HB 2172 will not move forward this year after the Senate Transportation Committee did not vote on the bill ahead of the committee cutoff date.

Although a vote was scheduled, a late-breaking amendment to address what would happen if the Legislature failed to make a final determination on a disputed abandonment appears to have raised enough questions to doom the bill’s progress this year.

AWC will continue to press for reforms to add greater public input and transparency to the Department of Transportation’s abandonment process.

Highway abandonment provisions modified before route jurisdiction transfer bill moved to opposite chamber

February 20, 2026

Following amendments in committee and on the floor, the House passed HB 2172 updating the process for transferring ownership of highway routes between local jurisdictions and the state. Amendments of note incorporate last-minute agreements made by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), the Transportation Commission, cities, counties, and others addressing WSDOT’s opposition to initial provisions adjusting the process of highway “abandonment.”

The original version of the bill directed WSDOT to follow the “jurisdictional transfer” process, instead of the current abandonment process, when seeking to abandon a portion of a highway that is no longer necessary to the state highway system and is longer than two miles or includes a bridge.

The current version of the bill provides that WSDOT and a city or county must mutually agree to the abandonment of such a portion before it takes place. If agreement cannot be reached, WSDOT must forward the proposed abandonment to the Legislature, which is directed to make a final determination, through duly enacted legislation, pursuant to criteria established elsewhere in the bill.

The amendments make other technical changes to align relevant state statutes and reduce duplication.

AWC supports the bill in its current form and thanks Transportation Commission staff for assisting with the stakeholder work needed to reach agreement on the proposal.

The bill passed out of the House by a unanimous vote and moved to the Senate for further consideration.

Date to remember

HB 2172 is scheduled for a public hearing in the Senate Transportation Committee on Thursday, February 26, at 1:30 pm.

Process to transfer highway routes between state and locals streamlined, improved in new legislation

January 30, 2026

New legislation before the House Transportation Committee this week updates Washington’s process for transferring ownership of highway routes between a local jurisdiction and the state.

HB 2172, sponsored by Rep. Adam Bernbaum (D–Port Angeles), modifies both the jurisdictional transfer process as well as a process known as abandonment.

The bill makes the following changes:

• The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), a city, or a county must request a route transfer through the Washington State Transportation Commission (WSTC). WSTC must review and analyze the request and hold a pre-request conference with WSDOT and the local jurisdiction.
• WSTC must submit a report to the Legislature by Dec. 15 of the given year with the results of the analysis, including potential costs, risks, and impacts to continuity and connectivity of the system, and provide a recommendation on whether to transfer the route.
• The criteria for determining whether to transfer a route is updated to add that all state routes should have strong connectivity, continuity, and functional characteristics.
• The criteria for making a “rural highway route” a state route is updated to:
  • Add “census designated place” as qualifying criteria; and
  • Remove population and scenic highway status as qualifying criteria.
• The criteria for making an “urban highway route” a state route is updated to:
  • Remove population criteria and specify that the route is between two state highways in a “city” or “census designated place” or is a spur; and
  • Add that if a highway project results in the decommissioning of a portion of a state highway (e.g., due to a change in the highway's alignment), the Legislature must decide on the status of the segment (through legislation) by:
    • Authorizing the disposition of the segment via the “abandonment statute”;
    • Approving the transfer of the segment to the local jurisdiction;
    • Authorizing the demolition of the segment; or
    • Retaining the segment as part of the state highway system.

Finally, with regard to the abandonment process, WSDOT can give a portion of a state highway under two miles long to a city or county at will. However, if the portion of the highway is over two miles or has a bridge, WSDOT must follow the “jurisdictional transfer” process established in the bill.

The bill would take effect July 1, 2026.

HB 2172 draws on the recommendations from a two-year study of the state’s existing route jurisdiction transfer process conducted by WSTC. AWC staff and other local government representatives participated in the study. The commission published a final report in 2025 summarizing the findings.

AWC supports the bill. However, we welcome input from cities and towns for improving the legislation. Please contact us with your comments as soon as possible.

Date to remember

HB 2172 is scheduled for a public hearing in the House Transportation Committee on Thursday, February 5, at 1 pm.