Rockslides and avalanches are a constant threat to closing I-90 to all traffic, delaying important goods from their destinations for hours, sometimes days. The State Transporation Package will fund a new tunnel and bridges to allow traffic to flow. I-912 would kill that project for the tunnel and other road safety measures, resulting in more gridlock and delay, costing business in Washington State millions of dollars per year in potential revenue.
Timothy hay is the largest single cash crop in Kittitas County, grown commercially by an estimated 200-250 farmers on between 25,000 to 30,000 acres of land. The top quality hay goes to the Japanese race horse industry, and lesser quality hay traditionally is purchased by Japanese dairies. The timothy hay industry in the county is estimated to have an annual value of more than $30 million.
Fruit orchards provide another healthy cash crop, as technology continues to create hardy and flavorful new varieties of apples and pears. Export opportunities for these crops have continued to expand, a repeal of the bi-partisian approved transportation package would cancel the following projects designed to help farmers get their crops to the Port of Seattle and Tacoma, where their products are shipped for export to Japan and elsewhere:
Kittitas County - $391.4 million
• Constructing a new six lane roadway on I-90 from Hyak to the Keechelus Dam. It will also address avalanche closures by constructing a tunnel and/or new bridges near the existing snowshed ($387.7 million).
• Constructing a passing lane for northbound US 97 traffic to reduce the risk of head-on collisions ($1.7 million).
Kittitas County will also benefit from the following multi-county projects:
• Making roadside safety improvements like installing guardrails or removing fixed objects to enhance motorist safety by reducing the severity of collisions on:
- SR 241 and SR 821 ($1.1 million between Yakima and Kittitas Counties).
- US 97 ($1 million between Kittitas, Chelan and Okanogan Counties).
