Island County signed a $3.4 million agreement with the state Department of Transportation to widen shoulders on Highway 20, from Race Road to Welcher Road, in 2020. Nearly five years later, the project hasn’t begun, but the state is now requesting more county money due to increased costs in the interim.

At a workshop last week, commissioners agreed to cough up the additional $90,000 the state is requesting but only if it provides a clear “date certain,” a guarantee that the project will be complete with a written statement as to when.

The county gets a 13.5% split of the project funds, and the additional funding is coming from a Department of Transportation Surface Transportation Block Grant. Department of Transportation staff said they need the additional $90,000 before they can move forward and procure the right of way.

“It’s fine that we’re increasing the agreement, but are they going to do it?” asked Commissioner Jill Johnson. “Are we responsible for doing it, or are they doing it? The problem with Race to Welcher is that it’s not getting done, and it’s not our project.”

Later, she added, “If we do this, I have an expectation, as does the community, that this work will get done.”

Commissioner Janet St. Clair added the caveat of a “start by” date on the project, so the state does not wait another five years and ask for another $100,000 due to increased costs.

The narrow road has been a priority and safety concern for over a decade, Johnson said.

“We’ve prioritized it year after year, saying this is a high priority safety issue for our county,” she said. “We are holding back funding in order to meet our obligations, and that funding’s not getting recirculated into the community for other projects. We prioritized this, and they’re not getting it done.”

Declining transportation tax revenue and increased project costs are clashing statewide and are predicted to worsen in coming years. A state senate transportation committee staff presentation last month detailed a budget gap of at least $6.5 billion through 2031 if something doesn’t change.

Because of this, St. Clair said the county must be “aggressive and explicit” in its expectations with the state.

“When the shell game happens, and the walnuts start moving, I don’t want my walnut on the board,” she said. “I want my project in process.”

Often projects in counties such as Island lose funding because they don’t have the same “political clout” as projects along Interstate 5, she said.

“I don’t want this falling off the table,” she said. “It’s been a priority in island county and (Island Regional Transportation Planning Organizaton) for (over a decade).”