We asked The Boston Consulting Group to assess the economic impact of the components of transportation proposals that received the broadest support from policymakers in Washington state during the past two legislative sessions. Their analysis assesses the impact of investment in preservation and maintenance as well as six major improvement projects in key economic corridors over 12 years. And it paints a very compelling case for investing in statewide transportation in 2015.
Key findings: A $7 billion investment to preserve and maintain state road and bridge networks and improve key economic corridors would generate $42 billion in benefits and increase state and local tax revenues by $2 billion over 30 years. It would support 184,000 jobs, save $600 million per year in business supply chain costs, support $2.5 billion in port expansion, and reduce road repair costs by $650 million per year. Alternatively, a lack of new investment will result in significant road deterioration, millions more hours of congestion and higher costs for drivers. The call to action is clear: Invest in the preservation and maintenance of Washington’s existing roads and bridges and make improvements in key economic corridors.
You can get download a summary of the research here or visit our policy archive for additional detail.