The Washington State Legislature failed last week to reach an agreement on a transportation bill that would have charged truckdrivers higher fuel taxes, trucking fees and sales taxes. Legislators promised the transportation issue will not die and may be revisited next session.

Lawmakers struggled for months trying to strike a deal that would have increased fuel taxes by 9 cents over the next three years, raised truck registration fees by 20 to 25 percent and established a sales tax on new and used vehicles.

The legislature finished the near-record-long seven-month session without an agreement on the largest transportation project in state history. The package would have paid for about $9 billion in improvements over the next decade, including work on Interstates 5 and 405 near Seattle.

Transportation Secretary Doug MacDonald told news reporters that the legislators inability to reach an agreement "is a temporary bump in the road." About 140 projects scheduled to begin construction in the next two years have been shelved until an agreement is reached. "We are going to have a modern transportation system in Washington state, one way or another, sooner or later."