Washington State House of Representatives	BILL ANALYSIS
Transportation Committee

HB 1668

Brief Description:  Maintaining and preserving transportation facilities and assets.

Sponsors:  Representatives Fisher, Mitchell and Poulsen; by request of The Blue Ribbon Commission on Transportation.

Brief Summary of Bill

$Receipt of state funding by local government transportation providers is conditioned upon adopting an approved maintenance management system.

$Washington State Department of Transportation is required to adopt preservation and maintenance plans based on lowest lifecycle methodology.

Hearing Date:  2/7/01

Staff:  Paul Neal, (786-7315).

Background: 

The Blue Ribbon Commission on Transportation (BRCT) presented several recommendations to the Legislature and the Governor designed to improve transportation in Washington.   Recommendation 13 of the BRCT included the following subrecommendations:

13b: As a condition of receiving their baseline allocation of funding, require all agencies and jurisdictions to demonstrate the use of maintenance management systems and pavement management systems.

13c: As a condition of receiving funding, require Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), cities, and counties to demonstrate, after an initial period of three years, that their preservation investments are based on lowest lifecycle cost principles.

Some of the terms used above have the following meaning when used in a state context:

?Preservation@ refers to rehabilitation of an asset such that it is recapitalized.  An example is repaving a road.  Under the transportation budget and the organization of WSDOT, this is distinct from maintenance.

?Maintenance@ refers to operation and small repairs that do not justify reamortization or recapitalization.  There are two general types of maintenance: ?hardware@ maintenance, i.e., replacing light bulbs in stop lights or fixing potholes; and ?operational@ maintenance, i.e., plowing a road after it snows.

?Lowest lifecycle cost principles@ examine the effects of age and wear on transportation infrastructure, such as pavements and bridges, and determines the optimal time for rehabilitation, i.e., preservation.  For example, an asphalt pavement lasts about 12 to 14 years.  Optimal repaving, and therefore lowest lifecycle cost, would be at a point just before structural damage occurs.  This ensures that the maximum life is gained from the pavement, but it is rehabilitated before structural damage requires a more expensive fix.

The WSDOT currently uses a pavement management system incorporating lowest lifecycle cost principles for determining when to schedule pavement preservation work.  Lowest lifecycle cost principles are not uniformly applied in other WSDOT programs.  Some local jurisdictions use  pavement management systems while others do not.  Some local jurisdictions do not distinguish between ?maintenance@ and ?preservation@ but include all such activities in their maintenance program.

Summary of Bill: 

HB 1668 requires cities, counties, county public transportation authorities, public transportation benefit areas, and regional transit authorities to submit a maintenance and preservation management plan to the transportation commission or its successor.  The plan must inventory the jurisdiction=s assets, provide a plan for maintenance, preservation, and replacement of assets based upon lowest lifecycle cost methodologies.

The distribution of gas tax revenue to counties, cities, and towns is conditioned upon the jurisdiction submitting a plan to the transportation commission showing use of maintenance and pavement management systems.  The pavement management system must be based on lowest lifecycle cost principles.  The maintenance management must provide a uniform service level of C+ or better and include an inventory of facilities.  The jurisdiction would qualify for a portion of current gas tax revenues only if its plan is certified by the commission.

The WSDOT is required to use lowest lifecycle cost methodologies in developing a pavement management system.  The WSDOT must include a maintenance component in its statewide plan that delivers a level of service of C+ or better.  The state ferry system and the state passenger rail program must develop maintenance and preservation plans based upon lowest lifecycle cost methodologies.

Appropriation:  None.

Fiscal Note:  Requested on February 6, 2001.

Effective Date:  The bill takes effect on July 1, 2001.