Senate Transportation Committee advances wide package of transportation bills, including $2.5 billion bridge bond authorization

The Washington State Senate Transportation Committee on April 8, 2025, voted to advance a package of transportation bills to the rules committee, including a substitute for Senate Bill 5,734 that raises the bond authorization for the Interstate Bridge Replacement project to $2.5 billion.

Committee staff and members summarized or moved forward more than a dozen bills and memorials during the executive session in Olympia. The measures ranged from funding and contracting authorization to pilot programs for automated vehicle noise enforcement and expanded leasing of unused highway land to community uses.

The substitute for Senate Bill 5,734 would allow the state treasurer to issue up to $2,500,000,000 in bonds for the I-5 bridge replacement project, up from the $1.6 billion figure in the earlier version. Haley Gamble, committee staff, said the earlier $1.6 billion figure was based on a prior traffic and revenue study and that “there are a lot of unknowns,” noting a new traffic and revenue study is underway. The committee moved the substitute with a due-pass recommendation to the rules committee.

The committee also advanced substitute House Bill 1264, which directs the Office of Financial Management to contract for nationally recognized salary surveys covering specified ferry system positions. Jenna 40, committee staff, said the bill carries a fiscal note of about $375,000 paid from the motor vehicle account as an interagency transfer from WSDOT to OFM. Senator King said he was concerned the comparator entities used in the survey “have a much higher wage for a number of reasons,” and warned passing the bill could raise system operating costs. The committee adopted a striking amendment and advanced the bill as amended with a due-pass recommendation.

Other bills advanced included measures affecting Amtrak Cascades service goals (Engrossed Substitute House Bill 18-37), a pilot for automated vehicle noise enforcement cameras limited to up to three cities (Engrossed Substitute House…