East Aberdeen traffic solution in current Senate and House transpo budgets

Two big-ticket projects — a new pump station on Fry Creek and the east Aberdeen rail separation project — could be fully state funded if more than $64 million survives final capital budget negotiations in the Legislature.

It’s rare that an Aberdeen project makes its way into the state transportation budget, but both the Senate and House transportation budgets this session have $50.36 million for the east Aberdeen rail separation project.

“That never happens,” said Hoquiam City Administrator Brian Shay. “Incredible,” said Aberdeen Public Works Director Rick Sangder. “When it came through there was a lot of looking at each other, like, is this for real?”

The project would place rail and vehicle traffic on different levels, reducing traffic delays on the stretch of Highway 12 between the Wishkah River and the Tractor Supply on the east end of town. It would incorporate a roundabout and an overpass to get vehicles over the tracks that carry high train traffic volumes headed to the Port of Grays Harbor.

Sangder said getting the project this far through the legislative budget negotiations was “an effort by our city engineer (Kris Koski).” Koski put together a proposal that was approved by the City Council to hire professional lobbyists to get in the Legislature’s ear about the rail separation project, and others. “Through a lot of hard work by both we were able to make some really quick progress.”

Sangder said Sen. Jeff Wilson, R-Longview, was also pivotal in putting the project on budget-drafters’ radar. “He was instrumental. He listened to our concerns and really focused in on our project and has been a huge supporter.”

The $50 million-plus amounts to “full funding” for the project, said Sangder. “There’s no match money.” It would pay for final design, property acquisition and construction, he said.

Fry Creek pump station

A new pump station on Fry Creek has been in the works for some time, part of a larger Fry Creek restoration project designed to mitigate the flooding that occurs when high tides and heavy rains hit at the same time, particularly in the Aberdeen Avenue, Ash Street and Myrtle Street areas.

“There’s $14 million in the capital budget, that both we and Hoquiam have pushed hard for,” said Sangder. “It’s in the House capital budget right now, and we’re hoping through negotiations for it to get funded in the Senate (budget) as well.”

The pump station would include tide gates to mitigate flooding, as well as fish protection features. It’s a pivotal part of the North Shore Levee project, said Sangder; without the pump station, the levee wouldn’t be enough to remove some properties from the federal flood insurance requirement.

“This is a pump station that basically allows the creek to run as it used to,” said Sangder. “Water comes and goes with the tides, and at extreme high tides we’ll have gates that close and we’ll be able to pump the water around. You might see high water in the creek, but as long as it’s not in the road … that’s what we’re worried about.”

The ongoing Fry Creek restoration project aims to return the creek to a more natural state. Plans have been made, and the city is aggressively pursuing funding through multiple sources to implement the plan, including the purchase of some needed properties, said Sangder.

Other projects

The Senate version of the capital budget would fully fund a new student union building on the Grays Harbor College campus.

The three-story, 70,000 square foot building will be built above Lake Swano, if it survives negotiations between the Senate and the House. The House did not fully fund the $44 million project in its capital budget. The building would house student services, all meal service, classrooms and meeting rooms. The current Hillier Union Building was opened in 1958, said college president Ed Brewster, and is the last of the ‘50s-era buildings, aside from the gym.

Brewster said he’s been in contact with House Capital Budget Committee Chairman Steve Tharinger, D-Port Townsend, of the 24th District and is hopeful the prioritized list of projects provided the Legislature by the state board of community and technical colleges will be funded further down — the union building ranked 16 out of 39 projects on the list — as negotiations continue up to the end of session in a few weeks.

“If that were to happen we would start the process of doing the construction around the first of July,” said Brewster. Once constructed, the Hillier building would be torn down. The new union building would also provide “the facilities to start a culinary arts program in one form or another,” said Brewster.

There’s an item in the House capital budget, $20,000 for the Westport Maritime Museum rehabilitation project.

Museum director John Shaw said about $60,000 has been spent on the project, “which included re-roofing to an original color scheme, some exterior fit and trim issues” on the museum, built in 1939, along with updated railings and balusters. The capital budget money would basically reimburses a third of the money already spent,

The House capital budget provides more than $3 million for the Willapa Hills Trail, which spans 56 miles between Chehalis in Lewis County and South Bend in Pacific County.

Of that total, $2 million will go toward the preservation of Bridge 48 and a segment of the trail near Menlo. The work will include routing the trail away from the river’s edge and surfacing the trail with compacted gravel from the bridge to Menlo. Just shy of $1.2 million will go toward a range of land protection and outdoor recreation projects on the trail, including park acquisition and development, habitat conservation and restoration, farmland and forest preservation, and construction of outdoor recreation facilities, including parks, trails, water access and campgrounds.

The culvert at the 28th Street boat launch where Fry Creek dumps into Grays Harbor. DAN HAMMOCK | THE DAILY WORLD

DAN HAMMOCK | THE DAILY WORLD As plans continue for Fry Creek restoration, a new and improved pump station for the flood-prone creek between Aberdeen and Hoquiam could be constructed soon if $14 million in state capital budget funds survives final negotiations in the Legislature.