Here's a profoundly sobering piece by Larry Ehl in Transportation Issues Daily about the fierce competition Washington's ports face from our neighbors in Canada who continue to make massive investments into their freight transportation network in an effort to capture more cargo and jobs.
As Mr. Ehl notes: "Here are the quote that should make Washington State port and trade officials nervous and should make Washington State legislators think twice about punting a transportation investment bill to 2014 or 2015: 'This is not about building transportation infrastructure. The real story is that we are building instruments of trade...The corridor project is the precursor to further expansion westward from the current container terminal footprint, and offers up the foundation for the more long-range prospect of Container Port expansion.'"
Ehl goes on to ponder whether and how lawmakers in Olympia will respond. "Unfortunately, it’s no stretch to believe that this time next year I’ll be writing about another record year for Port Metro Vancouver, no new funding for SR 167 and SR 509, and increased momentum for a NBA arena next to the Port of Seattle."
Ehl does a great job of tying together state transportation and federal tax policy issues and is well worth the read.