A bipartisan supplemental transportation budget is scheduled to be debated by the House of Representatives at the state Capitol on Saturday.
Improving public safety through new hiring and retention of State Patrol troopers is high on the list. Representative Andrew Barkis of Olympia is the ranking Republican member on the House Transportation Committee.
“I think one of the biggest things you’ll see is more State Patrol – we have to have that. People want to know that our highways are safe. We have a duty to make sure that our highway system and all of our roads are as safe as possible. People will see that if we can continue to improve and increase the number of troopers on our highways.”
Barkis says a continued priority is statewide road and bridge replacement and maintenance.
“Preserving the projects that we have committed to. We did advocate for moving money ahead – we were able to advance an additional $40 million for maintenance and preservation – it’s a drop in the bucket, but it does spread out throughout the state for critical maintenance and preservation.”
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