East Wenatchee Partnering With Douglas Co. For Federal Road Money

The City of East Wenatchee is entering into an agreement with Douglas County on a joint application for federal money to pay for road improvements. 

The city and county plan to use a federal grant to finance most of a $500,000 application that'll open the door for more road money. 

East Wenatchee Public Works Manager Garren Melton says the city will be able to tap into money for projects such as requirements in the Americans with Disabilities Act. 

"Looking at our ADA system which is required for the city, and usually something that you're not able to receive funding for, we can incorporate that for our Safe Streets For All action plan, and have it mostly paid for through this grant," said Melton 

The East Wenatchee City Council approved the agreement to move forward with Douglas County this week. 

As a part of the one trillion-dollar transportation package that President Biden signed into law in 2021, money was allocated to the Safe Streets for All grant program. 

The Federal Highway Administration this year is directing  $577,000,000 for planning grants.  

East Wenatchee and Douglas County and County plan to use planning grant money on a $500,000 application to create a Safe Streets for All Action Plan. 

Having an action plan is required to tap into $3 billion available in the next three years through the Safe Streets for All program. 

Melton says the city and county will be able to plan for safety improvements on a wider scale. 

"Any planning effort that's taking a wide look at what we can do to improve safety is better done at that regional level rather than just individually,” Melton said. 

If successful in their application process, the City and County would receive $400,000 in federal funds and split the remaining $100,000 local match.  

The split between the City and County would be approximately $60,000 from the City and $40,000 from the County.  

Melton said the 64-40 split is due to the County having made more progress on some of the elements needed in the Action Plan than the City has.  

The exact share would be decided once a consultant has been selected for the work, and exact costs can be evaluated.