WASHOUGAL — Washougal city leaders are optimistic they will be able to fund the 32nd Street rail crossing project despite cost estimates coming in as much as $20 million higher than originally projected.
City engineer Scott Collins said the project is now estimated to cost between $69 and $80 million, a jump from the city’s original estimate of $60 million.
“We were targeting a June 2024 meeting with the state’s project review committee,” Collins said at the city council’s Nov. 4 workshop. However, about a week before the meeting, the city received a higher-than-anticipated cost estimate from consultant firm WSP.
“We felt we had to pull the application because we wanted to do some thorough analysis before we move forward,” Collins said.
The project aims to reconnect Washougal’s Addy Street neighborhood with downtown and the port of Camas-Washougal by reconstructing five intersections along 32nd Street. The project includes a new railroad bridge and underpass between Main Street/B Street and Evergreen Way.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Railroad Crossing Elimination Grant Program will fund $40 million of the project, with the state contributing $5 million. City officials have already pledged to use up to $4.82 million of local funds for the project.
Scott said he is still confident the project can move forward.
The city has selected a progressive design build process, meaning one contractor will design and construct the project.
The process will confirm cost estimates and provide design and construction solutions to reduce costs and impacts, Collins said.
In March, the city will select a team, which will begin design work in the second quarter of 2025 and start construction in the second quarter of 2027. Construction would be complete by the 2029, according to a timeline on the city’s website.
The first task for the team will be to conduct a feasibility study, according to Robynne Thaxton, with Thaxton Parkinson, a Woodinville-based law and consulting firm.
“Once we get through this feasibility study, we will have a deep understanding of, hopefully, a very feasible way forward,” Thaxton said at the Nov. 4 workshop.
The team will then begin a validation phase and collaborate with the city to verify the project’s program, scope, schedule and budget, along with major risks.
