Transportation Improvement Board awards nearly $2 million to the City of Leavenworth

LEAVENWORTH – The City of Leavenworth was awarded nearly $1.95 million by the Washington Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) to address city-wide street improvements in 2024. The funds are divided between a scrub seal, curb improvements, and street maintenance. The city allocated approximately $218,388 in matching funds for the projects.

According to the press release, TIB highlighted Leavenworth as one of the top five cities in the state with the worst pavement rating. 

“Most of the City’s streets were originally constructed by paving a thin layer of asphalt over existing dirt roads. As design standards have progressed and traffic volumes have increased over the years, most of the City’s streets do not meet current standards,” said Communications and Special Projects Manager Kara Raferty in her press release.

Over $1.5 million will go towards a scrub seal, which will fill roadway cracks and provide protection to existing roadway surfacing. It functions similar to a chip seal, applying an asphalt emulsion and crushed rock to the road. Approximately 6.7 miles of road will be scrub sealed and 0.9 miles will be chip sealed under the project.

The City was awarded $277,992 to make improvements on curb ramps throughout the city. According to TIB’s funding summary, the project aims to reconstruct 28 existing pedestrian curb ramps on streets that plan to be planed and paved or overlaid in the future. 

TIB’s project map shows projected curb improvements on Commercial Street intersections stretching between 8th Street and Division Street, as well as parts of Prospect Street, Mine Street, and Mountain View Drive.

For street maintenance, TIB awarded $90,000 for a combination of crack sealing, spot pavement repair, and pre-leveling. Maintenance will be for streets that are still in relatively good condition and don’t require reconstruction. Longer segments that will be addressed under the project include Commercial Street, Whitman Street, Pine Street and Cascade Street.

“The funding we received from TIB to address deficiencies in our roadway system is unprecedented. This is an incredible opportunity to start implementing our new Pavement Preservation Program and to show the community that we are poised to address our infrastructure needs across the City,” Deputy Public Works Director Andi Zontek-Backstrum said in a press release.

Taylor Caldwell: 509-433-7276 or taylor@ward.media