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Setting a New Course: 1991 - 2004

Amtrak Cascades modern "Talgo" trains
WSDOT was a major partner in funding Amtrak's Cascades rail service with modern "Talgo" trains.
HOV lane on ferry dock
HOV lanes are now a common elemnt of highway design, even on ferry docks.

The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act liberalized the uses of federal transportation funding beginning in 1991. State legislation also provided “commuter trip-reduction” incentives to employers.

In 1996, the Washington State Transportation Commission adopted its first comprehensive 20-year surface transportation plan, reflecting both State and local needs and projects. The Department launched new initiatives to improve the movement of freight in congested port and industrial areas,
and it participated in formulating the “Sound Transit” regional plan adopted in 1996.

During the 1990s, WSDOT entered the field of passenger rail service in partnership with Amtrak and the State of Oregon and ran its first “Grain Trains” to the Port of Walla Walla. The Ferry system launched its first “Jumbo Mark II” ferries and passenger-only ferries during the decade.

Motor Vehicle Excise Tax (MVET) revenues for state and local transportation projects were seriously reduced by passage of Initiative 695 in 1999. The following year, a special Blue Ribbon Commission on Transportation outlined a set of major reforms and new funding strategies to address a growing fiscal crisis. The February 28, 2001, Nisqually Earthquake compounded problems by causing more than $1billion in damage to state and local highways and bridges, and the terrorist attacks of September 11 imposed new and costly security obligations on the entire transportation system.

WSDOT responded by implementing reforms proposed by a special Blue Ribbon Commission. The Legislature authorized Puget Sound voters to fund a Regional Transportation Investment District and it approved a five-cent gas tax increase targeted to address critical transportation needs. Work on  most of these “nickel projects” and on the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge is now progressing rapidly.

Timeline: 1991 - 2004
  • President George H. W. Bush signs Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act, broadening federal policies and funding, on December 18, 1991.
  • First section of Spirit Lake Memorial Highway (SR 504) opens on Mt. St. Helens on October 16, 1992.
  • Sid Morrison becomes Secretary of Transportation on June 1, 1993.
  • State inaugurates its first “Grain Train,” serving the Port of Walla Walla, in fall 1994.
  • Transportation Commission adopts the State’s first 20-year surface transportation plan in 1996.
  • King, Pierce, and Snohomish County voters approve $3.9 billion “Sound Transit” plan on November 5, 1996.
  • Rideshare program, coordinated by state and local transit authorities, begins in Thurston, Pierce, King, Kitsap, and Snohomish counties in December 1996.
  • The cable-stayed bridge over Tacoma’s Thea Foss Waterway on SR 509 opens on January 22, 1997.
  • Washington State Ferries launches its first passenger only ferry, Chinook, on May 15, 1998.
  • State approves a $350 million “New Partners” proposal for a new toll bridge across the Tacoma Narrows on November 18, 1998.
  • With state funding and aid, Amtrak inaugurates “Cascades” rail service between Eugene and Seattle, with three new “Talgo” cars, on January 11, 1999.
  • Voters approve Initiative 695, capping annual MVET at $30, on November 2, 1999. The  initiative is later voided by the Supreme Court, but the Legislature retains the MVET cap.
  • State Blue Ribbon Commission on Transportation proposes major reforms and new funding strategies on November 29, 2000.
  • A severe earthquake near Olympia causes more than $1 billion in damage to roads and infrastructure on February 28, 2001.
  • Douglas B. MacDonald becomes Secretary of Transportation on April 23, 2001.
  • Terrorist attacks temporarily shut down many transportation systems on September 11, 2001, and lead to intesified security precautions for airports, ferries, railroads, and highways.
  • Voters reject referendum 51 transportation plan and gas tax increase while approving Initiative 776, which seeks to cap local MVET surcharges, on November 5, 2002.
  • Five-cent-per-gallon gas tax increase takes effect on July 1, 2003, to fund $4.2 billion in priority "nickel projects."
  • WSDOT announces that tunnel is preferred replacement for alaskan Way Viaduct on December 7, 2004.
  • Washington State Ferries selects firms to build four new ferries on February 11, 2005.

•  Introduction
•  1905-1920
•  1921-1940
•  1941-1960
•  1961-1977
•  1978-1990
•  1991-2004
•  2005 and Beyond

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