As the State of Washington faces a budget shortfall of over $12 billion during the next biennium, concerns are being raised about the possibility of numerous infrastructural projects getting postponed or scrapped altogether.

One such project, is the City of Wenatchee's massive Confluence Parkway endeavor, a $177 million overhaul of the town's north-end road network that includes the construction of a new bridge over the Wenatchee River.

Despite the fact that $92 million of the project's cost is being provided through a federal Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant awarded to the City in 2021, the remaining share is largely dependent upon state and local funding. And Washington's current budgetary woes mean that money could be more difficult to come up with.

"That money was committed and now it's not really there in the budget," says 12th District Sen. Keith Goehner (R-Dryden). "Now we're having to find ways to scale back some of the commitments that have been made."

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The City's original timeline for the project, whose first phase is set to begin in a few months, called for its completion within five to seven years, but Goehner says the state's financial shortfalls might force that projection to be extended.

"I think the commitment is there to make it happen and I feel strongly that if we start a project, we should finish it before moving on to others. I think the City of Wenatchee and their players are in a good position to move forward, but it may take a little bit longer to do what they'd like to do. But most importantly, there is a commitment in place to see that project through to its completion."

Goehner, who is the Assistant Ranking Member on the Senate Transportation Committee, says that when the possibility of 'cuts' are mentioned to the state's budget, many of them are actually just ways to protract funding as it applies to transportation projects. He adds that the Legislature is currently looking at ways to increase state revenues, but there are no specific ideas on the table at the moment that would prevent these foreseeable 'cuts' from being necessary.

The project is set to be the largest in the City's history and features a 2.5-mile bypass along with the new vehicle bridge that will connect with U.S. Highways 2 & 97.

The Confluence Parkway Project is seen as vital to ensuring that traffic issues in the growing town don't become out of control and create a daily gridlock similar to those commonly experienced in larger metropolitan areas.

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Gallery Credit: Bill Trotta

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