Senate budget: $400,000 for safer Cougar Nation

The state Senate budget passed last week includes $400,000 in funding to help with safety improvements for “Cougar Nation.” The funding was included in the 2017-19 transportation plan at the request of Senate Majority Leader Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville.

“Every year it seems there’s at least one fatal crash on SR 26 or US 195 associated with ‘Cougar Nation.’ The challenge of making those corridors safer is recognized by everyone I’ve talked to at WSU, from President Schulz to the student leaders who came over to share their concerns,” Schoesler said in an April 6 press release. “It’s a unique situation amoung our state higher-education institutions, in my experience, and the budget we approved today offers a unique answer.”

The money will not go into improving the roadways.

“$400,000 doesn’t do much for the road,” Schoesler told the Gazette. “This money is designed to work with our parents, students and friends and talk about safety.”

Schoesler said the funding will be put toward things such as training and distributing information.

“We want to give them resources,” he said. “We just want to help them come to safer travel.”

The $400,000 will be spent by the Washington State Department of Transportation in consultation with WSU stakeholders.

“The other side of the highway-safety equation involves drivers, and that’s where the university comes in,” said Schoesler. “Let’s bring WSDOT and WSU together, with some money available for investing, and see what kind of innovative ideas emerge. I’m betting they will come up with more than one way to reduce the risks.”

Deaths of university students in the past few years have led to conversations about what can be done to improve the highways the students and others travel on here. Two WSU students died in separate accidents on Highway 26 and Highway 195 over the Thanksgiving holiday break in 2015, and three WSU students died in three separate car accidents on Highway 26 in December and January. A University of Idaho student died in December in a car accident on Highway 195, and another WSU student was killed in a car accident on Interstate 90 near Cle Elum while returning to school for the spring semester.

“This has been an ongoing conversation for a long time,” said Schoesler. “This funding fits well. It’s not just the students we’re talking about. It’s employees, families and fans, too.”

The current budget also includes $10.1 million to add passing lanes on 195 between Colfax and Spangle. In recent months, WSDOT has been acquiring property located along 195 for the construction of these lanes.

“Lane expansions on 195 are currently in the transportation package,” said Schoesler.

Lane expansions are booked for Highway 26, too, between Hatton Junction and Colfax. Those are not scheduled until 2025, though.

“We’d like to move it up, but we couldn’t get there this year,” said Schoesler.

The current package also includes $15 million over the next four years to add acceleration and deceleration lanes, improve existing turn lanes and construct safety improvements on Highway 395 between Pasco and the Franklin County line north of Connell. Additionally, for the ninth district, more than $17 million has been slated for continued work to improve and ease congestion on the rail interchange in Connell and keeping the Palouse/Coulee City Railroad in operating condition.

“The rail line needs some trestle work and some alignment to be able to have full size trains go through,” said Schoesler.

Schoesler also commended the process to pass this budget.

“We passed the budget unanimously,” he said. “We had to caucus on it and work on some things, but we ultimately passed it unanimously.”