Local leaders, tribes warn delay to I‑5 Nisqually Delta project risks isolation of Joint Base Lewis‑McChord

Representatives of regional military‑community partnerships, the Nisqually Indian Tribe and local planning agencies told the House Transportation Committee the I‑5 Nisqually Delta project should be prioritized and not pushed beyond the six‑year horizon.

“I'm here to express serious concerns about the delayed funding for the I‑5 Nisqually Delta project,” Colleen Meiners of the South Sound Military & Communities Partnership said. Meiners said the project is critical to joint base Lewis‑McChord because roughly 30% of base personnel live south of the Nisqually River and that loss of the corridor in a natural disaster could isolate the base and “jeopardize national security.”

David Trout, natural resources director for the Nisqually Indian Tribe, said the tribe and committee supporters have funded risk assessments, and he cited a USGS analysis that concluded the current I‑5 design could act like a dam and that failure is a matter of “when, not if.” Trout asked the committee to “find the resources to keep this project on schedule.”

Regional planner Mark Daley and other local officials echoed urgency around an expected undercutting of I‑5 by the Nisqually River as soon as 2040 in some scenarios, and they urged restoration of the project's funding to avoid a major disruption of commerce, emergency response and military operations.

Why it matters: testimony framed the I‑5 Nisqually Delta project as a time‑sensitive, safety and national‑security risk whose delay could isolate critical transportation links and increase future costs if repairs are delayed. Committee staff listed the project among items whose funding timing was moved in the proposed substitute budget and took the public requests under consideration.