Title 47, PUBLIC HIGHWAYS AND TRANSPORTATION

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the highway advertising control act of 1961. [ 1961 c 96 s 17.]

This chapter may be cited as the "Scenic Vistas Act." [ 1999 c 276 s 3; 1971 ex.s. c 62 s 19.]

If the secretary of the United States department of transportation finds any part of this chapter to be in conflict with federal requirements that are a prescribed condition to the allocation of federal funds to the state, the conflicting part of this chapter is hereby declared t…

(1) The department of transportation may grant franchises to persons, associations, private or municipal corporations, the United States government, or any agency thereof, to use any state highway for the construction and maintenance of water pipes, flume, gas, oil or coal pipes,…

(1) If the department of transportation deems it to be for the public interest, the franchise may be granted in whole or in part, with or without hearing under such regulations and conditions as the department may prescribe, with or without compensation, but not in excess of the …

The provisions of *RCW 47.44.030 authorizing the department to pay or reimburse the owner of a utility apply only to relocation or removal of utility facilities required by state construction contracts which are advertised for bids by the department after June 30, 1959. [ 1984 c …

Whenever any bridge exists on the route of any state highway and crosses any stream, body of water, gulch, navigable water, swamp, or other topographical formation constituting the boundary of this state or the boundary of a county, city, or town of this state and the bridge is o…

(1) The department may grant a permit to construct or maintain on, over, across, or along any state highway any water, gas, telephone, telegraph, light, power, or other such facilities when they do not extend along the state highway for a distance greater than three hundred feet.…

(1) Any person, firm, or corporation who constructs or maintains on, over, across, or along any state highway any water pipe, flume, gas pipe, telegraph, telephone, electric light, or power lines, or tram or railway, or any other such facilities, without having first obtained and…

This chapter does not apply to leases issued for the deployment of personal wireless service facilities as provided in RCW 47.04.045. [ 2003 c 244 s 3.]

In any action for damages against the state of Washington, its agents, contractors, or employees by reason of damages to a utility or other facility located on a state highway, the damages are limited to the cost of repair of the utility or facility and are recoverable only in th…

(1) The department is directed to adopt and maintain an agency policy that requires the department to proactively provide broadband facility owners with information about planned state highway projects to enable collaboration between broadband facility owners and the department t…

The department is directed to adopt and maintain agency policies that: (1) Proactively provide utility owners with information about planned state highway fish barrier removal projects to enable collaboration between utility owners and the department, with at least one year of ad…

The legislature finds and declares: It is essential for the economic, social, and environmental well-being of the state and the maintenance of a high quality of life that the people of the state have an efficient transportation system. The ability of the state to provide an effic…

The legislature finds that greater flexibility to provide state financing for projects developed under chapter 47.46 RCW will result in better use of public resources, lower financing costs, and potential savings to taxpayers. The legislature intends to: Clarify the ability of th…

As used in this chapter: (1) "Electronic toll collection system" means a system that collects tolls by crediting or debiting funds from a customer's unique prepaid tolling account. (2) "Photo toll" means a charge associated with a particular vehicle that can only be identified by…

(1) The secretary or a designee shall solicit proposals from, and negotiate and enter into agreements with, private entities to undertake as appropriate, together with the department and other public entities, all or a portion of the study, planning, design, construction, operati…

(1) The secretary or a designee shall consult with legal, financial, and other experts within and outside state government in the negotiation and development of the agreements. (2) Agreements may provide for private ownership of the projects during the construction period. After …

(1) The department may enter into agreements using federal, state, and local financing in connection with the projects, including without limitation, grants, loans, and other measures authorized by section 1012 of ISTEA, and to do such things as necessary and desirable to maximiz…

(1) Any person, including the department of transportation and any private entity or entities, may apply for deferral of taxes on the site preparation for, the construction of, the acquisition of any related machinery and equipment that becomes a part of, and the rental of equipm…

(1) To the extent that the legislature specifically appropriates funding for a project developed under this chapter using the proceeds of bonds issued by the state, an agreement for the design or construction of the project entered into by the secretary must incorporate provision…

The department may provide for the establishment and construction of state toll bridge facilities upon any public highways of this state together with approaches to them under agreements entered into under this chapter to develop such facilities. A state toll bridge facility auth…

(1) A citizen advisory committee must be created for any project developed under this chapter that imposes toll charges for use of a transportation facility. The governor shall appoint nine members to the committee, all of whom must be permanent residents of the affected project …

The Tacoma Narrows bridge citizen advisory committee is hereby created as directed under RCW 47.46.090. The advisory committee members shall be appointed proportionately, to the extent practicable, from those areas from which the majority of the trips originate on the bridge acco…

