Two Senate Republicans and two Democrats unveiled a $15 billion transportation package that would be paid for mostly with an 11.7-cent increase in the tax on gasoline Thursday afternoon, paying for a series of major projects throughout Washington state and aiming to finally break through years of stalled negotiations in Olympia.

Whether it does lead to the breakthrough drivers stalled in traffic and businesses waiting for expanded highway capacity have been waiting for remains to be seen, as the proposal issued Thursday will need plenty of additional negotiation between the Republican-held Senate and House Democrats.

Yet, it was brought forth by Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima and the Transportation Committee Chair, Sen. Joe Fain, R-Auburn, Sen. Steve Hobbs, D-Lake Stevens, and Sen. Marko Liias, D-Mukilteo, the strongest signal of bipartisan support for a proposal out of transportation packages that have been offered the last two sessions.

That’s only four votes, of course, but King said, “I don’t think the four of us would be standing here if we didn’t feel confident we could muster enough votes” to get it out of the Senate.

The package would fund a bevy of major and smaller regional roads projects, ferry projects, transit and rail, as well as offering Sound Transit the authority to raise a mix of taxes to get the $11 billion in needs for the third phase of its rail expansion, as well as other projects.

It’s the main phase of the package, $8 billion on construction, that business groups, ports, and drivers fed up with sitting in traffic have been clamoring for in recent years.

The package would fund the $1.6 billion needed for a new floating bridge on State Route 520, $862 million for finishing the North Spokane Freeway, $1.24 billion for expanding lanes on Interstate 405 from Renton to Lynnwood, and a major project prized by the Port of Tacoma, $1.87 billion to complete the Highway 167-Highway 509 gateway.

The package has $426 million for widening Interstate 90 at Snoqualmie Pass, and $450 million for improving the corridor of Interstate 5 at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, and another $1.4 billion is included for maintenance and preservation costs for the highway system. Fifty-eight regional projects would also receive funding.

The state ferry system would receive $578 million in funding that would pay for terminal improvements and operations costs, as well as money for a fourth ferry boat.

The 11.7 cent increase would be phased in over three years starting this year, gradually bumping up the state’s 37.5-cent excise tax by 5 cents the first year, 4.2 cents the next, and 2.5 cents the year following.

That’s backed up by a proposed $28 increase in car tabs over the 16-year lifespan of the package, plus about $3 billion in bonding. Another $800 million is raised via fees on trucking weights.

“This is the most positive movement we’ve seen in Washington state in many, many years,” Fain said.

Liias concurred, although he said it needs further refinement before fully winning over his colleagues in the Senate. The package includes significant reforms to how sales tax on transportation construction equipment is spent, diverting it from the general fund, where it’s used as operating revenue for state programs, to transportation, as well as restricting use of prevailing wage provisions for off-site manufacturing workers building materials for new transportation projects, among others.

It also has a provision that’s sure to draw opposition from Gov. Jay Inslee – a provision eliminating some transit funding if he moves forward with implementing a low-carbon fuels standard by executive order; last week, the Department of Ecology sent out a draft discussion document of the potential standard, which would lower the carbon intensity of fuels by blending biofuels, for example.

“This package is just a first step,” Liias said. “There are many elements that cause me heartburn, and cause heartburn for people on both sides of the aisle.”

Inslee echoed that, saying he was pleased to see a proposal on the table from the Senate, which he considered a “strong start,” but questioned gutting transit dollars if he moves forward with the LCFS.

Senate Minority Leader Sharon Nelson, D-Maury Island, went further, saying the proposal put forward had a clear political agenda attached to it.

Hobbs said he didn’t feel the differences would torpedo the potential for passing a transportation package this session.

“There are still differences, but I feel we can work some of those out,” Hobbs said.

Of course, one huge issue looming over the proposal is how it will affect the prospects for Inslee’s cap-and-trade proposal, which moved out of the House Environment Committee on Tuesday and is due for another round of hearings next week. Inslee tied transportation funding into it, making it part of his broader, $12 billion transportation package proposal he issued last December.

Will House Democrats coalesce around that policy, instead of a gas tax increase? Majority Leader Pat Sullivan wasn’t willing to say on Thursday, although he criticized Republicans for pushing transportation when he felt a deal over McCleary funding should take precedence this session.

House Transportation Chair Judy Clibborn said she’s going to wait for the package to pass the Senate before negotiations kick off in earnest with her caucus.

But for Sen. King, the message he focused on Thursday was clear: completing the state’s work on transportation.

“We want to finish what we started,” King said.

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