New 520 bridge may mean tolls on I-90, too

OLYMPIA -- State Treasurer Michael Murphy rejects the finance plan for the proposed rebuilding of the Evergreen Point Bridge and won't bankroll the project unless lawmakers levy tolls on the Interstate 90 crossing as well as the new bridge.

See State Treasurer Michael Murphy 's report on the SR 520 finance plan (PDF).

Chris McGann assesses the political ramifications of Murphy's decision.

Murphy said in an interview that he won't sell bonds for the project without the additional tolling because the state can't afford it under current finance plans. He says the tolls should be put in place before the new state Route 520 bridge is completed.

As it stands, financing falls billions of dollars short even with $1.2 billion of anticipated revenue from tolling just the Evergreen Point Bridge.

Faced with the pressing public safety project and not enough money to pay for it, Gov. Chris Gregoire and transportation leaders in the House and Senate lately have been pushing plans to begin the project now and find the money later.

Murphy could put the kibosh on that. The project can't be built as now planned unless he authorizes bonds.

	Murphy

"I will not authorize the debt to be issued for a project that can't pay for itself," Murphy said. "In order for the thing to work, both bridges -- period -- need to be tolled, not parts of bridges, not certain lanes."

According to a report that Murphy coordinated for the state Department of Transportation, the state's 520 finance plan falls far short of the revenue required to pay for the project.

Murphy said he stands behind the report that states:

"To be financially feasible, the state must elect either to 1) toll both the SR 520 and I-90 bridges and/or 2) contribute additional funds to the project construction costs. Without additional funds, some tolling of both bridges will likely be necessary prior to completion of the project. Under the current assumptions, if only SR 520 were tolled, financing would fall 31 percent to 33 percent short of funds needed for the project."

Murphy said it's time for lawmakers to face reality.

"Now push is coming to shove, and decisions have to be made," he said. "I don't think anybody likes that idea of having to toll regionally as opposed to specifically. But the reality check is this: You can afford it, or you can't afford it. If you can afford it, how are you paying for it? Well, if we got a bunch of free money from the feds or we had a local tax that was put in place, but the revenue from the 9.5 (cent-per-gallon gas-tax increase) has already been allocated to other stuff.

"The only way to finance (the $4.4 billion project) is with revenue streams that are sufficient to pay back the people who buy our bonds. And as the treasurer of the state, I have to certify to the people who buy our bonds that I have looked at the numbers and the numbers work. If they come up with a plan that is 33percent short, I will not issue the bonds."

Murphy conceded that expanding tolling to pay for the Evergreen Point Bridge will be controversial.

"There are some ... radical changes in this report," he said. "Collecting a toll before it's done, that's a major policy shift, but in the long run, the treasurer of the state is saying this: You will be best served if we do it this way."

Gregoire has said she is open to the idea of regional tolling, but she has been silent on the fact that plans from both the House and the Senate call for tolling only the new bridge.

"Decisions on what facilities are tolled are (by statute) legislative decisions," said Jennifer Ziegler, Gregoire's transportation policy adviser. "Legislators are still talking about this, so this is more information for them."

Gregoire said in a report on 520 and the Alaskan Way Viaduct released in December that she "looks forward to the Legislature developing a finance plan for the project," Ziegler said.

She echoed a point made in the report that I-90 could not be tolled without federal permission. "It's an interstate facility, so there's a federal conversation that has to happen, as well," she said.

House Transportation Committee Chairwoman Judy Clibborn, D- Mercer Island, said tolling both Lake Washington bridges was an option still under consideration but that other ways of raising money also could be tapped.

"I appreciate the report, but we are not ready to make those kinds of decisions now," Clibborn said. "You don't decide to toll until you decide how much you need to make up. ... I've always said we would look at every option."

If more money is needed, Clibborn said tolling I-90 "wouldn't necessarily be something we haven't talked about."

Critics of the state's plan said they are frustrated that it has taken so long for state leaders to wake up to the fact that the six-lane 520 bridge and freeway improvements on both sides of the water are unaffordable.

"People are in denial," said Chris Leman of the No Expansion of 520 Citizens Coalition. "It's been clear all along, ever since the expert review panel issued its report (in September); they said that the financing plan for 520 was on shakier ground than financing the viaduct."

Leman's group advocates rebuilding 520 with a wider four-lane bridge, which the state could afford and that would have less effect on the neighborhoods.

Leman said in reports, hearings and other discussions that "they are literally $2 billion short for either of the two main alternatives." The Legislature is simply not facing what the numbers say loud and clear, he said.

"There's all these assumptions that they are making to make it seem to pencil out, but their assumptions are totally unrealistic," Leman said.

He said there could be political calculations that went into the decision to create a finance plan that does not call for I-90 tolling, namely the upcoming November vote on taxes for the $16 billion regional transit and roads plan, commonly referred to as RTID.

"If the public were told a six-lane alternative absolutely requires us to toll I-90, at quite high levels, that would probably kill the RTID vote," he said.

Murphy said replacing the bridge is a public-safety imperative, and a six-lane bridge is the only way to accommodate the increasing transportation needs of the region. By beginning to pay for it upfront, it will save the taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars over time, he said.

"It's kind of like the Fram oil (filter) commercial," he said. "You can pay me now or pay me later, but at some point in time, the consumer pays for the infrastructure."