(1) Consistent with the process described in RCW 47.56.877, the commission shall fix the rates of toll and other charges for all toll bridges built under this chapter that are financed primarily by bonds issued by the state. Subject to RCW 47.46.090, the commission may impose and…

(1) A toll collection system may include, but is not limited to, electronic toll collection and photo tolling. (2)(a) A photo toll system may take photographs, digital photographs, microphotographs, videotapes, or other recorded images of the vehicle and vehicle license plate onl…

(1) The commission shall retain toll charges on any existing and future facilities constructed under this chapter and financed primarily by bonds issued by the state until: (a) All costs of investigation, financing, acquisition of property, and construction advanced from the moto…

Pursuant to RCW 43.135.055, the legislature authorizes the transportation commission to increase bridge tolls in excess of the fiscal growth factor. [ 2002 c 114 s 9.] Notes: Finding—Intent—2002 c 114: See RCW 47.46.011. Captions not law—2002 c 114: See note following RCW 47.46.0…

Proceeds of the sale of bonds issued by the state for projects constructed under this chapter must be deposited in the state treasury to the credit of a special account designated for those purposes. Those proceeds must be expended only for the purposes enumerated in this chapter…

Toll charges must be used to repay the motor vehicle fund consistent with RCW 47.56.165 for any amounts transferred from the motor vehicle fund to the highway bond retirement fund under RCW 47.10.847 to provide for bond retirement and interest on bonds issued for the Tacoma Narro…

If a proposal is or has been selected for the design, development, construction, maintenance, or operation of transportation systems or facilities under this chapter, subsequent agreements may be made to implement portions of the proposal that modify the proposal or that do not i…

All projects designed, constructed, and operated under this chapter must comply with all applicable rules and statutes in existence at the time the agreement is executed, including but not limited to the following provisions: Chapter 39.12 RCW, this title, *RCW 41.06.380, chapter…

RCW 47.46.040 and 47.46.050 apply only to those agreements that include private sources of financing in whole or in part. [ 2002 c 114 s 15.] Notes: Finding—Intent—2002 c 114: See RCW 47.46.011. Captions not law—2002 c 114: See note following RCW 47.46.011.

A legislative oversight committee is established to monitor and report on the progress, execution, and efficiency of design-build contracts issued under this chapter. The legislative oversight committee will be comprised of one legislator from each caucus of each chamber of the l…

(1) The legislature finds funding of the Tacoma Narrows bridge facility to be distinct from other Washington state tolling facilities due to its increasing debt service costs, which is the primary driver of the facility's escalating costs. Washington state has since recommended a…

(1) Through 2031, the commission shall submit to the transportation committees of the legislature on an annual basis a report that includes sufficient information to enable the legislature to determine an adequate amount of contribution from nontoll sources required for each fisc…

This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect July 1, 1993. [ 1993 c 370 s 7.]

(1) The legislature finds that a full set of project procurement, contracting, financing, and funding tools are needed to enable the delivery of transportation projects in a manner most advantageous to the public. Current public-private partnership laws have failed to spur innova…

The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise. (1) "Commission" means the transportation commission. (2) "Department" means the department of transportation. (3) "Eligible transportation project" means any project that…

(1) The department shall develop policies and, where appropriate, adopt rules to carry out this chapter and govern the use of public-private partnerships for transportation projects. At a minimum, the department's policies and rules must address the following issues: (a) The type…

(1) For any eligible transportation project that requires the imposition of tolls on a state facility, the legislature must approve the imposition of such tolls consistent with RCW 47.56.820. (2) For any eligible transportation project that requires setting or adjusting toll rate…

All other transportation and public works project procurement and contracting governing provisions and procedures that do not conflict with this chapter, including responsible bidder and apprenticeship requirements under chapter 39.04 RCW and prevailing wage requirements under ch…

Any eligible transportation project with an estimated cost to the state of less than $500,000,000, or any project on a United States route that is not an interstate route and includes replacement of a seismically vulnerable elevated structure at least one and one-half miles long …

(1) Subject to the limitations in this section, the department may, in connection with the evaluation of eligible transportation projects, consider any financing mechanisms from any lawful source, either integrated as part of a project proposal or as a separate, stand-alone propo…

(1) The department may accept from the United States or any of its agencies such funds as are available to this state or to any other unit of government for carrying out the purposes of this chapter, whether the funds are made available by grant, loan, or other financing arrangem…

(1) The department may evaluate eligible transportation projects that are already programmed for other delivery methods to determine their appropriateness for delivery under a public-private partnership model. (2) Before entering into a formal solicitation or procurement to devel…