We Can’t Trust Rossi to Improve Transportation in Washington
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Rossi’s Fantasy Transportation “Plan” = More Traffic, Higher Taxes
Dino Rossi’s transportation “plan” is rooted in fantasy, not in reality. Full of incomplete information, inaccurate costs, and lack of detail, Rossi’s fantasy “plan” would result in more traffic and higher taxes. Rossi’s numbers and assumptions are incomplete and in many cases just plain wrong.
Rossi’s Fantasy vs. Reality
Rossi Fantasy #1: I can build an eight-lane 520 bridge for less than a six-lane bridge.
Reality: Not only does this defy common sense, it is factually incorrect. Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) cost estimates show construction of an eight-lane bridge is more expensive than a six-lane bridge. WSDOT has determined that billions of additional dollars in construction would be required to build new lanes on I-5 and I-405 to absorb the additional traffic created by an eight-lane 520 bridge. Rossi doesn’t factor these costs into his eight-lane cost estimate. WSDOT also notes that major demolition of downtown Seattle buildings would be required to construct new lanes on I-5 to accommodate traffic from an eight-lane 520 bridge, costs and impacts Rossi does not account for. [Seattle PI, 4/13/2004]
Rossi Fantasy #2: Stealing billions of dollars from the General Fund will have no impact on education, healthcare or vulnerable populations.
Reality: When times are tough, we know exactly where Dino Rossi makes cuts: children’s healthcare and education. He’s done it before and says he would do it again. Rossi’s transportation “plan” would take billions from the General Fund for at least 30 years. If Rossi’s multi-billion dollar transportation projects go over budget, the effects on the General Fund would be even more devastating. Rossi’s transportation “plan” put the state’s future healthcare and education systems at risk for generations.
Rossi Fantasy #3: If we just brought a “business approach” to the ferry system, all would be well.
Reality: In 1999, Dino Rossi voted to eliminate the primary funding source for the Washington state ferry system and never proposed a replacement. After eliminating the primary ferry funding source Rossi voted to gut an additional half-billion dollars of ferry money from the budget. Rossi offers no specific plan for continuing the improvements to the state ferry system brought about by Governor Gregoire. [SB 6865, 3/17/2000] [3ESSB 5327, 6/21/01]
Rossi Fantasy #4: I can open up the car pool lanes during the day and reduce congestion.
Reality: False. Puget Sound-area high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes are utilized throughout the day and carry more people per hour than single occupancy vehicle (SOV) lanes. [WSDOT]
Rossi Fantasy #5: This is a 21st century plan that gives people choices.
Reality: Rossi’s “plan” offers more of the same. Rossi subscribes to the myth that we can build our way out of congestion. His “plan” includes no investment in transit service to give people reliable alternatives to getting around the Puget Sound region and Washington state.
Rossi Fantasy #6: I can use east King County’s Sound Transit money to build highway HOV lanes.
Reality: Rossi says he doesn’t want the state to meddle in local transit decisions, yet Rossi’s plan does exactly that. By redirecting Sound Transit revenue set aside for east King County transit projects, Rossi’s plan violates current Sound Transit policy that would require a public vote. Current Sound Transit policy prohibits expenditure of transit revenue to construct highway HOV lanes. Revenue can only be spent on transit projects that have been approved by voters. By siphoning off east King County’s transit funding, Rossi is telling eastside residents to say goodbye to their desire for light rail and improved express bus service.
Rossi Fantasy #7: My plan could build a “tunnel-lite” replacement for the Alaskan Way Viaduct for $2.7 billion.
Reality: False. No detailed cost estimate of the City of Seattle’s proposed “tunnel-light” Viaduct replacement has been performed by the state. Where did Rossi get his number? Additionally, City of Seattle voters rejected the construction of a tunnel replacement for the Viaduct in March of 2007. Furthermore, WSDOT has rejected the originally proposed “tunnel-lite” design as unsafe. [WSDOT]
Rossi Fantasy #8: My plan focuses on reducing congestion.
