SEATTLE— The Puget Sound Regional Council has recommended 119 priority transportation projects, large and small, to receive $325.5 million in funding during 2005 to 2007. The funds are derived from three federal sources available via the PSRC: Surface Transportation Program (STP), Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ), and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funds.
"The recommendation process is always highly competitive; there are so many important projects and not enough funding to go around," says Councilmember Richard McIver. "Achieving consensus on how to distribute this funding is one of the primary responsibilities of the Puget Sound Regional Council. We have selected excellent projects to receive this funding. Each of them will bring us closer to implementing Destination 2030 and will meet essential needs through out the region."
The recommendation was based on four technical processes: two regional competitions, one for Surface Transportation Program (STP) and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) dollars and one for Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funds, as well as projects recommended by transportation forums in each of the counties and a non-competitive process for FTA funds.
The projects will be modeled for air quality testing along with the draft 2005-2007 Regional Transportation Improvement Program, submitted for public review and comment, then returned to the Executive Board for final approval in October.
The following projects were selected to receive STP, CMAQ and FTA funds from the regional competitions:
Airport Link: Light Rail to SeaTac Airport & S 200th $14,250,000
BNSF Eastside Rail Corridor Preservation Study $635,000*
Clean Air Bus Initiative - King County and Sound Transit $17,945,554
Early Implementation: I-90 2-Way Transit/HOV project $1,431,527
Ferry Boat Replacement/Expansion $1,000,000
I-5 Mountlake Terrace Commuter Parking/Freeway Station $4,700,000*
King County Smart Growth Initiative $4,485,450
Mukilteo Multimodal Terminal and Commuter Rail Pedestrian Connections $5,837,404
Pacific Hwy S/Int'l Blvd. Redevelopment $7,808,671*
PSRC Rural Town Centers & Corridors Pilot Program $2,000,000
PSRC Planning & Programming $1,550,000
Sounder Commuter Rail - Lakewood to Tacoma $8,589,159
South Lake Union Streetcar $4,069,048**
South Spokane St. Viaduct $6,680,457
SR 305 (Bond Rd/SR 307 to Hostmark Rd/SR 307) $3,072,183*
Expansion Buses - Pierce Transit $7,628,234**
3rd Ave Extension & Intermodal Connection $1,000,000
112th St SE/I-5 Bridge Widening $2,385,878
*this project also received funds from the county level STP/CMAQ competition
**this project also received funds from the non-competitive FTA process
A complete list of projects is available online at http://www.psrc.org/projects/tip/index.htm.
Puget Sound Regional Council coordinates decisions about regional growth and transportation planning in King, Pierce, Snohomish, and Kitsap counties. The Council is composed of over 80 county, city, port, transit, tribal and state agencies serving the region. It coordinates the distribution of about $150 million in Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transportation Administration funds each year. PSRC sets priorities and evaluates the most efficient ways to target those funds to support state and local transportation and growth management plans.
Title VI Notice: PSRC fully complies with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and related statutes and regulations in all programs and activities. For more information, or to obtain a Title VI Complaint Form, see http://www.psrc.org/ about/civilrights.htm or call 206-464-6175.