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Officials to mark start of interchange project

The Columbian
Published: September 1, 2010, 12:00am

There won’t be a formal ribbon-cutting to commemorate the start of the massive Salmon Creek interchange project, but there will be a public event at 10 a.m. Thursday at the site of the future Salmon Creek Park & Ride, south of Northeast 139th Street and east of 10th Avenue.

In the first phase of a $133 million construction project, a contractor has been working since early August to grade the Park & Ride site and install underground utilities.

Speakers on Thursday will address the county’s 13.1 percent unemployment rate in July, highest among the state’s 39 counties.

“We know people are hurting in this economy,” said Steve Stuart, chairman of the Board of Clark County Commissioners. “This project will help lay the foundation for good-paying jobs, both short term in construction and long term in health care and education.”

Stuart’s comments were included in a press release issued Tuesday by the county.

Jeff Mize, spokesman for the county’s public works department, said the Washington State Department of Transportation estimates the project will support about 600 jobs, including direct construction jobs, indirect jobs with suppliers and additional jobs at stores, restaurants and small businesses.

That doesn’t count thousands of permanent jobs the private sector could create in an area that includes Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center, Washington State University Vancouver and other regional employers, Mize said.

The project includes plans to rebuild the Northeast 134th Street interchange on Interstate 5, extend Northeast 139th Street east and make freeway ramp improvements.

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