Celebrate America’s 250th with higher gas taxes and work zone speeding fines

It’s time to celebrate America’s 250th birthday, and what better way than paying more in taxes and fees.

Let’s start at the gas station. While gas prices have been falling recently, as the war with Iran appears to be cooling off, Washington’s gas prices will be going up tomorrow.

A 2% gas tax increase, tied to inflation, takes effect July 1. That will add another 1.1 cents to our $0.554/gallon state gas tax. Our new gas tax of $0.565/gallon will keep Washington among the highest gas taxes in the country.

This increase, which will now happen every July 1, was part of the transportation package passed in 2025. It not only raised the gas tax by six cents a gallon last July, but it created a bump every year after. No more legislative debate or discussion. The gas tax will just go up every year.

You add that to our state’s Climate Commitment Act tax of more than $0.50/gallon, and it’s easy to see why Washington has close to the most expensive gas prices in the nation. We’re third-highest in the nation today.

The average price for regular in Washington is $5.19 a gallon, according to AAA. The national average is $3.86.

Even our neighbors, who get their gas the same places we do, Oregon and Idaho are seeing much better prices. It’s $4.71 in Oregon and $4.11 in Idaho.

Higher gas taxes, new work zone fines both hit July 1

If you’re going to burn through that super expensive gas by speeding, you might want to curb that a bit, especially in work zones.

The freebie period is over if you’re caught by a mobile speed camera in a work zone. Beginning July 1, the fine for a first-time violation will cost $125. It had been free for the first year plus since the program went active.

A second fine remains $248.

In less than 15 months, these cameras have caught more than 85,000 people speeding through work zones. The cameras have been set up at about 50 job sites on the west side of the state. The program is now expanding to the rest of the state. So is the number of mobile cameras. The state started with five. That number should be up to 15 by next year.

Remember, the cameras can be active day or night, but there must be workers present.

But as I went over a few weeks ago, you don’t have to be able to see those workers. They just need to be somewhere inside the work zone.

“The cameras only record speeding vehicles when work crews are present at a job site,” the Washington Department of Transportation warned. “Work zones can be active during the day or at night, so drivers should always treat them as active.”

You’ve been warned, and please just slow down in work zones. Those workers are there for you, and they deserve to get home from work every day, just like you.

Chris Sullivan is a traffic reporter for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here. Follow KIRO Newsradio traffic on X.

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