DOT Work Funded Through 2009

OLYMPIA - The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has developed the "2006-2008 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program," (STIP). This document lists state and local projects that have secured federal funds over next three years. The STIP includes more than 1,600 projects statewide, representing Washington's highest priority projects and a total transportation investment of $4 billion over the three-year period.

The 2006-2008 STIP is available for public review at WSDOT's six region offices The Federal Highways Administration (FHWA) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) must approve the STIP before funding can be made available.

Pierce County Enonomy Strong

Tacoma - Tacoma's stock continues to rise with positive activity in several key economic indices, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber's Pierce County Economic Index report.

Unemployment is headed down and retail sales, personal incomes, and real estate values are headed up. 2006 isn't expected to be as big a blockbuster year as 2005, but vigorous growth should continue the positive trends, according to Index authors Dr. Bruce Mann and Dr. Douglas Goodman, both economics professors at the University of Puget Sound and seasoned Pierce County economy watchers. They expect the Pierce County economy to expand at an average annual rate of 4.75 percent from 2004 to 2006 - the strongest performance on record over a three-year period.

Unusual Funding Used for School

Poulsbo - West Sound Academy's new Poulsbo campus could be called the field of dreams that almost didn't get built. The small private school in Kitsap County had a site for a new campus with water and mountain views; what they didn't have was money.

"The problems seemed almost impossible to solve," stated Dan Ryan, president of Poulsbo's Tim Ryan Construction, the general contractor of the project."The school had no financing and wanted spacious rooms and wood beams on a modular budget, and that was the easy part. The real problems were water and widening Highway 305. We managed to make it happen by teaming up with the architect and thinking way out of the box."

The water problem, due to the school's picturesque location on an old hillside farm between Suquamish and Poulsbo, had to do with fire code requirements. There was not enough pressure or flow for a fire hydrant. Next up was building those custom classrooms on a modular budget. Ryan and architect Richard Prine solved that by turning the project into a modified design-build. The school's facilities include dedicated rooms for science, art, music and dance, plus a computer lab.

Ste. Michelle to Build Winery

Woodinville - Ste. Michelle Wine Estates,has signed a purchase agreement for a 20-acre parcel of land on Red Mountain in Eastern Washington where it will build a winery for Col Solare.

The land acquisition and winery construction, with plans to feature a subterranean barrel room, fermenters built to winemakers' specifications and an expansive courtyard cast as an tourist destination, will represent a more than $6 million shared investment upon completion.

Ground breaking for the project was expected to take place in January 2006, with the winery opening in time for the 2006 crush.