Gorst Fix Gains Traction, But Will Lawmakers Pass $413 Million Plan To Expand The Highway?
GORST — State lawmakers have officially proposed a $413 million plan to build an expanded and elevated highway through Gorst, the Kitsap Peninsula's worst traffic chokepoint. But the project faces a number of roadblocks that make funding far-fetched in the year's legislative session.
"It's a slim chance," estimated State Sen. Tim Sheldon, D-Potlatch. "The end game might produce something, but it will take a lot of consensus to get there."
The project, propelled by a growing coalition of local politicians and business leaders, has been included for funding in budget proposals in both the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives and Senate. Relief for drivers, who make some 85,000 trips a day through the bend around Sinclair Inlet, has remained elusive despite previous efforts.
More:Leaders merge on Gorst traffic fix: 'We can't afford to wait any longer'
The Kitsap County megaproject, estimated to cost a half-billion dollars, would construct an elevated highway through the corridor, to include additional lane capacity between Gorst and Highway 304's intersection with Highway 3. But impediments, including a railroad trestle and the rock cliffs at Windy Point, make lane expansion costly.
The elevated structure would make the intersections of Highway 16 and Highway 3 in Gorst more resilient in case of flooding, earthquakes and other catastrophes. It could also benefit the Sinclair Inlet estuary and Gorst Creek by restoring the shoreline to a more pristine state.
Traffic, meanwhile, is expected to get heavier through the corridor. New businesses near the Bremerton National Airport, including a last-mile delivery center for Amazon, and a growing Belfair, will only add to the daily commute fared by many to Kitsap's Navy bases and its largest employer, the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.
Where the money will come from for the Gorst fix remains an open question. The Gorst Coalition, which includes governments, businesses, the Suquamish Tribe and local Navy leaders, has created a pot to fund lobbying efforts at the federal and state level.
U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, who has been working to bring new millions in a fund that helps communities with defense installations like Kitsap, is pushing for Gorst to be part of federal funding at a time when infrastructure legislation is a priority of the Biden Administration.
At the state level, State Sen. Steve Hobbs, D-Lake Stevens, unveiled this week a 16-year $15.4 billion "Forward Washington" plan that includes Gorst and other state megaprojects like replacing the I-5 bridge across the Columbia River into Oregon and billions more to remove culverts that inhibit fish passage. It also calls for four hybrid-electric ferries to be built and two other existing ferries to be converted to hybrid-electric power.
Hobbs' plan is backed by Sheldon and State Sen. Emily Randall, D-Bremerton, a member of the Senate Transportation Committee and one of the chairs of the Gorst Coalition.
Randall said that Gorst is at the top of her list for “long-overdue infrastructure investments,” be it “for neighbors stuck in traffic, for the Navy worrying about sea level rise, for Tribal leaders and folks committed to salmon recovery, (or) for business owners who know that infrastructure is vital to our economy.”
“This is the year to make the investments our community deserves,” she said. “And we can get it done if we work together.”
Hobbs' plan would increase taxes and fees on everything from automotive parts to watercraft. Chief among the revenue generators would be an increase in the state's gas tax by nearly a dime and a new cap-and-trade market for carbon emissions, which passed the Senate this week on a partisan 25-24 vote (Sheldon voted no on that proposal).
But the plan includes bonding that would make its passage a hurdle that may be too high. That's because bonding, unlike regular legislation, requires 60 percent of lawmakers' approval to pass. Sheldon said that means he and at least three Republican colleagues would have to vote yes for the package to clear the Senate with bonding intact.
By: Josh Farley
Source: Kitsap Sun