Wednesday, November 11, 2026
The Thurston Regional Planning Council (TRPC) approved recommendations to award $16 million in federal transportation funding to projects across the region.
During a presentation of the 2026 Federal Transportation Call for Projects recommendations, TRPC Planning Manager Paul Brewster said seven applicants submitted 16 proposals requesting more than $28 million. He made the presentation at a TRPC meeting on Nov. 6.
Fifteen proposals were recommended for funding, with 10 receiving the full requested amounts. The remaining unfunded requests, totaling $19.1 million, will be placed on a contingency list for possible future funding.
The Transportation Policy Board (TPB) on Oct. 14 recommended allocating all $16 million in available funding to the Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) programs.
The available funding includes $11 million in STBG funds and $5 million in CMAQ funds.
The federal funding will be distributed across several geographic categories, including rural, urban small, urban large and regional projects.
For rural and urban small projects, Thurston County’s Tilley Road Bridge Replacement project will receive a full $822,149 funding allocation.
Yelm’s Washington Avenue/McKenzie Avenue Couplet project will get a full $450,000.
Thurston County’s 196th Avenue SE project will receive $362,258 to support construction.
Nine urban large projects sought $18.3 million in funding. TPB recommended $12.1 million in awards, using a combination of STBG and CMAQ, along with additional flexible STBG funding.
TPB recommended five projects for full funding, including Olympia’s Capital Corridor Phase 2, the highest-scoring proposal, which will receive $3.1 million.
Other fully funded projects:
The Deschutes Valley Trail Segment A2 project will receive $2,627,065, representing 82 percent of Tumwater’s request.
The Walk N Roll program will receive 90 percent of its request, while Thurston County’s Meridian Road/Mullen Road intersection project will receive funding for right-of-way acquisition only, with its construction phase placed on the contingency list.
Brewster said the regional category is funded largely by STBG flexible funds. The $2,241,452 in funds goes to the TRPC and IT’s transportation programs.
IT’s Walk N Roll receives $941,452.
TRPC’s three projects — Regional Trails Work Program, Regional Multimodal Phase 2, and Thurston County Bicycle Map — are all funded for a total of $1.3 million.
For non-competitive Rural Community Support Program proposals, all five proposals from Nisqually Indian Tribe, Bucoda, Tenino and Rainier will receive the full requested amounts.
The projects include road improvements, stormwater infrastructure, pedestrian safety enhancements and a roundabout study. This category was funded at $1.2 million.
TRPC also approved placing $19,129,201 in unfunded project requests on a contingency list for possible future funding.
The largest portions involve construction phases of Thurston County’s three projects, the Meridian Road/Mullen Road intersection, the 196th Avenue - southwestern Elderberry intersection, and Tilley Road Bridge replacement. The projects account for 56 percent of the total contingency amount.
The list also includes $6.5 million for IT’S Cloud-based TSP project, which is estimated to require $8.5 million for full implementation.
The project was also awarded $2 million in CMAQ funding under the Urban Large category, bringing its potential total funding to $8.5 million if the contingency amount becomes available.
Contingency projects may receive funding through additional federal allocations, funds redistributed by the state, or available funding from projects that cannot meet their scheduled obligation deadlines.
Following the council’s approval, TRPC staff will issue grant award letters and coordinate with applicants on project funding obligation schedules.
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