Transportation challenges and priorities for residents, businesses and visitors to Okanogan County and the Colville Reservation will be the focus of a two-day visit by the Washington State Transportation Commission to Okanogan County next Tuesday and Wednesday (May 14 and 15), the commission announced. Officials from Okanogan County and its cities, the Colville Tribe, transit providers and other community leaders will participate as part of the commission’s statewide public outreach effort, according to the commission.
The commission also will meet with local leaders in Twisp on May 14. The meeting in will start at 11 a.m. in Building 9 at TwispWorks. The meetings are open to the public and persons wishing to speak to the commission may do so during the public comment period scheduled at the close of each meeting.
The meetings feature a series of short presentations on successes and challenges, future plans and needs for transportation in the Okanogan region. Topics include city streets, county and tribal roads, state highways, rail and air transportation, and public transportation. Commissioners will learn about the connections between economic development, tourism and transportation in the Methow Valley, and cross-border traffic with Canada on U.S. 97, according to the commission’s press release. Several presenters, including representatives of Okanogan County, will talk about how recent wildfires, floods and landslides have exposed vulnerabilities in the state and local road system, and the decision to identify a primitive road network for disaster response and evacuation.
Also on May 14, the commission will tour bridges on Highway 153 and sites on Highway 20 near Loup Loup Pass where landslides have recently occurred. For more information about the commission and a complete meeting agenda, visit www.wstc.wa.gov.
