‘Early stages of critical failure’: Funding outlook is grim for WA road upkeep

State transportation officials say they are making the limited dollars for highway and bridge preservation stretch as far as they can — but it’s not far enough. There’s too little money to keep up with repaving roads, repairing aging spans and responding to emergency fixes. “We are in the early stages of critical failure due to lack of funding,” Troy Suing, director of capital program development and management for Washington State Department of Transportation, told a state panel Tuesday. “We are doing everything we can to squeeze out as much service life as we can,” he told members of the Washington State Transportation Commission. “We are underfunded. We are forced to be reactive when we look at our assets right now.”