Phase Six To Open Late 2009
This time next year, motorists can expect
to experience the safety of a four-lane
U.S. Highway 12 between Walla Walla and
Frenchtown.
Washington State Department of
Transportation officials say the $56.6 million
project is “on schedule, on budget and on
scope” for completion by the end of 2009.
Don Whitehouse, manager of WSDOT’s
south central region, says only unusually severe
weather could delay the opening.
In fact, work on a needed piece of the
project – the first of three roundabouts at the
intersection of U.S. Highway 12 with Myra
Road and Pine Street – was accelerated to
accommodate the opening of Walla Walla’s
new Myra Road in November, 2008. As part
of that portion, the contractor hauled morethan 1.7 million cubic yards of material – some
142,000 dump truck loads – to build up the
road for the new interchange. |
What’s Next?
Study continues on alignment and
environmental impacts for the Frenchtown to
Wallula section of the highway. Whitehouse
described that work as “monumental.”
While funding for those final sections
(Phases Seven and Eight) of four-laning the
Walla Walla to Tri-Cities route has not yet
been secured, the U.S. Highway 12 Coalition,
an alliance of private and public organizations
including the Port of Walla Walla, is dedicated
to securing the necessary financing from
available state and federal sources.
The Coalition is currently working with
Washington State’s Congressional delegation
to secure $3.0 million for final design and engineering for Phase Seven.
U.S.Senator Patty Murray has included
that amount in a new Senate Transportation
Committee bill, but it isn’t known when, or if
Congress will approve the appropriation. |
The Coalition says that once that allocation
has been okayed, it will begin working to obtain
construction funding for Phase Seven which
likely will be divided into two parcels – 7A
and 7B – to make costs more manageable and
improve chances for lawmaker approvals.
To learn more about the
U.S. Highway 12 Coalition visit
www.ushighway12.com |
