BILL REQ. #:  S-3809.1 

Read first time 01/14/08.   Referred to Committee on Transportation.

     AN ACT Relating to highway emergency projects; and adding a new section to chapter 47.20 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 47.20 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) If a project qualifies as an emergency project under subsection (2) of this section, the department shall, as soon as practicable, take all necessary steps to complete environmental reviews, engineering, and design to ensure prompt construction of the project.
     (2) An emergency project is any project that meets all of the following conditions:
     (a) The project is planned for a highway of statewide significance;
     (b) The project is on a route that has been declared a safety corridor by the governor or the department;
     (c) The project was first proposed by a state or local agency at least forty years before the date of the declaration made under (b) of this subsection;
     (d) A feasibility study was completed on the project at least forty years before the date of the declaration made under (b) of this subsection;
     (e) The department has acquired a substantial portion of the right-of-way necessary for completion of the project;
     (f) The purpose of the project is not served through the completion of a different project; and
     (g) The need for the project has not been substantially diminished.