And now back to work.

Gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi will be making the rounds of the state tomorrow and Wednesday, touting what he would do to relieve traffic congestion and kickstart projects like the North Spokane Corridor.

He has stops planned in Bellevue, Sultan and Spokane. (Spokane: Courtyard Marriott, 401 N. Riverpoint Blvd., Wednesday at 2 p.m.)

For a preview, here's what his campaign website has to say about the issue. The short version: more accountability, smarter spending, and a primary focus on congestion relief. But there are few specifics amid the list of things like "find the streamlined areas of efficiency and implement them."

Here's more about a plan floated by House Republicans in the waning days of the session this year.

UPDATE: And here's an excerpt from a pre-emptive broadside by Democrats:

"The transportation challenges in our state didn't develop overnight, and they won't be solved overnight by Republican Dino Rossi's road and bridge fairy,"

said state Democratic Party chairman Dwight Pelz in a press release. The plans by Rossi and other Republicans, he says, would "divert money from critical health care and education programs."

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