The Thurston Regional Planning Council is asking state lawmakers for $37 million to keep the Nisqually River Bridge replacement moving forward.
TRPC voted Friday, Oct. 2, to make continued funding for the I-5 bridge project its top legislative priority for the 2027–29 biennium, The JOLT News Organization first reported. The money would cover environmental review, technical studies and design preparations needed to move the project toward a future design-build contract.
The urgency is simple. The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has funding through June 2027, when the current biennium ends. But funding for the next two-year cycle is listed at zero, TRPC Senior Planner Veronica Jarvis told the council.
Jarvis said "continued funding would help maintain momentum and avoid potential delays, duplicated work and higher costs if the project is put on hold."
She called the bridge a key link for the region, noting that traffic disruptions at the crossing can make it difficult for people to travel into and out of the area.
An 89-year-old bridge and a shifting river
The northbound span was built in 1937. The Nisqually River channel has been migrating up to 35 feet per year for the past two decades, threatening embankments and bridge stability, The Olympian reported in May.
The proposed project covers a 4.7-mile stretch of I-5 between the Marvin Road Southeast and Mounts Road Southwest interchanges. Fixes would address flooding and stability concerns, remove a fish passage barrier, improve stormwater treatment, add a shared-use path and build a new crossing over the BNSF railway.
Two bridge options are under consideration: one roughly 6,000 feet long and another about 12,000 feet. Construction could take five to seven years for the shorter option and about nine years for the longer one.
WSDOT spokesperson Cara Mitchell said in May that no construction cost estimate will be available until the environmental assessment is complete. Prior reporting by The News Tribune indicated the project could cost billions.
Funding history shows cuts
The Legislature appropriated $9.6 million between 2021 and 2023 for preliminary engineering and the federal environmental review. In 2025, lawmakers added $12.8 million, bringing the combined total to $22.4 million.
The 2026 supplemental transportation budget cut that total to $19.7 million. WSDOT has spent $12 million on the project so far.
A final environmental assessment decision document is due by late 2027. A preliminary design phase would follow, provided WSDOT secures funding for the next biennium.
"This corridor is extremely vulnerable to flooding, to migration of the Nisqually River and aging infrastructure," Alex Atchison, project manager for WSDOT consultant Parametrix, told the Thurston County Board of Commissioners on May 6.
Building a broader coalition
The South Sound Military Communities Partnership has also named the Nisqually Bridge its top legislative priority. TRPC Executive Director Elissa Gertler said the council has discussed I-5 corridor issues with the Puget Sound Regional Council and Portland Metro. Regional officials are weighing a broader coalition because improvements in one stretch of the interstate can shift congestion elsewhere.
TRPC plans to continue outreach to other jurisdictions and transportation organizations ahead of the 2027 legislative session, which opens in January 2027.
