Chehalis has approved the use of roughly $1.5 million in grant funds for two transportation projects.
The Chehalis City Council first unanimously approved an agreement with the Washington state Department of Transportation (WSDOT) for “pavement restoration” during its meeting Monday evening. Shortly after, it approved another agreement with the state agency for development of sidewalks and pedestrian safety along important walking routes to local schools.
Paving
The first of the two agreements with WSDOT lays the groundwork to administer and pay for paving work on 13th Street from South Market Boulevard to Southwest Interstate Avenue passing by Recreation Park.
Under the agreement, the city will pay $204,900 from its own coffers and receive $1,161,100 in federal funding administered by the state to cover the expected $1,366,000 cost of the paving project.
According to the agreement, the city expects to obligate funding for preliminary engineering next month. Under the grant funding agreement with the state, the city will be required to follow state guidelines and requirements concerning consultant and contractor selection, project bidding, right-of-way, environmental impacts and more.
Pedestrian safety
The second of the two agreements secures $393,000 from the state to entirely fund all of the necessary design of new Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant sidewalks and crossings and other improvements to pedestrian safety under the WSDOT Safe Routes to School program.
According to the agreement, the city expects to reach 100% design completion for the project by June 18, 2027. The route set to be improved by the project starts to the west covering both Southwest Mills Avenue and Southwest Johnson Avenue before transitioning to Southwest 16th Street. It then connects to Southwest Snively Avenue and extends to Southwest 20th Street from Snively to the elementary school campus to the south.
The project will also improve sidewalks along all of Southwest 21st street and the portion of Southwest Salisbury Avenue that connects it to Southwest 20th Street.
