11/29/2011
Last week, the Port of Seattle Commission passed a 2012 budget and draft finance plan. Operating revenue is budgeted at $518.1 million, up 5.1 percent, and operating expenses are budgeted at $309.7 million, up 8.4 percent compared with 2011 budget figures.
Operating revenue would be driven in part by increased air traffic at Sea-Tac Airport and an expected 11 percent increase in cruise passengers. The budget also allocates more than $391 million for capital projects, including the Alaskan Way viaduct replacement project and South Park Bridge.
The draft finance plan details how the port plans to fund its contribution to the Alaskan Way viaduct. Per an agreement with the Washington State Department of Transportation, the port already has invested $19 million in complementary projects and remaining funds will be provided in the later years of the project, from 2016 to 2019. By 2016, the port expects to have set aside $55 million toward that commitment.
The port depends on the viaduct and a seawall for freight and regional mobility, and facility access. Container trucks don’t use the viaduct, but it accommodates 100,000 vehicles daily that otherwise would use area streets and conflict with rail lines, according to the port.
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