Extra funding sought for Highway 17

Construction costs boost widening price up $2.5 million

MOSES LAKE — Part of the projected widening of Highway 17 could fall victim to rising construction costs, but state officials are seeking help from the federal government to make sure the project goes ahead as planned.

The Washington State Department of Transportation had been scheduled to begin advertising for construction bids this week, but engineers have been granted a three-week extension after rising costs of oil and other construction materials have added an estimated $2.5 million price tag to their estimates.

"In the last two months, we've seen prices go up about 20 percent," said Bob Romine, project engineer with the department of transportation.

Construction for the three-mile project was originally priced at $13 million, funded through the 2005 gas tax increase approved by the state Legislature, and will widen the much-traveled Highway 17 from two to four lanes from Interstate 90 to Stratford Road. Construction costs are now estimated at $15.5 million.

Romine said the WSDOT will be able to complete the project, but may have to drop a few of its sections. Romine said construction is being funded through the Transportation Partnership Account passed by the Legislature last year, and he said the Legislature now has to approve any additional funding for the project.

"This is one of the first major TPA projects out," Romine said,

The cost increase, and securing of some environmental permits, have pushed the project back three weeks.

The increase has led state Sen. Joyce Mulliken to write to federal lawmakers in hopes of securing federal financial support for the project. The Moses Lake Republican wrote a letter to U.S. Sen. Patty Murray and U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings last week, seeking help for the additional $2.5 million officials are trying to obtain and keep the original widening on schedule.

Mulliken states in her letter that increases in concrete, steel and asphalt prices have led to the budget increase. She said asphalt prices have risen from $35 per ton to $50 per ton, in large part due to increasing oil prices.

"A lot of work has been done to get this project completed and it is vitally important for the safety and economic vitality of Moses Lake and surrounding communities," Mulliken wrote.

The road is currently posted at 50 mph, but Mulliken stated in her letter that WSDOT computer modeling indicates the average afternoon speed would slow to 15 mph in the next 15 years if widening is not completed.

Mulliken said Tuesday that the offices of both lawmakers have responded to the letter and are looking into project funding. But Mulliken said she has also been in contact with the governor's office and local officials to seek continued support for the project.

The issue of rising costs is becoming apparent statewide, and Mulliken said it is her belief that if they delay any further, costs will continue to go up.

"All of the construction projects around the entire state are going to be affected by the costs," Mulliken said.

The $2.5 million is approximately the same cost that would go toward an expected noise wall between Highway 17 and Clover Drive. The one-mile wall has been designed to shield the adjacent neighborhood, and is required under federal environmental and noise regulations associated with highway improvements.

The department of transportation is now looking at alternatives that could eliminate either the median barriers from Nelson to Wheeler roads, the Stratford Road interchange improvements, or both.

The department of transportation will be advertising base bids excluding the two portions of the project, but with alternatives which would include one or both of the portions. Romine said the goal, however, will be the full project everyone is hoping for.

The project is now scheduled to be advertised for bid June 19, and Romine said motorists can expect the roadway to be "operationally complete," by Sept. of 2007.

Mulliken said she will do everything she can locally to find additional funding in its entirety, and on time.

"This project has to take place, it is a safety issue, it is an economic issue," she said. "Both have reached the point, I believe, of necessity."