WSDOT says final US 12 segment near Walla Walla can proceed in pieces but faces a $236 million shortfall
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Summary
WSDOT outlined plans to complete an 11‑mile final segment of US 12 near Walla Walla, aiming to four‑lane the corridor and build a new interchange, but officials say the corridor’s $350 million price tag leaves roughly $236 million unfunded despite a $110 million federal grant.
Brian White, WSDOT South Central regional administrator, gave the Senate Transportation Committee a progress update on the US 12 corridor near Walla Walla and outlined options for building the remaining Phase 8 work.
White said the US 12 corridor program was funded originally under the 2023 nickel package and supplemented by federal earmarks. “So the project we're talking about today is the US 12 corridor down in Walla Walla,” he told the committee, describing an 11‑mile final section that will include a separated four‑lane facility, full shoulders, bridge work across four major canyons and a new interchange near Atalia.
The presentation emphasized freight mobility and crash‑risk reduction: the corridor links Tri‑Cities, Walla Walla and port facilities on the Columbia and Snake rivers and carries significant agricultural and wine‑industry traffic. White said phase 7 is complete and the project team is preparing for right‑of‑way acquisition with sections targeted for construction starting in summer 2027.
Why it matters: WSDOT framed the work as economically important for eastern Washington’s freight network and as a safety upgrade on a corridor that mixes slow‑moving farm equipment and heavy trucks.
Funding and schedule: White presented the corridor cost and funding picture: WSDOT’s current corridor cost estimate is about $350 million; a USDOT rural surface transportation grant was awarded at roughly $110 million (approximately $108 million after federal takedowns), and the agency listed a total unfunded need of about $236 million across design, right‑of‑way and construction. For preliminary engineering White said the team estimated $2.7 million and provided figures indicating existing balances and shortfalls for right‑of‑way and construction phases.
Pieces with independent utility: White told the committee the agency is discussing building smaller, independently useful segments (for example, additional truck‑climbing lanes at Nine Mile Hill and the Atalia interchange) if full funding for the whole corridor is not available. He also said WSDOT will pursue a jurisdictional turnback of the existing US 12 to Walla Walla County after the new alignment is built, as was done for earlier phases.
Committee response: Committee members pressed WSDOT on whether federal procedures or the state could accelerate release of funds. White said there has been discussion with Federal Highways and the port of Walla Walla is engaged in D.C. advocacy and additional grant seeking.
What’s next: WSDOT said it plans to continue right‑of‑way work in 2026 and to have construction sections “teed up” for summer 2027, subject to funding. The agency also noted proviso language in recent budgets that commits the state to provide matching funds if local partners pursue federal grant opportunities.
Reporting note: The transcript contains variant place and name spellings (for example, both “Atalia” and a later rendering that appears as “Atelier”); the agency’s on‑screen slides and project contact information are part of the committee record.