Workers remove trees impacted by the Gray Fire near Interstate 90. (Courtesy: Washington State Department of Transportation) Read By: Rebecca White / Spokane Public Radio Update: Interstate 90 has re-opened. Washington… Continue Read More
A major collision on northbound Interstate 5 Wednesday morning caused day-long backups across much of Thurston County.
The incident, between a semi-truck and passenger vehicle, closed all but one of the northbound lanes just past the exit to Mounts Road in DuPont, as crews worked to investigate the collision and then clear the debris and vehicles. Read More
A Washington committee studying options for a new regional airport location met for the final time Friday, and will disband at the end of this month without recommending a single site to the Legislature. Continue Reading Read More
For a few years now, aviation enthusiasts have teased the idea of a Jetsons-style future in which small electric aircraft whisk us to work or across the state and region. That future is not here yet, though a handful of companies, including one based in the Pacific Northwest, are trying to get a head start on the future of flying using conventional planes. Read More
Alaska Airlines ceremonially handed over a surplus turboprop airliner on Monday to a company that aims to turn it into the largest hydrogen-powered plane yet to fly. Continue Reading Retired Alaska Airlines turboprop Read More
Every new car ferry added to the Washington State Ferries fleet over the past fifty years was built at a Puget Sound shipyard. Now, state lawmakers are considering a break from past policy in order to obtain new vessels faster and cheaper for the troubled state ferry system. Read More
Moses Lake, Washington, doesn't have commercial airline service, but the casual visitor to Grant County International Airport might assume otherwise. Shiny Boeing 737 MAX jets are parked wingtip to wingtip in row after row on two sides of the expansive airfield. They sport colorful liveries from a wide variety of exotic carriers such as Xiamen Air, Ukraine International, Read More
The largest aircraft yet to fly on hydrogen-electric power made a successful first flight in Moses Lake, Washington, on Thursday. The maiden flight of a converted turboprop airliner offered a preview of one possible pathway for how to make your future flights more eco-friendly. Hydrogen fuel is one of several options the aviation industry is testing to reduce its carbon Read More
A bill that would effectively do-over Washington's search for a new commercial airport has passed a key committee vote in Olympia. Continue Reading New commercial airport site search in WA would get do-over under Read More
Would you prefer to pay a couple of cents for every mile you drive in exchange for not having to pay gas tax or those steep electric car registration fees? A mileage-based tax is the top choice of Pacific Northwest policymakers to make up for the long-term decline in gas tax revenue. But imposition of any new tax tends to be politically fraught, and this one is no Read More
Racial and social justice advocates asked Washington legislators Wednesday to repeal laws against jaywalking. However, a bill to do that generated lots of skeptical questions during a state House committee hearing and its prospects are unclear. Read More
The battle against a new two-runway airport in Pierce or Thurston county ramped up on Wednesday, when a hundred or so rallied on the north steps of the Capitol Building in Olympia.
