Washington senators secure U.S. 12 expansion grant near Tri-Cities

Walla Walla County in Washington will receive an $108 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to upgrade a section of U.S. Highway 12 near the Tri-Cities.

The federal funding will allow the completion of a project to expand the highway between Wallula and Nine Mile Hill from two lanes to a four-lane divided highway. When that and other funded sections are finished, the highway between Burbank and Walla Walla will consist of four divided lanes. The project kicked off in 2003.

According to a news release from Washington Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, the work will increase safety, support the agriculture and wind industries through efficient transportation of freight, and help attract up to $10 billion and 2,000 jobs to the Wallula Gap Business Park.

“Highway 12 is the transportation backbone of the region, and this infrastructure investment will help it become a manufacturing and economic hub — which is going to bring lots of new, permanent, good-paying jobs,” Cantwell said in the news release.