Inslee signs $16 billion transportation package for Washington

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee recently signed new funding packages for freight-focused transportation and the freight corridor at the Port of Everett.

Inslee signed a statewide transportation package worth $16 billion that will invest over $700 million in Snohomish County and also completely finance the freight corridor at the Port of Everett.

In 2014, the Port of Everett ranked first in Washington and fourth on the West Coast for its export value, as its custom’s district exported $25.7 billion in goods in one year.

The new financing will fund the majority of freight priorities with the Port of Everett, in addition to designing and building the 41st Street Freight Corridor that will connect the port with Interstate 5. The 41st Street Project is estimated at $38 million.

Snohomish County’s industrial port is crucial to the overall U.S. economy and plays an important part in the advanced manufacturing and aerospace sectors. The Port of Everett’s international trade, which creates over 34,000 jobs and over $373 million in local and state taxes, needs adequate rail and road access to be successful.