Tumwater committee forwards 2026–2031 transportation improvement program update to council for public hearing

City staff presented an update to Tumwater’s proposed 2026–2031 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) to the Public Works Committee on May 22 and asked that the committee place a resolution to set a June 3 public hearing and consideration before City Council.

Staff said the TIP must be adopted annually under RCW 35.77.0.01 and should include projects expected to begin within the next six years, particularly those that are regionally significant or likely to seek federal or state funds. The presentation highlighted additions, removals and project reconfigurations. Notable changes staff described included combining multiple Deschutes Valley Trail segments into a single overall trail project to align with current design work and to facilitate grant administration; splitting large corridor projects into phased pieces for clarity (for example, portions of the Tumwater Boulevard interchange and an Old Highway 99 corridor project); and adding a new project at 90 Third Avenue to lower a bedrock hill to improve sight distance, water‑main trenching and potential school district access. "The hill lowering could be approximately seven feet and will be through bedrock," staff said, adding that the property to the east is owned by the Tumwater School District and could be part of a possible elementary school site, creating an opportunity for partnership.

Staff also emphasized multimodal projects such as the Second Avenue noncircular roundabout, preservation and maintenance program items, and explained removal of projects that are unlikely to be pursued within six years or are not regionally significant, including a Brewery District streetscape project and a rural road shoulder widening item with substantial environmental/permitting complexity.

Committee members asked questions about keeping trail segments on the TIP for grant competitiveness; staff replied that the trail remains in the TIP but combined as one project and that individual segments can be pulled out later as separate TIP entries when seeking phase-specific funding. The committee voted to place resolution R‑2025‑010 (the TIP update) on the June 3 council meeting for a public hearing and consideration with a recommendation for adoption.

Background: staff said projects in the TIP are incorporated into the regional TIP and state transportation improvement program when they have federal or state funding and that the TIP reflects a mix of capacity, preservation/maintenance and multimodal projects across the city.