Confluence Parkway Project Rejected for Federal Funding Again

The latest request for grant funding to help cover the ambitious Confluence Parkway project was rejected at the federal level.

Chelan-Douglas Transportation Council Executive Director Jeff Wilkens says it was the third time they've gone through the process and maybe it's time for a different approach.

"This project, as we presented for this big grant opportunity, was to bundle up a group of pieces that you could call one large project with the hope that we could fund it all in one fell swoop. I think probably what the future looks like is to break this into smaller, bite-sized pieces, chip away at it over time."

Wilkens noted that they won't receive the exact reasons why this project was not chosen but noted that they received helpful feedback on their application process.

He says there is another grant that they will now focus on.

"There's another one called the BUILD grant program that's smaller scale. Rather than asking for $100 million, you can compete for maybe $20-30 million. That one, where INFRA only awards maybe 10-15 projects nationwide every year, these other programs are easier to crack into."

Wilkens stressed the project is still a top priority, and that many of the individual projects will still have a benefit to the community, but the whole of the Confluence project could take 20 years or so.