May 15, 2009

Rep. Dicks Recommends Local Transportation Projects for Priority Funding

Every six years, Congress reauthorizes the Surface Transportation Act programs to address major highway and transit needs across the nation and to apportion the funds that are collected through highway use taxes.  The current authorization expires on Sept. 30, 2009, and in the coming months the House and Senate will be developing an updated version of this legislation that provides annual funding to state Departments of Transportation, regional planning organizations and local transit agencies to construct and maintain public transportation systems.

This legislation will include a select number of House and Senate sponsored transportation projects. After consulting with state and local transportation entities, Congressman Dicks has advised the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee of his recommendations regarding a the highest priority projects he believes will be of greatest benefit to the 6th Congressional District and the State of Washington. As part of the effort to increase transparency in this process, these requests are being posted for fellow legislators and constituents to review.

Alaska Street Project in Tacoma, Washington -- $5.5 million
This project will widen the roadway from South 56th Street to South 72nd Street by adding two travel lanes, a two-way left turn lane, bike lanes, and sidewalks. This project will improve safety and mobility along this important alternative corridor to Interstate 5.

Bremerton Ferry Terminal -- $347,200
This project will provide a seismic retrofit of structures used by riders to transition between the vessel and land.

North Mason Park & Ride -- $1.5 million
This project will help reduce the congestion along a 14 mile corridor on State Route 3 by constructing a park and ride facility in Belfair. When finished, approximately 300,000 vehicle trips will be removed from the highway resulting in a reduction of 4.2 million miles traveled.

Pierce Transit High Capacity Transportation Planning and Alternatives Analysis Project -- $1.35 million
This project will complete planning and alternatives analysis for high capacity transportation improvements for the Pacific Avenue Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project. The Pacific Avenue BRT project will be located on Pacific Avenue/SR 7 in Pierce County from Tacoma Dome Station to 208th Street. Pierce Transit currently operates its most productive and heavily utilized service, Route 1, on Pacific Avenue carrying over 4,200 passengers on an average weekday. The proposed corridor is 13 miles long offering an alternative transportation mode along one of the most heavily congested roadways in Pierce Transit’s service area. The corridor links SR 7 to Downtown Tacoma and the multimodal Tacoma Dome Station which provides regional connections and local destinations in Tacoma including the central business district, University of Washington-Tacoma, and Pacific Lutheran University. The Pacific Avenue Corridor BRT will provide 10 peak service and 15 minute off peak service utilizing BRT vehicles featuring special branding for the service.

Point Brown/Chance a la Mer Street Improvement Project, Ocean Shores -- $1.5 million
With over four million visitors annually, Ocean Shores is a primary destination beach resort. In order to improve safety and mobility for mixed use traffic and pedestrians at the city's busiest intersection, the city must update the layout of Pt. Brown Avenue-Chance a la Mer intersection and street (currently a 19 lane intersection). Improvements will include: replacing the current intersection with a roundabout, separated sidewalks, crosswalks with pedestrian activated flashing beacons, and ADA compliant ramps with truncated domes for the visually impaired. This project provides a format that will highlight the downtown core, enhance the development of commercial infrastructure, and encourage commerce, which will boost the economy of Grays Harbor County as a whole.

Port of Grays Harbor Dry Bulk Export Facility Rail Expansion -- $1.82 million
This project will design, engineer and install an additional 10,000 feet of loop rail/storage track in Terminal 2. This project will increase off line storage capacity, allow for the loading of unit trains and increase rail capacity to the site to support business.

State Route 16/Burnham-Borgen Interchange Project in Gig Harbor -- $10 million
As significant growth in this corridor continues, it is predicted that backups on the off ramps at this interchange will occur regularly, which will cause mainline SR 16 traffic operations to break down. This funding will provide for completion of the planning, environmental permitting, design engineering, and construction to convert the existing SR 16/Burnham interchange into a larger Single Point Interchange, which will improve safety and traffic flow in and around the new regional center, as well as improve emergency access to the regional hospital and for businesses and residents in the area.

State Route 20/Port Townsend Ferry Terminal Bicycle Safety Improvement Project -- $40,000
This project installs marked and signed bike lanes approaching the Port Townsend Ferry Terminal on State Route 20 and designates bicycle areas in the loading zone in order to improve safety for bicyclists and reduce potential conflicts with motorists.

State Route 303 Pedestrian and School Zone Safety Improvements Project, Bremerton -- $240,000
This project will provide safety improvements at a location where there have been over 15 pedestrian and bicycle related collisions. The nature of the roadway and surrounding area makes it a hazardous location for all pedestrians and bicyclists but especially for children. This project will provide signal, crossing, and sidewalk improvements for pedestrians and bicyclists on SR 303 at Sylvan Way.

Tacoma Intermodal Transit Center -- $10 million
Public investment for an Intermodal Center in the downtown fringe will assist in providing essential parking to accommodate employment growth, alleviate traffic congestion and facilitate the highest and best use of limited infill sites in the Central Business District. This project will help to maintain and expand the downtown economy and attract approximately $400 million in new building construction.

Washington State Small Bus Systems Grant Program -- $3 million
This project will provide a source of funding to assist small transit agencies in Washington State (including Clallam Transit, Grays Harbor Transit, Jefferson Transit and Mason Transit) with replacement vehicles. This project ensures safe and reliable public transportation services to areas of my district that are otherwise underserved by other means of public transportation.

US 101/Lynch Road Interchange Project, Mason County -- $6.4 million
US 101 is a major transportation link to the Olympic Peninsula. By eliminating southbound vehicle access at the Lynch Road/US 101 intersection and constructing a new road between Lynch Road and Old Olympic Hwy to the existing Kamilche interchange, safety will greatly increase in the area.

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