Sound Transit and the roads-focused Regional Transportation Investment District (RTID) are asking voters on the Nov. 6 ballot to approve a $17.8 billion capital investment in transit and highway expansions in Puget Sound.

Highlights of what?s being proposed

Sound Transit: $10.8 billion (2006 dollars) includes expansion of light rail east to Bellevue and Redmond, south to Tacoma and north to Mill Creek.

RTID: $7 billion (2006 dollars) includes extending Highway 509 from SeaTac to Interstate 5; adding lanes to Highway 167 in south King County; providing funding for a new State Route 520 floating bridge; and adding two lanes each direction to Interstate 405 from Renton to Bellevue.

If the package is approved: an increase in sales taxes by an estimated $150 annually for a typical family, and an increase in yearly car license fees by $80 per $10,000 of vehicle value.

Projected benefits: A 25 percent reduction in traffic delay; a 10 percent increase in speeds; $160 million annual reduction in freight shipping costs.

Highlights of what's being done now

Washington Department of Transportation

"Nickel package," including an increase of the gas tax by 5 cents statewide, approved by the legislature in 2003: $3.9 billion for 158 projects over 10 years, including the redesign of the Alaskan Way Viaduct.

"Transportation tax package," including an increase of the gas tax by 9.5 cents statewide, approved by the legislature in 2005: $7.1 billion for 274 projects over 16 years, including the replacement of the Alaskan Way Viaduct and the State Route 520 bridge.

Congestion pricing: Drivers pay to pull into a high-occupancy toll (HOT) lane to move more quickly; prices fluctuate based on relative congestion and the demand of drivers to move more quickly. DOT pilot project planned for spring 2008: nine miles of HOT lane along State Route 167 from Auburn to Renton.

 
Sound Transit

Light rail: $4.1 billion; in summer 2009, a 13.9-mile line opens from Westlake Station in Seattle to Tukwila International Boulevard Station; by the end of 2009, a 1.7-mile extension opens to Sea-Tac Airport; a 1.6-mile streetcar in Tacoma opened in 2003.

Commuter rail: $1.2 billion; two round-trip Sounder trains from Everett to Seattle; four round-trip trains between Tacoma and Seattle.

Express buses: $800 million; bus routes throughout region. Among other projects, Bellevue Transit Center was expanded and the Federal Way Transit Center (1,200 parking stalls) was built.

Top road projects

Among the Washington Department of Transportation?s highest-profile projects for 2007: State Route 520 floating bridge: $3.9 billion to $4.4 billion.

Plans are under way to replace the bridge across Lake Washington; a new, wider route includes four regular lanes plus two carpool lanes.

Alaskan Way Viaduct: $2.4 billion has been set aside so far by state, federal and local agencies to improve the structure that was damaged by the 2001 Nisqually earthquake; 2012 has been set as the date to remove it.

U.S. 395 North Spokane corridor: $2.1 billion. Project aims to finish turning Spokane?s major north-south route into limitedaccess freeway.

Interstate 405: $1.5 billion. Various projects under way to improve traffic flow, from new bus and vanpool stations to improved highway interchanges and construction through Kirkland, Bellevue and Renton.

New Tacoma Narrows Bridge: $849 million. Opened in July; includes a new toll span to carry State Route 16 eastbound traffic to Tacoma; westbound traffic toward Gig Harbor uses the old Narrows Bridge.

Interstate 90 over Snoqualmie Pass: $525 million. Plans are under way to build a six-lane stretch of I-90 between Hyak and Keechelus Dam to improve safety by reducing avalanche closures and straightening out curves.