget more representative of the entire state,
including our area, but in the end it focused too much on the Puget
Sound region,” said Hinkle, R-Cle Elum. “There are also tremendous
safety issues that need be addressed not only with the Alaskan Way
Viaduct, but Highway 17 and other roadways in the state.”
"This would have provided new
money for five major projects in all corners of the state. It would have funded
these projects by using state sales and use taxes from highway
construction projects," said Warnick, R-Moses Lake. "The One Washington
Road Fund would appropriate one billion dollars to move up construction
for these projects, including Highway 17 in Grant County."
Warnick said improvements
to Highway 17 are a high priority in the 13th District.
"The funding for Highway
17 was promised in the last biennial budget and supported by our 13th
District legislators at that time. Widening of Highway 17 is vitally
important to safety and the economy of Central Washington," said
Warnick. "There are 1,370 new homes in Ephrata. This expansion of
housing in a town of 7,000, coupled with the explosive growth of business
and new jobs throughout the Columbia Basin, provides hope for this rural region. We need to move the widening of
this roadway beyond the study phase."
“We have significant
infrastructure pressures with the economic growth coming to Kittitas and
Grant counties, but they are not recognized in the House transportation
budget,” said Hinkle. “The 13th District is growing economically and in
population, and we need the transportation infrastructure in place to
accommodate both. We will continue to work hard for the funding needed.”
The fund would have also
provided money for construction of the North-South Freeway in Spokane,
the Columbia River Crossing, U.S. Highway 2, and interchange and highway
improvements in Whatcom and Skagit Counties.
House Democrats said
diverting the sales and use tax for transportation would take away from other
priorities in the state general fund. However, Warnick and Hinkle noted
that the sales tax portion of the gas tax is currently siphoned off to
go back to the general fund when it actually should be used for highways
and transportation projects. They pointed to the state's 18th amendment
to the state's constitution which requires that all fees collected on the sale of motor vehicle fuel
"shall be used exclusively for highway purposes."
Despite the efforts of
Warnick, Hinkle and other House Republicans, the amendment was defeated
on a voice vote.
The 13th District
lawmakers said they would continue looking for ways to move the Highway
17 project higher on the state transportation construction list.
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For more information, contact:
John
Sattgast, Public Information Officer: (360) 786-7257
John Handy, Assistant Director:
(360) 786-5758
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