BILL REQ. #:  H-3011.2 

Read first time 03/14/2007.   Referred to Committee on Transportation.

     AN ACT Relating to the state route number 520 bridge replacement and HOV project; adding new sections to chapter 47.01 RCW; and creating new sections.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that the replacement of the vulnerable state route number 520 corridor is a matter of urgency for the safety of Washington's traveling public and the needs of the transportation system in central Puget Sound. The state route number 520 floating bridge serves as a vital route for vehicles to cross Lake Washington, and the bridge carries approximately one hundred fifteen thousand vehicles per day, over three times its design capacity. Additionally, the state route number 520 corridor experiences more than seven hours of congestion per day, impacting other state highways and local roads.
     The legislature further finds that starting in 1997, the forty-seven member trans-Lake Washington committee began to identify ways to improve transportation across or around Lake Washington. The project for the environmental impact statement process became the state route number 520 bridge replacement and HOV project in 2000, and the department has analyzed almost one hundred concepts since that time. The legislature finds that sufficient work has been performed to conclude that alternatives other than the four-lane and six-lane alternatives have been explored and rejected for sound reasons.
     The legislature further finds that the state route number 520 floating bridge is subject to damage, closure, or even catastrophic failure from windstorms and waves. Additionally, the state route number 520 floating bridge does not meet current seismic standards, and over the next fifty years there is a twenty percent chance of serious damage to the structure if an earthquake occurs. Failure of the floating bridge or the bridge approaches would cause injury or loss of life and have a substantial impact on the region's economy.
     Therefore, it is the conclusion of the legislature that time is of the essence, and that Washington state cannot wait for a disaster to make it fully appreciate the urgency of the need to replace this vulnerable structure. The state must take the necessary steps to move forward with the state route number 520 bridge replacement project.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 47.01 RCW to read as follows:
     The needs of the central Puget Sound region and the state are best served by a state route number 520 project alternative that replaces the four existing general purpose lanes and adds two lanes of capacity suitable for transit and other high-occupancy vehicle use. New pontoons for the floating structure must be designed to accommodate the installation of a high capacity transit system, such as light rail or another comparable system. The department must incorporate this policy into any preferred alternative that may be developed for the project's environmental assessment documents.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 47.01 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) As soon as practicable after the effective date of this act, and after consulting with appropriate local jurisdictions, the department shall hire a mediator to develop consensus-building among the interested parties to support the policy goals identified in section 2 of this act through fact-finding, facilitation, and mediation. In evaluating the project impacts, the mediator shall consider the concerns of neighborhoods and institutions of higher education directly impacted by the proposed designs, and shall work with the appropriate planning staff.
     (a) The mediator must have significant professional experience in (i) working with the impacted communities that surround major transportation construction projects and (ii) mitigating the construction impact on those communities.
     (b) The mediator position under this section is a nonbinding advisory position, and this section does not create a legally binding mediation or arbitration position.
     (c) The department shall hire the mediator within existing appropriations allocated for the state route number 520 bridge replacement and HOV project.
     (2) The mediator must provide monthly updates to the governor and the joint transportation committee regarding the status of the consensus-building process. The mediator must provide the governor and the joint transportation committee with a final recommendation by October 31, 2007. The recommendation must reflect a balance of solutions for carrying out the project that can be incorporated into the legislative direction described in section 2 of this act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   A new section is added to chapter 47.01 RCW to read as follows:
     The state route number 520 bridge replacement and HOV project finance plan must include state funding, federal funding, one billion one million dollars from the regional transportation investment district, and revenue from tolling. The department must provide a proposed finance plan to be tied to the estimated cost of the recommended project solutions, as provided under section 3 of this act, to the governor and the joint transportation committee by January 1, 2008.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   This act may be known and cited as the state route number 520 bridge replacement act.