Take a good look at the Interstate 5 La Center junction, because it’s going to look pretty different soon.
There are three major construction projects underway at the junction: the Ilani Casino Resort being built on the Cowlitz Indian Reservation, upgrades to the I-5 interchange and development of a sewer line that stretches out to the junction intended to help grow business in La Center.
If La Center city officials have their way, the east side of the junction, the one across from the new $510 million casino slated to open in the spring, will also see some upgrades.
“We’ve been looking at how the La Center junction might develop in the future,” Eric Eisemann, a planning consultant working with the city. “A lot of things are coming quickly. All these things are happening, and there is a lot of interest in development here in La Center right now.”
Eisemann said the city has heard from businesses, as well as developers interested in bringing single- and multi-family housing to La Center.
The city is trying to be proactive and plan how to grow once the casino is open and all the construction is completed.
As anyone driving in or through La Center can see, major construction is well underway.
Starting today, traffic will shift to temporary ramps at the interchange to allow for extra construction room. Drivers on Northwest La Center Road and Northwest 319th Street will use a temporary onramp to reach southbound I-5. Starting Tuesday, northbound I-5 drivers will use a temporary exit to La Center that is roughly 1,000 feet beyond the existing offramp. Flaggers will be out for the first few days to help alert drivers to the changes, according to a release from the Washington State Department of Transportation.
The tribe is paying for $32 million in upgrades at the junction, which includes the new offramps, partial relocation of a few roads and a new overpass that travels over the freeway. According to a post on the casino’s Facebook page, crews finished installing the overpass’ 28 roadbed girders, each weighing 68 tons, on Nov. 3.
City officials recently started the planning process to come up with ideas for how the other side of the junction should look.
Eisemann was named project manager for the design planning team, which hosted what he called a three-day “design charrette,” or intensive planning session, starting Nov. 1. The idea was for Eisemann and his team to meet with various stakeholders in the community to discuss how they think the junction should look once developed. They will present their discussions and hear from the public tonight at an open house from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the public works building, 305 N. Pacific Highway, La Center.
Eisemann’s team — made up of civil engineers, urban planners and landscape architects — includes Laurence Qamar, of Qamar Architecture and Town Planning in Portland; Michael Mehaffy, of Structura Naturalis Inc., in Portland; and Sam Nielson and Darren Sandeno, both of Parametrix.
“The Ilani project is going to have a significant impact,” Eisemann said. “We need to find ways to work with that impact that is coming.”
The stakeholders included nearby property owners and representatives from the Cowlitz tribe and Port of Ridgefield. In the discussions, Eisemann said the team heard from people who want something unique at the interchange. One idea thrown out was to have a small main street at the junction, with local shops, restaurants and small businesses.
“The team was led by the comments received,” he said. “We were told that people want something distinctive and something that works with the gaming industry, but is still something very much La Center.”
After the open house, the team will use everything they heard to come up with a design plan and present it to the city’s planning commission in December and the city council in January. If everything goes as planned, the team could have its plan in order by the end of February, Eisemann said.
“There’s another element to this team that’s going on,” Eisemann said. “The council wants to make sure that there is a good return on investment for this project, which means that whatever happens out there, not only does it have to look good, but it has to generate jobs for the community. We want to try to create a sustainable job space so we can generate employment that can sustain housing development.”
