Funding for two regionally important projects in Clark County was allotted as part of the state Legislature’s $13.4 billion transportation budget for the 2023-25 biennium: the 179th Street interchange on Interstate 5 and the I-5 Bridge replacement.
Although funding for the interchange went through a bumpy path in the Legislature after the governor’s and Senate’s proposed budgets delayed funding until the 2030s, it was ultimately allotted nearly $87 million.
“We were significantly worried that this would be overlooked,” said Rep. Greg Cheney, R-Battle Ground.
Both Cheney and Rep. Stephanie McClintock, R-Vancouver — neither of whom are on the House Transportation Committee — credited Rep. Andrew Barkis, R-Olympia, the committee’s ranking member, for ensuring funding for the interchange was included in both the House budget and the final budget.
The interchange improvement is one of several transportation projects between Northeast Delfel Road and Northeast 50th Avenue aimed at improving travel times and safety as the area around the road develops. Unlike the rest of the projects, the interchange improvement is under the purview of the state Department of Transportation.
“Over the last couple of years, we’ve been trying to advance the money to keep the project moving forward in a very positive way, so this is great news,” said Clark County Councilor Gary Medvigy.
The interchange improvements will replace signalized intersections with a yet-to-be-determined interchange design, make onramp and offramp enhancements and make the area more accessible to bicycles and pedestrians.
The design phase is expected to begin this summer with construction scheduled to start in 2027. Most of the funding will be allotted from 2025-29.
The catalyst for the area’s growth and development came in 2019 when the Clark County Council lifted the urban holding designation from 2,220 acres near the I-5 interchange north of Vancouver.
Funding “was crucially important, because that moratorium is already lifted and it would have made an overwhelmed intersection all that much worse,” said Cheney.
Surface street changes around that interchange have raised the ire of nearby residents who say their concerns are not being taken into account. In June 2022, the county council directed staff to revisit and redouble its public outreach efforts after residents said they felt left out of the process.
The interchange project is primarily funded through the $16 billion Connecting Washington transportation and infrastructure package passed in 2015. Although the project’s estimated cost is $50 million, according to the project page, the cost is likely closer to the money allotted by the Legislature, Cheney said.
“Clark County Public Works is very pleased that the legislators and governor understand the importance of the I-5/179th Street interchange project to our community,” said Ken Lader, Public Works director.
One of the largest chunks of the transportation budget was to replace the I-5 Bridge.
Although the budget allotted nearly $3 billion for the replacement project, a sizable chunk of the funds are designated to come from tolling and the federal government. The Legislature passed a bill authorizing tolling on the bridge, which is expected to start on the current bridge in 2026 and could last for 30 to 40 years.
