by Don C. Brunell
President, Association of
Washington Business

Though the cost to repair our highways and bridges is staggering and the inconvenience to drivers is excruciating, the price of doing nothing has become painfully clear.
When the Interstate 35 bridge in Minneapolis collapsed on Aug 1, the disaster killed at least six people and plunged scores of vehicles into the Mississippi River. Like hundreds of other bridges across the nation, the span had been rated structurally deficient for years.
Washington is not immune to bridge failures. In December 1915, Spokanes Division Street steel bridge fell into the Spokane River, killing five people. Then, on Nov. 7, 1940, high winds brought a famously spectacular end to the first Tacoma Narrows suspension bridge. Later, in 1990, the 50-year-old Lake Washington floating bridge broke up and sank during Thanksgiving weekend after a week of high winds and rain.
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) estimates the total price tag for needed improvements to Americas roads, bridges, dams, water systems and airports at $1.6 trillion. Bridges repairs alone would cost $188 billion over 20 years. That doesnt include the billions wed have to spend for added-capacity projects like a new I-5 bridge across the Columbia River connecting Portland and Vancouver.
So, whats the answer?
A couple of years ago, Washington voters approved a 9.5-cent-per-gallon gas tax increase to fund road improvements. The states gas tax now stands at 37.5 cents per gallon. But despite paying higher prices for gasoline, many drivers are buying less gas because their cars are more fuel-efficient. Some new hybrid vehicles get 40 miles per gallon or better. That cuts down the amount of gas taxes available for road and bridge construction.
Tolls and increased vehicle registration fees are other options for filling the funding gap. But in 1999, Washington voters tossed out the Motor Vehicle Excise Tax and replaced the hundreds of dollars drivers forked over in yearly licensing fees with a flat $30 charge.
Taxpayers also balk at paying a $6 fee to replace the ageing Lake Washington floating bridge. Tolls, which havent been imposed on the bridge since 1979, could cover about one-quarter of the construction cost, estimated between $3.9 billion and $4.4 billion.
And dont look for the federal government to bail us out. The federal gas tax hasnt risen since 1993 and the kitty for highways and bridges across waterways and railroad beds cant begin to cover whats needed. In fact, the federal Highway Trust Fund is projected to run a deficit of nearly $4 billion in 2009.
Compounding the problem, highway construction costs are up by 50 percent since 1999, according to ASCE. For example, when I-5 was built more than 50 years ago, the government purchased the rights-of-way from farmers in Milton and Fife near Tacoma. Bulldozers cut through farmlands along the Puyallup River bottom. Today, both sides of I-5 north and east of Tacoma are lined with car dealerships, restaurants, distribution centers, motels, apartments and equipment dealers. Expanding I-5 now means purchasing the rights-of-way by the foot, not the acre.
The problems are big and the price tag to fix them is growing by the day. Washingtonians are no different than other Americans. Despite the slow boil drivers endure on clogged roads and highways, the high price of fixing the problems pushes solutions to the back burner. But when a bridge collapses or a major traffic accident kills dozens on a dangerous road, talk about sticker shock gives way to get it done fast and at any cost.
We know what the problems are and we know that we must address them sooner or later. Do we really want to wait until disaster strikes?