Lawmakers were there to listen, and express their own objection to the proposed sites, or at least a need to restart the process for choosing a site for a new airfield. Behind closed doors, Read More
If you have spent any time behind the wheel since the pandemic began, you've surely noticed people driving more aggressively and way too fast. That correlates with a rise in traffic fatalities that last year reached levels not seen since the 1990s in Washington state and Oregon. Read More
Walk audit participants navigating an icy road and sidewalk in Richland. Credit: Dori Luzzo Gilmour Listen (Runtime 3:52) Read In the dark, on a cold winter morning, sidewalks in Richland… Continue Reading How walk audits make communities safer and Read More
REC Silicon in Moses Lake. (Credit: REC Silicon) Listen (Runtime 3:53) Read Moses Lake is quickly becoming a hub for green jobs in Washington. An electric vehicle battery factory is… Continue Reading Department of Energy funds new EV Read More
While many of the disruptions of the pandemic have eased this year, the surge in traffic fatalities is showing few signs of abating. Policymakers are trying a number of tactics to respond. Continue Reading Slow down, people! Surge in Read More
New modeling by the University of Washington of the impacts of a major Cascadia earthquake offers a less dire picture of the aftermath of the so-called "Big One" — specifically when it comes to highway bridges. Continue Reading Some Read More
An aircraft maker from Western Washington on Tuesday provided a glimpse at one possible future for sustainable air travel — electric commuter planes. Eviation celebrated the maiden flight of an all-new, short hop airliner named Alice in Moses Lake. Read More
Listen (Runtime 1:56) Read In July, Governor Jay Inslee issued a proclamation declaring September 19th through 25th officially “A Week Without Driving.” This is the 2nd annual event coordinated by the… Continue Reading Can You Go A Week Without Driving?Read More
CREDIT: Allen4names Listen (Runtime 2:41) Read Residents of Benton and Franklin counties are going to have fewer transportation options if the Ben Franklin Transit Board approves a plan to cut… Continue Reading Will Ben Franklin Transit Board Say No Read More
Las patinetas eléctricas están disponibles en Wenatchee. Foto de www.wenatcheewa.gov. Read Desde mayo, habitantes y visitantes en Wenatchee pueden utilizar scooters o patinetas eléctricas como medio de transporte. Entre 80… Continue Reading Wenatchee tiene Read More
E-scooters are available in Wenatchee. Photo from www.wenatcheewa.gov. Read People in Wenatchee can use scooters for transportation starting this week. Eighty to 100 scooters will be in service around the… Continue Reading Wenatchee Has Scooters For Read More
Democratic-led states on the West Coast are setting ambitious timelines to phase out sales of gasoline-powered cars and light trucks. The Washington Legislature just approved a goal that all new cars sold in the state beginning with model year 2030 be electric. Oregon and California have 2035 as their target. Some of these dates are aspirational, but one has teeth. Read More
More Murrow News Stories PULLMAN, WASH – WSU students parking on campus may be paying more for their spots soon. The WSU Parking and Transportation Task Force want to increase… Continue Reading WSU Transportation to increase parking costsRead More
A proposal before the Ben Franklin Transit Board could cut millions from the public transportation budget Listen Dori Luzzo Gilmour reports about concerns from advocates for people with disabilities over… Continue Reading Read More
Starting April 1st, drones used for commercial purposes in Washington State must be registered in the state CREDIT: EARTHFIX Listen NWPB’s Geoff Roth reports on an upcoming registration deadline for commercial… Read More
The Sixteen year State Transportation package has passed through the Senate Transportation Committee and held a public hearing recently. An Eastern Washington Commissioner is raising alarming concerns regarding the bill. Are Gas powered vehicles going to be allowed? Read More
Will A New State Transportation Plan Eliminate Gas Powered Cars In WA? Continue Reading Will A New State Transportation Plan Eliminate Gas Powered Cars In WA?Read More
The Move Ahead Washington transportation package was announced February 8. Continue Reading Washington Lawmakers Unveil 16-Year Transportation PackageRead More
In what appears to be a mostly symbolic step toward finding common ground with Senate Republicans, the Biden administration has lowered its spending proposal on its infrastructure and jobs proposal, from more than $2 trillion to $1.7 trillion. Read More
Top Washington state legislators want to put a price on carbon to raise money for transportation projects. But with time running out, they can’t agree on the details. Continue Reading The Future Of Washington’s Read More
In another sign of the rebound in travel, Amtrak and the state transportation departments of Oregon and Washington announced plans to restore a good chunk of the passenger train service that was curtailed due to low ridership in the pandemic. Read More
