North Bend expecting $100,000 from state for road re-paving
Published 10:53 am Thursday, March 31, 2016
The city of North Bend has announced it expects to receive $100,000 from the Washington State Legislature’s Transportation Budget for asphalt overlay this year.
The appropriation is in response to concerns raised by the city council over many years, and concerns raised last fall by Mayor Ken Hearing and City Administrator Londi Lindell to Senators Mark Mullet and Curtis King about the adverse impacts the existing truck stop has on North Bend.
Senator Mullet brought King to North Bend to show him the challenges associated with a small town hosting the only I-90 truck stop west of the Cascade Mountains.
It is estimated that approximately 7,000 trucks travel on the I-90 corridor and many travel on the streets of North Bend. Adverse impacts include damage to city streets not intended for the weight of commercial vehicles — one fully loaded large truck does the equivalent damage of 5,000 to 10,000 passenger cars.
The city often receives complaints from citizens regarding dangerous roadway conditions caused by truck traffic.
During approximately the last 10 years, North Bend has sought help from regional stakeholders including the Washington State Department of Transportation, King County, the Port of Seattle and the private trucking industry to address the issues associated with truck stops. These agencies have concluded the issues should be solved by the private and for-profit trucking industry.
The city has also asked the legislature to implement a 1 percent gas tax for cities with truck stops, with no success.
North Bend officials estimate a current need of at least $400,000 per year in asphalt overlay projects just to maintain existing roads.
The expected $100,000 appropriation from the Legislature will be used by the city’s Public Works Department for asphalt overlay to repair some of the damaged roadways throughout the city caused from years of heavy truck traffic.
However, these funds are one-time non-reoccurring funds and are not intended to compensate the city for future truck traffic and/or future adverse impacts from additional truck traffic if there were to be an expansion of the existing truck stop. This appropriation was not made in response to recent discussions regarding interim land use regulations and/or Planning Commission meetings held regarding such regulations.
The city of North Bend extends its gratitude to the State Legislature, Representatives Jay Rodne and Chad Magendanz and Senators Curtis King and Mark Mullet for their work on behalf of the city.
