News Releases

SEATTLE—A regional Transportation Improvement Program containing more than $246.2 million in proposed new spending on transportation projects in King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties has been released for public review by the Puget Sound Regional Council.

The Draft 1998-2000 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for the four-county region was released today for a one-month public review by the Regional Council's Transportation Policy Board. Under federal law, the Council is the Metropolitan Planning Organization for the four-county region, and one of its principle responsibilities is to maintain a three-year regional Transportation Improvement Program, or TIP.

The transportation projects for 1998 have previously been approved through adoption of the 1996-98 TIP; these are simply carried forward into the 1998-2000 TIP. However, $246.2 million in projects for 1999 and 2000 have not been through this process, so they have not yet been approved.

By law, any transportation project receiving federal funds, and any regionally significant transportation project, regardless of how it is funded, must be in an adopted regional TIP to proceed.

For example, the Draft 1998-2000 TIP released today includes approximately $146.3 million in projects proposed to receive federal funds the Regional Council allocates and another $99.9 million in federal and state funds are in the draft TIP which are either allocated or sponsored by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) in consultation with the Council.

To prepare the TIP, the Council invites agencies to identify projects that implement VISION 2020, the regional growth management and transportation strategy, including its transportation element, the Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP). The Council evaluates the projects for consistency with these plans and for conformity to federal and state air quality laws, and then formally adopts the TIP and sends it on to the state and federal government for final review and approval.

Projects proposed for inclusion in the 1998-2000 TIP include 20 regional transportation projects that the Regional Council's Transportation Policy Board has recommended to receive $36.5 million in federal funds.

To recommend projects for the regional allocation, the Council worked with the Regional Project Evaluation Committee, which includes key staff from cities, counties, transit agencies, ports and the state.

In addition, the draft TIP contains:

• $30.7 million in projects proposed by cities, counties and other agencies, and recommended through countywide processes in each county, which are seeking federal funds that the Council allocates (recommendations from the King County Caucus of the Transportation Policy Board, the Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council, the Pierce County Regional Council, and the Snohomish County Tomorrow Steering Committee);

• $29.6 million in other projects proposed by cities, counties and other agencies that would be funded from federal dollars allocated to the state;

• $74.2 million in projects proposed by transit agencies seeking funds allocated by the Federal Transit Administration; and

• non-federally funded projects financed with state and/or local dollars that are regionally significant that have been submitted for the regional air quality emissions analysis only.

The formal public review period on the draft TIP extends to September 11; on that date, the Transportation Policy Board will receive a summary of all comments, and will take action on a recommendation to the Regional Council's Executive Board. The Executive Board then meets on Thursday, September 25, to take final action on the Draft 1998-2000 TIP for the central Puget Sound region.

Copies of the Draft 1998-2000 TIP will be available in major libraries and in the Regional Council's Information Center, (206) 464-7532.