Governor Jay Inslee today unveiled his Working Washington Agenda, in his words, "to create and sustain a thriving economic climate that spurs job growth in every industry sector and every corner of Washington state."

One feature of the initiative is a pledge to "Work with legislators and stakeholders, to craft a comprehensive, innovative transportation plan."

Here's an excerpt from his agenda as it relates to transportation:

Washington’s businesses and their workers rely heavily on our highways, railways, ports and airports. We have made significant strides over the past decade in improving our transportation system. Yet there is still much work to do in ensuring we have a transportation infrastructure that meets our economic needs and improves our quality of life as our population grows.

Governor Inslee will work this session with stakeholders who have already committed to a bipartisan plan to invest in an infrastructure for the next generation — and he knows that new revenue is needed. As the Governor said in his inaugural address, we must recognize that creativity is as important as concrete. He agrees we need a transportation package that includes funding for roads, trains, light rail, buses, bike routes and other modes of transportation.

This is good news. Now it's important to ensure that this transportation package includes projects like SR-167 that will really help to put Washington back to work. Remember, according to WSDOT:

• A completed SR-167 could fuel job growth to the tune of $10.1 billion.
• The economic benefit of saved travel time over 30 years is $940 million.
• SR-167 is estimated to generate 948 direct jobs and up to 1,990 indirect jobs per year of construction.