Underfunded and Aging: Washington’s Transportation Crisis

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.

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 $