Lowering the amount of carbon that comes out of your tailpipe has become a quest for some Washington lawmakers. Now, new standards that would promote biofuels over gasoline are closer to becoming law than ever before. Read More
A new government report on high speed rail in the Pacific Northwest recommends that Oregon, Washington and British Columbia formalize their interest in a Cascadia bullet train by creating an independent body to plan and eventually build it. But a critic associated with a conservative think tank responded that the region should take heed of California's high speed rail woes Read More
A rule going into effect in the new year will allow only trained and certified dogs to accompany people with disabilities on commercial airline flights. Continue Reading No More Emotional Support Peacocks As Feds Crack Down On Read More
The coronavirus pandemic has brought many changes to how our lives are lived, from working at home to the now-ubiquitous masks. Now roads are changing, too. Continue Reading Take Your Horse (And Bike) To The Old Moscow-Pullman Read More
Lieutenant Ryan Higgins from the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office told reporters today that three bodies out of eight are now recovered. He says crews have discovered the locations of two others on the bottom of the lake. Three others are believed to be down there too. Read More
The Washington Legislature commissioned the $250,000 study last year to see if it would be feasible to restart passenger service on the Stampede Pass line. The route crosses the Cascade Mountains from Seattle to Ellensburg, then stretches onward through the Yakima Valley to Pasco and Spokane. Read More
Summer officially begins on Saturday, but it still feels like winter if you study the sailing schedule of Washington State Ferries. With ridership depressed by the ongoing pandemic, the nation's biggest ferry system is sticking to a reduced schedule through what would normally be its busiest season. Read More
Earlier this year, there was only one electric school bus in the entire state of Washington. By this fall, the electric school bus fleet should be vastly expanding. Forty new buses may transport students in districts throughout the state possibly starting in the fall — assuming in-person classes are back on. Read More
The first bus rapid transit system in Washington east of the Cascades moved further down the line this week, as the Spokane Transit Authority bought 10, 60-foot fully electric buses to service the route. Continue Read More
Interior Dept. Grant To Help States With Wildlife Migration. One Area In North Idaho Is A Chokepoint
A new federal grant aims to improve wildlife habitat and migration corridors in the Northwest. About $100,000 is going to a project related to a wildlife underpass that will be built under U.S. Highway 95 in North Idaho. Read More
The NBA star, his daughter and seven other people were killed last month. Investigators say the craft didn't have an engine failure. Determining the cause of the crash will take more time. Continue Reading NTSB Read More
Effective this October, a standard Washington, Oregon or Idaho driver's license won't pass muster with the Transportation Security Administration to board a domestic flight. Continue Reading What’s In Your Wallet? It’s Read More
As of the New Year, no bus fare is needed to ride the Olympia area's Intercity Transit. On Wednesday, the transit agency became the largest in the Pacific Northwest to eliminate fare collection, leapfrogging Corvallis and Missoula which did so earlier. Read More
A holiday wish of many Pacific Northwest rail fans is more roundtrips on the Amtrak Cascades schedule with greater speed and reliability. But in order to beef up train service between Seattle and Portland, a bypass route south of Tacoma needs to be reopened. There is still no fixed date to return Amtrak trains to those tracks where a deadly derailment happened just over Read More
The panel that sets highway and bridge tolls in Washington is recommending the state follow Oregon's lead and phase in a pay-by-the-mile road tax to make up for expected declines in gas tax revenue. The nonbinding recommendation to the Washington Legislature from the state Transportation Commission drew flak from skeptical taxpayers and faces a bumpy road ahead in the 2020 Read More
Thursday was supposed to be the day that a Washington state ballot measure to lower car registration fees took effect. But the state Supreme Court has let an injunction stand against what is known as the $30 car tabs initiative. That means hundreds of thousands of drivers will get full price bills in the coming months that they thought they had voted to reduce. Read More
A King County Superior Court judge ruled Wednesday that opponents had adequately argued that the measure's ballot title was misleading, and he issued an injunction. The challenge could eventually make its way to the state Supreme Court. Read More
As expected, the initiative’s passage prompted legal action, led by Seattle-area governments and public transit supporters protesting a projected $4.2 billion cut in revenue for transportation and transit projects over the next six years. But there has been an unexpected addition to that Puget Sound-centric group: the Garfield County Transportation Authority. Read More
