CRAB Links
Related Links
About CRAB
The Washington State County Road Administration Board is located at 2404 Chandler CT SW, Suite 240 in Olympia, Washington.
CRAB Mission
The mission of the Washington State County Road Administration Board (CRAB) is to preserve and enhance the transportation infrastructure of Washington Counties by providing standards of good practice, fair administration of funding programs, visionary leadership, and integrated, progressive, and professional technical services. CRAB was created by the Legislature in 1965 to provide statutory oversight of Washington's thirty-nine county road departments. The agency is funded from a portion of the counties' fuel tax that is withheld for state supervision, and from a small portion of the two grant programs that it administers.
The Board
The agency is governed by a nine member board which meets quarterly and is comprised of six county commissioners/council-members and three county engineers. The Board is appointed by the Board of Directors of the Washington State Association of Counties. The Board establishes and maintains "Standards of Good Practice" to guide and ensure consistency and professional management of county road departments in the state of Washington.
The Agency
The agency is a major resource for the Washington State County Engineers and County Public Works staff for transportation related issues. CRAB does research, provides reports and presents testimony when appropriate. The responsibility to distribute the counties' portion of the Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax (MVFT) was given to CRAB in 1985. At that time the agency also became the custodian of the county road log, a database of almost 40,000 miles of roads. The formula for the distribution of fuel tax revenues is updated biennially to reflect statewide changes in population, costs, and mileage. CRAB has a full time staff to accomplish day-to-day functions and to provide information and support to the Board members.