Ten submissions are selected into our Top 10 that will travel the state in displays during the summer of 2012, while one student from each side of the state will be selected as our winners.  These winners recieve a special prize package, have their artwork displayed on a billboard along I-90 to educate motorists, and win their classroom $200 to spend on school supplies to keep the creativity going!

“Taking part in this contest was a great experience. Kids love to feel like they’re making a difference and helping the world, and the i90 Wildlife Bridge contest was a perfect opportunity to get them involved. The kids really got the idea and spirit of this; when presented with the Wildlife Bridge concept, the usual response was, “well, of course! Isn’t that just fair?” said past contest participant Dan Gemeinhart, Librarian at Mission View Elementary

Submissions are due into our office by Friday April 20th, 2012.  Lesson plan, more details, and links to helpful information and past year’s winners are available on our contest webpage.  We look forward to seeing the entries!

I-90 Wildlife Watch billboard in Seattle, WA. January 2011.

Thanks to a grant from the Washington Department of Wildilfe’s ALEA program, we are promoting the I-90 Wildlife Watch program this month with a billboard in Seattle.  The  billboard is running until February 2nd on Dearborn and 13th just out of downtown Seattle near Goodwill, and on a city street route to the I-90 on ramp off of Rainier Ave.

The billboard is up for a few more weeks – go take a look.  And, make sure to keep reporting any live or dead wildlife you see when driving I-90 between North Bend and Easton at www.i90wildlifewatch.org .

Her Connecting Washington plan proposed to fund the I-90 Snoqualmie Pass East Project with $106 million to continue widening from the end of the snowshed project near Keechelus Dam to Bonnie Creek, including the construction of the wildlife overcrossing.

See Seattle Times coverage of her speech, and view the Connecting Washington transportation package proposal.

The Governor signed a transportation bill last session that included language directing that $8 million in savings from existing project savings be utilized for planning and design of the next phase of the I-90 project, while all additional savings from the first phase’s construction to be realized after the session were to remain on the corridor.

The Mount Amabilis property was purchased to provide critical wildlife habitat and serves as an important piece of the long-range strategy to conserve habitat lands near the planned Interstate 90 wildlife bridges that will allow wildlife to cross I-90 safely.

Learn more in a Daily Record article on the conservation purchase.

Kittitas County filed this application with a huge amount of support from a wide range of interests.

Download the TIGER III application (PDF file).

Download the letters of support for the TIGER III application including Senator Patty Murray, local legislators, Depart. of Commerce, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, AAA, I-90 Wildlife Bridges Coalition, and more.

Download the WSDOT letter indicating intent to match the TIGER III funds if awarded.

Announcements from US Department of Transportation on the winners of the TIGER III grants should come by the end of the year.

“Continuing construction of I-90 will keep money flowing into the economy now, while investing in our state’s most important east-west transportation corridor for the future,” said Senator Scott White, Vice Chair of the State Senate Transportation Committee. “I am pleased that this action will begin the construction of both the snowsheds and other key safety features including in the next phase, and I expect we’ll learn soon how far those funds will stretch.”
The I-90 Wildlife Bridges Coalition has supported funding for this project that provides substantial benefits for safety, wildlife, freight mobility and capacity.

“The award-winning I-90 project has received international attention for its innovative design, partnerships and educational outreach. We are excited that these funds will go towards the next phase of the project that includes the first wildlife overpass. When built it will be an icon of the Mountains to Sound Greenway- not only providing excellent connectivity for wildlife, but also demonstrating the value of partnerships and sparking learning about wildlife and highways,” said Charlie Raines, Director of the I-90 Wildlife Bridges Coalition.

The 2011 Transportation Budget directed WSDOT to use up to $8 million in project savings already accrued prior to the legislative session to start designing the next two miles (Phase 2A and 2B) of the project from Keechelus Dam vicinity to the Stampede Pass Interchange. The budget language also approved the use of project savings from Phase 1C of the project to be used in the corridor for future phases. Improvements to these next two miles of I-90 include:

• Adding a new lane in each direction
• Replacing deteriorating concrete
• Stabilizing rock slopes
• Building wildlife crossings
• Improving sign distance by reducing sharp curves
• Adding new chain-up areas
• Replacing site of Price/Nobel Creek Sno-park.

Phase 2, of the I-90 Snoqualmie Pass East Project can be divided into stand alone phases so that the savings can be applied immediately on the ground if no additional funding becomes available. But, a diverse group of partners led by Kittitas County are working together to apply for federal TIGER III stimulus competitive grant funds to build off of these savings and provide the total funding needed to complete the next phase.

“The I-90 Snoqualmie Pass East Project continues to provide significant engineering and environmental benefits to Kittitas County and beyond, that cannot be denied. Of those, and perhaps the most significant, is the diversity of common interests associated with the project. Kittitas County understands those important relationships and is a proud partner in the project’s continued success,” stated Kirk Holmes of Kittitas County.

This construction work on Phase 1C beginning this month will take six years to complete because of the short construction seasons on Snoqualmie Pass. The estimated completion date is summer 2017 along with the all other work underway now from Hyak to Keechelus Dam. Design for Phase 2 as directed by the legislature has already begun by WSDOT staff.

More information

• WSDOT press release
• I-90 Snoqualmie East Project webpage
• I-90 Wildlife Bridges Coalition www.i90wildlifebridges.org
• May 16, 2011 Press Release “Funding extends I-90 upgrade through Cascades”