SPOKANE, Wash. — Could the coronavirus pandemic impact the long-awaited North-South Freeway?
The coronavirus pandemic continues to prove lasting impacts to the state's economy and the current budget.
The state's revenue projection for 2019 to 2021 decreased by nearly $4.5 billion. The Office of Financial Management directed agencies to reduce spending by about 15%. That includes the Department of Transportation.
Funding for current transportation projects could be impacted, while projects not already in motion could get deferred.
A big question for some people in Spokane County, is what does this mean the North Spokane Corridor?
For decades, the future of Spokane's largest and most expensive transportation project has remained uncertain.
In September of 2019, Bob Hilmes, the Project Engineer with WSDOT, and local leaders were certain they were on target for a 2029 completion date.
"The next four biennium or eight years is going to be really busy, it will trickle into 2027, 2029, so 2029 we have to be done and we will be,” Hilmes said in September.
Since last fall the project faced challenges, from the I-976 car tabs saga to the pandemic, funding for the next biennium could impact the progress.
This week, estimates released by the Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council show Washington's projected Near General Fund revenue collection for the 2019–21 state budget decreased by nearly $4.5 billion.
Governor Jay Inslee directed agencies to cancel pay raises and to begin regular furloughs for most state employees. Meanwhile, the Office of Financial Management directed agencies to identify options to reduce spending by about 15% in 2021.
In a letter to the Office of Financial Management, the state's transportation secretary Roger Millar outlines budget saving options, including "deferring projects."
While there's no specific mention of the North Spokane Corridor, it could be one that takes a hit.
In a statement, WSDOT told KREM 2, “Transportation faces large deficits in transportation revenue collection affects what's available to spend. The most recent forecasts around state revenue collection were adopted just yesterday. Suffice it to say, it's too soon to say how all of this affects specific projects and we would work closely with the Office of Financial Management (OFM), the Governor's Office and the Legislature to make those determinations.”
So while we're seeing progress now, completion in 2029 is far from certain.
