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Millions requested by lawmakers to fund road, river projects in Cowlitz County

By Brennen Kauffman, The Daily News
Published: May 29, 2022, 5:03pm

LONGVIEW — Washington’s Congressional delegation is seeking money to improve a Longview road, monitor local river sediment levels and expand a local tribal substance-abuse center.

The funding requests were made for Community Project Funding, a program introduced this year as a reformed version of earmarks. The system allows legislators to request funds for projects that affect voters back home. Earmarks were banned in 2011 after questions arose about their misuse.

Earlier this month, Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Battle Ground, requested a total of $20.4 million in Congressional spending across 15 projects in the third district of southwest Washington. Six of the projects were in Cowlitz County or largely affected Cowlitz County and would make up half of the requested funds.

Three local projects received support from Herrera Beutler as well as Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray. Those projects are:

— $2.1 million to the Cowlitz 911 Center to replace outdated dispatch equipment.

— $900,000 to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to study possible improvements to the ship turning basin in the Columbia River near Longview.

— $856,000 to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to support sediment monitoring in the rivers still affected by fallout from the Mount St. Helens eruption.

Craig Wheeler, spokesman for Herrera Beutler’s office, said the congresswoman received more than 70 requests for project funding from her district. Wheeler said the projects that made it through showed “strong community engagement and support.”

The largest single project requested by Herrera Beutler was $5.5 million for safety improvements along Columbia Heights Road. The new work focuses on providing sidewalks and road repairs along the mile of road between Cascade Drive and Fishers Lane.

The road safety measure has long been one of Longview’s federal priorities. Herrera Beutler had secured funding for the road project in the version of the infrastructure bill that passed the House of Representatives last year but the funds did not end up in the final version of the bill.

Longview Mayor MaryAlice Wallis, Mayor Pro-tem Mike Wallin and public works director Ken Hash traveled to Washington, D.C. in early May to meet with the congresswomen about the slate of projects that the city was prioritizing.

“It really does make a difference if you’re in front of them. It shows that city is very supportive of the project. It also shows the good relationship between the city and their lobbyists,” Wallis said.

Herrera Beutler and Cantwell both recommended that Longview receive $215,000 to create a new training simulator for the Longview Police Department. The simulator would focus on de-escalation training for officers dealing with people in crisis.

Herrera Beutler requested $762,000 to the Cowlitz Indian Tribe to expand their substance abuse treatment center in Longview. Rep. Adam Smith requested an additional $2.6 million to turn the Cowlitz Tribal Health Services center in Tukwila into a farther-reaching health care campus.

All projects still need to go through the subcommittees in the House and Senate before any funding is provided. Decisions about funding will begin to come out this summer.

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