With the launch of the blog last month, we unfortunately forgot to celebrate an anniversary in October. Sadly, it is a bit of a depressing celebration.

Five years ago, on October 2, 2007, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) issued its Record of Decision (ROD) for the SR-167 completion project. A ROD signals formal federal approval of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) or Environmental Assessment (EA) concerning a proposed highway project. The ROD authorizes the respective state transportation agency to proceed with design, land acquisition, and construction based on the availability of funds.

Why is the SR-167 ROD notable? First, it is amazing how many people around the state do not realize how much work has been done on the project. Countless times we have heard lawmakers say that SR-167 is not as far along as other projects like SR-520 or the deep bore tunnel in Seattle. In reality, SR-167 completed its ROD before those other projects.

Second, the ROD was completed so long ago that it actually has expired. Depressing, huh?

WSDOT did great work in preparing the EIS. Now it is time to take that work and turn it into an actual highway. It is time for the state to finish what it started and complete SR-167