Sen. Bob Oke, R-Port Orchard, wants to make sure the project moves forward. There's a disagreement over whether Oke's bill also would allow collection of tolls on other bridges that need to be expanded or replaced, like the 520 bridge over Lake Washington or the Hood Canal bridge. That's his privilege under the rules established to allow an evenly divided House operate. Both sides say they want to build a second bridge. The Narrows Bridge is 50 percent over design capacity.
More capacity is long overdue, and a second span needs to be built as quickly as possible.
The most recent court challenge delayed the bridge another year. We don't want to see it delayed any longer. But while Oke argues that beginning the bridge now under the partnership with United Infrastructure is worth any price, Chopp argues that the bridge can be built for a lower cost, resulting in lower tolls. The current plan calls for bonds to be issued by a nonprofit agency, not the state. The interest rate will be higher than if the state issued the bonds.