Transportation Commission
Meets in Olympia on
July 18 and 19
Posted 7.14.06
Transportation Commission Office - PO Box 47308 - Olympia, WA 98504-7308
(360) 705-7070
Date: June
14, 2006
| Contacts: |
Reema Griffith, Transportation Commission
Executive Director,
360-705-7070 |
OLYMPIA – The
status of the Transportation
Innovative Partnership
Program, emerging policy
regarding rail, the Port
Angeles graving dock audit,
and Washington’s
long-term transportation
investments will be among
the topics of discussion
next week during the Washington
State Transportation Commission’s
meeting in Olympia. This
will be Richard Ford's
first meeting as Commission
Chairman since his election
to that role by fellow
Commissioners on June 14.
During this meeting, Commission
members will elect a vice-chair
for the 2006 – 2007
term.
The Commission’s
monthly meeting will
start at 9 a.m. on Tuesday,
July 18, and reconvene
at 9 a.m. on Wednesday,
July 19. The meeting
will be held at the Transportation
Building, 310 Maple Park
Avenue SE in Olympia,
and is open to the public.
On Tuesday, Jeff Doyle,
Washington State Department
of Transportation’s
director for the Transportation
Innovative Partnerships
Program, will update
the Commission on the
administrative rule-making
process for the program.
The 2005 Legislature
directed the Commission
to oversee this program,
which was created to
encourage innovative
delivery and funding
of transportation-related
projects and services.
In 2006, the legislature
made changes that will
affect the process for
future agreements under
this program. The Commission
will hear about those
changes and the implications
on the overall process.
Also on Tuesday, the
Commission will discuss
their preliminary policy
recommendations related
to the state Rail
Study. The study
is an assessment of state
freight and passenger
rail capacity and infrastructure
needs. It looks at the
current powers, authorities,
and interests the state
has in rail and will
recommend policies for
state participation and
ownership in rail infrastructure
and service delivery.
The Commission will provide
the Legislature with
its final report and
recommendations in January
2007.
On Wednesday, staff
of the Joint Legislative
Audit and Review Committee
(JLARC) will present
the final report on the
Hood Canal Graving Dock
Audit. The audit was
conducted by the Transportation
Performance Audit Board
and was finalized in
June. The WSDOT graving
dock project was abandoned
in December 2004 in light
of the discovery of large
numbers of human burial
remains over the course
of the 2004 construction
season.
Also on Wednesday, the
Commission will consider
taking action to release
the Draft Washington
Transportation Plan Update
(WTP) so that a 45-day
public comment period
may begin. The update
of Washington’s
long range transportation
plan began in 2004. Preliminary
findings from the WTP
helped secure significant
funding for projects
and programs statewide
in 2005. The updated
WTP builds on that progress
and also identifies areas
where work is still needed
to fill in gaps in transportation
funding and overall policy
direction.
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