Reform WSDOT now to avoid an increase in the gas tax

You can't help feeling appalled when you read reports of the careless way the Washington State Department of Transportation's (WSDOT) leadership, in Olympia, treats your gas tax dollars.

What was WSDOT thinking when it supported a Columbia River Crossing bridge built so low that it would have blocked some significant commercial river traffic, potentially putting many high-wage manufacturing jobs in jeopardy?

How can a department be so careless that it wasted millions on building ramps that don't line up with a highway in Tacoma?

How did the department ever bungle the State Route 520 bridge mega-project, in King County, so badly that it is now facing more than $400 million in potential cost overruns, including concrete pontoons that won't even float? Think of how many projects in Eastern Washington could be completed with the wasted $400 million from this single project alone?

These mistakes waste hundreds of millions that literally rob critical Eastern Washington and other transportation projects' funding.

The department's terrible track record as a steward of taxpayers' money contributed greatly to the Legislature leaving Olympia this year without approving a transportation funding package. Why would anyone in their right mind want to give the department more money in the form of a gas tax increase, as did the governor and Democratic leadership in the House of Representatives, when WSDOT leadership demonstrates its incompetence time and time again?

Unfortunately, the governor's insistence on keeping the flawed design of the Columbia River Crossing in any transportation plan, with the threat of a veto, helped kill any possibility of an agreement.

The Senate's bipartisan Majority Coalition Caucus, of which I am a member, just completed a statewide listening tour regarding transportation. As our members traveled from one end of the state to the other, it became increasingly clear that citizens expect government to reform and clean up its act before it even thinks about taking more money from their wallets.

We need to start thinking outside the box on transportation and start making real reforms that will bring cost-savings, efficiency, and accountability to WSDOT.

We need an independent review of projects. When things go badly, there must be accountability. There should be serious consequences for those who make bad decisions, mismanage, and waste taxpayers' money.

A big step in the right direction would be to stop charging sales tax on state transportation construction projects, literally freeing up hundreds of millions of dollars for other projects. Yes, that's right, we are foolishly robbing your gas tax dollars and subsidizing the State's General Fund for non-transportation projects. The Interstate 90 construction project, at Snoqualmie Pass, alone has generated more than $34 million in sales tax. Imagine all the transportation projects this money could fund!

This and other reforms like streamlining environmental permitting, addressing stormwater issues will save more than $1 billion in taxpayer dollars.

That's right! We can make reforms now to free up more than a $1 billion dollars without raising your taxes. This is a billion less dollars we need to take from your wallet. This is a billion reasons for reforming WSDOT's expensive practices and putting a stop to WSDOT's continual, wasteful, and preventable mistakes.

This is the conservative way of increasing revenue - reducing costs and using the savings to fund critical infrastructure projects without raising taxes. At 37.5 cents, you are already paying the highest per gallon taxes in the nation. Enough is enough.

There is much that could be done with our region's share of a billion dollars here in Central Washington.

Most of us travel long distances on a regular basis. We depend on the state to maintain functioning highways. Without good roads, the local economy would grind to a halt.

I-90 is especially important to our economy. The widening and other improvements on I-90 at Snoqualmie are essential, but the project is not slated for completion until 2018 within current funding. In order to complete the entire project, we'll still need $390 million more.

It makes perfect sense to reform and bring greater efficiency and accountability to WSDOT so funds can be freed up for important projects like the ongoing work on I-90 without new taxes.

In more than 10 years in the Legislature, I have voted against every bill that would increase your tax burden. Not many legislators can say that. I know who my bosses are - you, the taxpayer.

As always, I am looking out for you, your wallet and your rights.

Sen. Janéa Holmquist Newbry is a member of the bi-partisan Senate Majority Coalition Caucus and chairs of the Senate Commerce & Labor Committee.