Reality: False. Rossi’s plan would make congestion worse by constructing an eight-lane replacement of the 520 floating bridge and causing massive gridlock on I-5 and I-405. The eight-lane alternative was set aside by WSDOT because of its significant impacts on communities and traffic on I-5 and I-405. [WSDOT]
Rossi Fantasy #9: I can repair fish passages for ¼ of the actual cost.
Reality: False. Rossi’s “plan” sets aside $200 million for “Salmon Culverts” and he claims to be able to repair 1,676 culverts identified by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) across the state. Rossi lists the average cost of each culvert at $100,000. The Washington State Department of Transportation’s May 2007 Fish Passage Inventory Progress Performance Report shows that WSDOT has repaired 69 culverts across Washington state since 1992, expending a total of $26,859,818 through the Barrier Removal Program. A majority of the culverts have been repaired within the last ten years. The average cost of the 69 culvert repair projects at the time they were completed was $389,272 – not $100,000 as Rossi claims.
Rossi Fantasy #10: This is a statewide transportation plan.
Reality: False. Rossi’s road fantasy is a bad nightmare for eastern Washington residents. Rossi includes just eight projects for eastern Washington counties and spends just 15 percent of the total $15.5 billion (in 2007 dollars) proposed east of the Cascades. Under Rossi’s plan, 14 eastern Washington counties receive no projects.
Rossi Fantasy #11: My plan would cost taxpayers $15.5 billion.
Reality: False. Rossi’s road fantasy could cost taxpayers over $50 billion. Rossi is using outdated cost estimates to mask the true cost of his plan. Rossi’s $15.5 billion price tag relies on year-old project cost estimates and doesn’t account for inflation OR the interest on bonds Rossi says are needed to finance his “plan.” ($50 billion estimate assumes 4% annual inflation on $15.5 billion in 2007 dollars factored over 30 years – 2007-2037)
Rossi Fantasy #12: I’ll show leadership on transportation.
Reality: As a state senator, Dino Rossi was a roadblock to transportation improvements. Rossi voted against the 2001 transportation budget, voted against allowing statewide voters to consider investing in road and transit improvements in 2002 and voted against $500 million in funding for the Washington State Ferry System. In 2005, Dino Rossi was excoriated for refusing to take a stand on Initiative 912, the initiative that would have canceled hundreds of critical transportation projects across Washington State, including a major down payment on the replacement of the 520 bridge. [3ESSB 5327, 6/21/2000] [Associated Press, 3/15/2002] [Seattle PI, 10/9/05]
What independent experts and editorial pages are saying about Rossi’s transportation fantasy
- “Mark Hallenbeck, director of the Washington state Transportation Center at the University of Washington, said Rossi's numbers are ’completely divorced from reality.’"
- "‘He lowballs almost all the estimates and never says where all the funds are going to come from. It's a political statement. It's complete silliness,’ Hallenbeck said.”
LEWISTON TRIBUNE, (editorial), 4/17/08
- “The Republican candidate for Washington's governor outlined a number of spending initiatives, from an expensive tunnel replacing Seattle's Alaskan Way Viaduct to a north-south freeway in Spokane. But when it came to paying for them, he punted. Actually, faked is more like it.”
- “…it's another something-for-nothing scheme…”
EVERETT HERALD, (editorial), 4/17/08
- “Can Dino Rossi's freshly unveiled transportation plan solve our traffic mess? Doubtful. Many of the cost figures cited in it appear to be based more on wishful thinking than thoughtful analysis.”
- “Much of Rossi's proposal may be pie in the sky.”
- "[I]t's hard to see how pie-in-the-sky promises on roads add up to smart politics.”
THE STRANGER (Seattle), 4/16/08
- “…the particulars of his proposal seem a little delusional.”
- “Of course, his plan to use all that state money has only a snowball's chance in hell…”
- “Rossi's ideas run counter to local public opinion…”
- “…as predicted by Democrats, Rossi dodged the details…”
- “The former state senator also couldn't offer specific strategies for getting his no-new-taxes plan through the Legislature”
- "Further criticism came from the Director of the Washington State Transportation Center, who said in the Seattle Times that Rossi lowballed all of his estimates.”