LACEY—Governor Bob Ferguson unveiled a $2.1 billion plan on Friday to bolster preservation and maintenance of Washington’s roads and bridges, marking the largest such investment in any enacted budget over the past two decades. The proposal, which requires legislative approval during the 2026 session, aims to address long-standing “neglect,” according to Ferguson, in the state’s transportation infrastructure without imposing new taxes, drawing on already bonded revenues from prior bipartisan legislation.
“To be blunt, the state has neglected its core transportation infrastructure for too long,” Ferguson said during Friday’s press conference at WSDOT’s Olympic Region HQ in Lacey. “Those are just the facts. Too many of our bridges are in dire need of repair. Many of our roadways desperately need attention.”
Ferguson’s proposal allocates $1.1 billion specifically for bridge preservation, $164 million for paving projects starting next summer—covering more than 600 miles, a 66% increase over current plans—and $756 million for additional paving over the next decade, adding 2,100 miles. Another $160 million targets other needs, such as slope stabilization in mountain passes prone to landslides and culvert repairs. Overall, the $2.1 billion over 10 years represents a 34% boost in highway maintenance and preservation funding.
Friday’s announcement comes amid recent severe storms that have exposed vulnerabilities in the state’s transportation system, including landslides and flooding that have strained roads. Gov. Ferguson stressed that deferred maintenance could lead to catastrophic failures, comparing it to skipping oil changes on a car, which might result in costlier repairs down the road.
“Painting a bridge or sealing a road may not seem very exciting, but it’s like changing the oil in your car or replacing the timing belt,” Ferguson said. “If you skip that basic maintenance, you could have a catastrophic failure and pay more down the line.”
Washington faces a backlog of infrastructure needs exacerbated by years of underinvestment, Ferguson shared. Statewide, 342 bridges are 80 years old or older, matching or exceeding their typical lifespan. Of those, 80 are rated in poor condition by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), indicating serious issues like deterioration, cracking or structural damage. Currently, 45 steel bridges are due for painting, and 60 are past due.
“This is totally unacceptable from my standpoint,” Ferguson said.
Examples include the 64-year-old Hood Canal Bridge, where maintenance is up to 15 years overdue, potentially forcing a three-hour detour if it closes for repairs. The 75-year-old Tacoma Narrows Bridge has seen lane closures seven times from January 2024 to September 2025 due to faulty joints, with more disruptions possible without intervention. On the east side, the 63-year-old Beebe Bridge near Chelan requires overdue painting and deck work, where a closure would mean an 83-mile detour.
Earlier this year, the 103-year-old Carbon River Bridge was permanently shut down for safety reasons, affecting nearby communities’ economies and daily lives. In Enumclaw, a temporary White River Bridge closure in late August due to a strike disrupted commutes, slashing local business revenues by 30% to 80% and forcing residents to adapt with lengthy detours or pedestrian crossings for essentials like medical appointments and childcare.
“The impacts to the infrastructure are truly real,” Enumclaw Mayor-elect Anthony Wright shared adding, “Infrastructure means access, access to everything that we rely on in a day of instant demand.”
Separately, as part of his broader 2026 supplemental transportation budget, Gov. Ferguson proposed acquiring three new ferries for $1 billion and adding $150 million for preserving existing vessels, addressing decades of underinvestment in the ferry system. The state’s fleet includes 21 vessels serving 20 terminals, with five nearing the end of their service life.
“Our state has under-invested in new vessels for decades,” Ferguson posted on X. “Now is the time to fix the ferries.”
This $3.1 billion supplemental budget proposal builds upon the $15.5 billion transportation plan enacted earlier this year for the 2025-27 biennium, which runs from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2027. That budget, passed via Senate Bill 5161, included $9.2 billion for capital projects and $6.3 billion for operations, supported by $3.3 billion in new revenues from measures like fuel tax hikes, vehicle fees and a sales tax transfer. Preservation funding in that plan totaled $903.4 million in WSDOT’s Preservation Program for highways and $359 million for ferries, with adjustments for rising costs in vessel electrification and conversions.
State Rep. Andrew Barkis (R02-Lake St. Clair) who is the ranking member of the House Transportation Committee, in a November 2025 op-ed, aligns with Ferguson’s supplemental budget announcement on Friday. He called for greater focus on maintenance and criticize current transportation budget’s emphasis on transit and electrification, which he said served few compared to the 82% of Washingtonians who commute by car.
“Washingtonians deserve more from their transportation system and the tax dollars they send to Olympia,” Barkis wrote. “The Legislature must start by maintaining and preserving infrastructure.”
State Sen. Marko Liias (D21-Edmonds) who is the chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, welcomed Ferguson’s proposal.
“We cannot ignore that Washington’s infrastructure is aging,” Liias said in a statement. “Preservation and maintenance are the two most important investments we can make right now in our transportation system, and I’m glad to see Gov. Ferguson’s supplemental budget prioritizes them.”
Sen. Liias pledged a bipartisan approach in reviewing the details next session.
The new $3.1 billion proposal—highway and bridge maintenance and preservation, and the acquisition of three new ferries —would take effect July 1, 2026, if approved, and relies on an estimated $3.3 billion in bonding revenues that were authorized in the 2025 session on a bipartisan basis.
Author: Mario Lotmore
