Washington Transportation Officials Warn of Critical Underfunding

Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) officials are warning that chronic underfunding is pushing the state’s transportation system toward critical failure. Funding intended for preservation and maintenance is being diverted to handle emergencies, thus leaving too little for routine repairs.

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Troy Suing, WSDOT’s director of capital program development, told the Washington State Transportation Commission that the agency is increasingly forced to take a reactive rather than preventative approach. He said the state is in the “early stages of critical failure” due to a lack of funding.

The maintenance and preservation backlog will require billions of dollars to address. Current funding falls far short of needs—though lawmakers approved a $15.5 billion budget for 2023–25, only $900 million was allocated for preservation, well below the $1.6 billion WSDOT estimates is needed to maintain current conditions.

Key Challenges:

• Roads: About 40% of Washington’s 7,900 lane miles are due or overdue for repaving. Only 670 miles were paved in 2024. WSDOT spent most of its paving budget early in the two-year cycle, creating a funding gap heading into 2026.

• Bridges: Of the state’s 3,427 bridges, 10% are over 80 years old. While WSDOT stresses that open bridges are safe to drive on, maintenance is lagging—fewer than 10 out of roughly 100 steel bridges needing repainting were completed this year.

• Recent Emergencies: Damage to the White River Bridge in August and the permanent closure of the 103-year-old Carbon River Bridge in April highlight the consequences of deferred maintenance.

WSDOT Secretary Julie Meredith echoed these concerns in her September budget submission, noting nearly $1.5 billion more per year is needed for preservation, operations, maintenance, and safety, with additional billions required for ferries and salmon barrier culvert removal. She described her request as “constrained,” reflecting only unavoidable cost increases—not the full scope of unmet needs.

“Critical needs remain unfunded,” Meredith wrote, noting that decades of underinvestment are causing more frequent infrastructure failures and forcing resources into costly emergency fixes.

This story is republished from the Washington State Standard, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news outlet that provides original reporting, analysis and commentary on Washington state government and politics. Story Link