WILKESON, Wash. — This story was originally published on MyNorthwest.com.
The state won’t declare what’s happening to the town of Wilkeson an emergency, so lawmakers are now asking the federal government for help.
Wilkeson is dying on the vine. The small town with a population of approximately 500 people just northwest of Mount Rainier has lost almost all of its economic engine, tourism, since the Fairfax Bridge was closed last year. The bridge wasn’t closed because a truck damaged it or a natural disaster occurred. It was closed after decades of intentional neglect by state lawmakers. They refused to spend money to keep the bridge in good shape, despite reports that it was deteriorating.
That doesn’t qualify as an emergency that would give businesses access to loans to stay afloat, and the Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT) said it will take at least six years to replace the bridge.
State Senator Phil Fortunato now wants to ask the federal government for help, not for funding, but to cut red tape.
“We’re asking the federal government to speed this stuff along by waiving certain things, or moving the NEPA requirements to almost the end of the project,” he said.
The joint memorial has bipartisan support.
Wilkeson Mayor Jayme Peloli is tired of waiting for help
“Our state leaders have made it clear that they do not plan to elevate this crisis to the level of urgency that it deserves,” Peloli testified last week. “Federal involvement is necessary because this crisis has outgrown the pathways currently available that are at the state level.”
Why is that? Peloli said Washington Governor Bob Ferguson is too busy focusing on President Trump and not on emergencies in his own backyard.
“When statewide leaders focus public communication on national public conflict and political conflict, while communities within their own state are navigating infrastructure failure and emergency access, it leaves residents questioning whether their crisis is being seen or prioritized,” she said. “The silence is not just symbolic. It has real consequences.”
Mayor Peloli asked the Governor how much her community has to suffer before anything is done.
“How much emergency access must be compromised before leadership steps in and chooses to act, and ultimately, what number of constituents is enough to make this a large enough emergency that the governor feels a responsibility to step in and help find a solution,” she said.
WSDOT has only two plans going forward. The first is to replace the bridge for at least $160 million. The second is to tear the old bridge down and not replace it. Complicating matters. The bridge is on the National Registry of Historic Places. There is red tape around that, which could impact what happens.
Part of this joint memorial would request that the bridge be removed from that list and that the closure be declared an emergency. It has been heard by both chambers in Olympia.
The closure of the 105-year-old bridge has not only devastated the communities around it. It has also cut off some of the best hiking and camping areas in Mount Rainier National Park.
Chris Sullivan is a traffic reporter for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here. Follow KIRO Newsradio traffic on X.
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