Transportation Budget Letter Submitted

Dear Chair Liias, Chair Fey, Ranking Member King and Ranking Member Barkis:

We are local elected officials from the Puget Sound region writing in support of a substantial investment dedicated to ferries and the overall preservation and maintenance of the transportation system in the supplemental transportation budget for 2026.

We appreciate the significant investments the Legislature made in the 2025-27 Biennial Transportation Budget. However, due to rapid growth, rising costs and deteriorating infrastructure, our state and region continue to require additional robust transportation funding to meet emergent priorities. To meet these challenges, we are advocating for an additional investment of $2 billion in maintenance and preservation and $1 billion for new ferry construction. If a full $3 billion package is not feasible, we urge a meaningful investment this year to address the most urgent needs.

Maintaining and preserving the existing transportation system is a priority in the Puget Sound Regional Council’s draft Regional Transportation Plan. Community members consistently highlighted maintaining and preserving transportation assets as a top concern during outreach about the plan across the Puget Sound region. Investing in maintenance and preservation upfront helps prevent costly repairs and closures, as delaying maintenance often results in more expensive replacements.

Recent extensive ferry service disruptions, when 3 ferries have been out of service simultaneously due to unmet critical repair needs, emphasize the need to make long-term investments to replace the aging boats. We encourage you to continue to explore funding options that maintain and preserve the existing vessels in order to keep them operational while new ferries are brought into service. The ferry system is a key transportation network in the Puget Sound region and sustained investment is needed to ensure it operates reliably and serves the needs of our region.

We respectfully encourage you to craft a supplemental transportation budget proposal to provide resources for urgent transportation needs for maintenance and preservation and Washington State Ferries. We appreciate the Legislature’s continued commitment to investing in and improving Washington’s transportation infrastructure.   

Sincerely,