By John Henderer, The Chronicle, 5/21/99
A proposed highway linking Lewis County to Mount St. Helens and a flood-control study on the Chehalis River Basin both received a boost from the Legislature this week.
| These maps would show how far the county could ''squeeze'' the floodway and still allow some filling in the flood plain without increasing flooding more than about 2.5 inches, Hosey said. |
If signed by Gov. Gary Locke, the state Department of Transportation two-year, $3.9 billion budget will pay for a $300,000 feasibility study that would connect Highway 504 from the Mount St. Helens visitors centers to Highway 12 near Randle.
The budget also provides $1.1 million more toward flood-control work.
The new highway would help boost tourism in East Lewis County, where businesses and residents have been hard hit by timber industry layoffs.
''This is where we need to go,'' Commissioner Russ Wigley said Thursday. ''This is the doorway to open up most of our county to tourism.''
The one-year study would review possible funding sources for the link to Highway 504, potential road alignments, environmental issues and costs, said Van Youngquist, a former Cowlitz County commissioner.
Youngquist, who was instrumental in developing visitors centers to St. Helens, has been working for the county as a consultant. Clark, Cowlitz, Skamania, and Yakima counties have also contributed toward the project.
The highway link could involve a toll road, state and federal funding, or both.
The county plans to solicit federal money to bolster the study. It has received tentative approval for a $50,000 grant from the U.S. Forest Service to add to the study or to lower the state's cost, Youngquist said.
Two appropriations will help further the $1.1 million already spent on a flood-control solution for the Twin Cities.
A study by county consultant Pacific International Engineering proposes adding a rubber weir atop the Skookumchuck Dam, diverting Chehalis River floodwaters onto fields, and excavating more than 3 million cubic feet of riverbank upstream and downstream of the Mellen Street Bridge.
Although the study shows promise for reducing flooding by 4 feet, some have criticized PIE for allegedly favoring its own alternative.
An $800,000 appropriation would provide funding for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to review PIE's work and provide a second opinion, said Harry Hosey, PIE manager.
The money would also pay for the following:
Work to refine a computer model of the basin and flooding effects. This would include conducting more detailed surveying at 2-feet elevations and additional cross-sections of the Newaukum and Chehalis rivers.
Revised mapping of the 100-year flood plain, calibrated at three different levels: 1 foot, half a foot and .2 of a foot. These maps would show how far the county could ''squeeze'' the floodway and still allow some filling in the flood plain without increasing flooding more than about 2.5 inches, Hosey said.
''This mapping will tell you where you absolutely have significant impacts with flooding and where you don't,'' Hosey said.
Public information meetings to update citizens on the study's progress.
A $300,000 appropriation from TransAid, an arm of the DOT, will pay for analysis of a spillway for the Skookumchuck Dam, and begin work on wetlands and environmental aspects.
The state will require a memorandum of understanding from local jurisdictions participating in the study outlining administration and management of activities before releasing the $800,000.
Wording in the bill also states the work must support salmon recovery efforts ''where possible.''
John Henderer covers county government and environmental issues for The Chronicle. He can be reached by e-mail at jhenderer@chronline.com or by calling 807-8239.
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