PREPARED FOR WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
DRAFT FINAL REPORT
Ultra High-Speed Ground Transportation Study
Preparedfor
Washington State Department of Transportation
December 2017
Preparedby
CH2M HILL, Inc. 2020 SW Fourth Avenue, 3rd Floor Portland, OR 97201
Foreword
I
am
confident
and
optimistic
about
Washington
State
and
the
Cascadia
Innovation
Corridor.
Our
region
is
characterized
by
a
rapidly
growing
population
with
shared
values,
booming
twenty
‐
first
century
industries
and
an
appetite
for
innovation.
To
fully
realize
our
growth
potential,
we
continue
to
look
for
ways
to
improve
economic,
social
and
environmental
well
‐
being,
especially
across
our
borders.
I
believe
people
are
passionate
and
hungry
for
options
that
would
maintain
our
quality
of
life
in
the
Pacific
Northwest.
Our
prosperity
depends
in
part
on
our
ability
to
respond
to
rising
congestion,
shifts
in
population
and
workforce,
and
alternative
transportation
needs.
Ultra
high
‐
speed
ground
transportation
is
one
way
to
address
these
issues.
With
an
ultra
high
‐
speed
ground
transportation
system,
people
could
travel
from
Seattle
to
Vancouver
BC
in
less
than
an
hour.
Such
a
system
would
greatly
improve
connectivity,
encourage
smart
development
and
enhance
business
opportunities.
As
airports
and
roadways
become
increasingly
congested,
a
new
ultra
high
‐
speed
ground
transportation
system
would
provide
travelers
with
an
alternative
transportation
mode,
which
would
not
only
bypass
traffic
but
also
reduce
carbon
emissions.
There
is
much
work
to
do.
This
study
is
an
important
first
step
in
examining
the
feasibility
of
an
ultra
high
‐
speed
ground
transportation
system
across
Cascadia.
Indeed,
there
will
be
costs
to
developing
such
a
system.
However,
there
are
perhaps
even
greater
costs
to
rising
congestion
and
a
do
‐
nothing
approach.
Moving
forward,
public
and
private
sectors
in
Washington,
Oregon,
and
British
Columbia
will
need
to
continue
to
work
together
to
explore
innovative
transportation
options
that
derive
cross
‐
border
benefits.
This
study
is
the
product
of
the
Cascadia
Innovation
Corridor
conference,
in
which
Washington
State
and
British
Columbia
came
together
to
explore
joint
partnerships,
including
opportunities
for
faster,
more
reliable
transportation
for
the
Cascadia
megaregion.
I
am
confident
that
with
this
tangible
example
of
collaboration,
we
can
better
realize
and
seize
the
opportunities
available
to
us
and
work
to
further
enhance
our
connectivity
and
quality
of
life
in
the
Pacific
Northwest.
—Jay
Inslee,
Governor