Road Construction Costs Climb

It looks like we'll be getting even less road construction out of the RTID (if it even passes) than was previously thought.

The price tag for what was a $7.2 billion package of major new regional highways has risen by millions in the past year, leaving planners for a fall ballot measure searching for what to pursue and what to abandon.

The exact increase hasn't been calculated because a list developed a year ago didn't clearly define what projects would be built in the Interstate 405 and state Route 167 corridors. New cost estimates can't be compared with the original list in those cases, one state official said.

But new estimates circulated last week showed increases of more than $1.1 billion for just six of the biggest projects the Regional Transportation Investment District has on its list for King, Pierce and Snohomish counties.
...
The package, intended to supplement state highway spending, is expected to be on the November ballot and needs approval of voters in at least the urban areas of the three counties. The higher costs aren't expected to change the estimated $107 per-household cost of new taxes to help finance the projects but the higher costs could at least scale some projects back, if not eliminate any.

So, a vote for the RTID is a vote for an ever-shrinking list of road additions and improvements, plus billions of dollars frittered away on toy trains that a tiny percentage of the population will utilize. Sounds like a great plan guys. Good luck with that.

(Larry Lange, Seattle P-I, 01.15.2007)