The Chehalis City Council unanimously approved accepting a state Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) grant award for the first phase of the Downtown Rejuvenation Project during its Monday meeting.
The city has been awarded a TIB grant that will provide partial funding for its critical transportation and infrastructure improvements along North Market Boulevard, North National Avenue, and the North Market/North National and North Front Street intersection near the railroad tracks. The total estimated cost of the first phase of the project is estimated at $8,109,650.
The grant will fund approximately 49.3% of eligible transportation-related project costs, up to a maximum of $4 million. Eligible improvements include roadway reconstruction, pedestrian and safety enhancements, intersection improvements, and stormwater system upgrades along the project corridor and at the key intersection near the railroad tracks.
TIB funding is capped, and participation is proportional; if final project costs are reduced, the TIB contribution will decrease accordingly, as will the city’s contribution, maintaining the established funding ratio.
The remaining project costs — approximately $4,109,650 — will be funded through city capital funding sources, including Transportation Benefit District (TBD) funds, the water capital fund (as needed for water-related project costs), and the wastewater capital fund (as needed for sewer-related project costs).
The estimated TBD balance is $8.7 million, as detailed in the 2026 adopted budget. TBD funds are voter-approved revenues dedicated specifically to transportation improvements and are a critical tool for providing the required local match without impacting the city’s general fund.
In addition to TIB-eligible work, the city intends to complete replacement of aging water mains and other underground utilities within the project limits. Much of this infrastructure is decades old and, in some cases, over 100 years in age. Completing these utility upgrades concurrently with roadway reconstruction is fiscally responsible, reduces long-term maintenance and emergency repair costs, and avoids future disruptions to newly reconstructed streets and sidewalks.
This project represents the first implementation phase of the Downtown Rejuvenation Master Plan, adopted by the Chehalis City Council on April 28, 2025. The master plan was developed through extensive public engagement, staff analysis, and city council direction. It identified infrastructure conditions, pedestrian safety, accessibility, traffic operations, and utility reliability as top priorities.
During the public comment period of Monday’s meeting, Experience Chehalis Executive Director Annalee Tobey requested the city council’s support of the project and gave anecdotal evidence that downtown Chehalis, which she called the “heartbeat of our community,” is in need of repair.
“The infrastructure downtown is failing. We have crumbling sidewalks and eroded curbs. In some places, there’s no curbs. In some places, there are sections of 18-foot curbing placed together until a car bumps it out of the way,” Tobey said. “[There are] broken street lamps with exposed wiring, several of which literally have duct tape holding their panels in place. We have a lack of on-street accessible parking because of the way the street is sloped currently. These are not cosmetic issues. These are basic safety and access issues.”
Larry McGee, former Executive Chehalis executive director and current chair for the new Discover! Children’s Museum planned for Centralia, also expressed his support for the project, as well as multiple citizens who submitted letters to the city.
Lance Bunker, Chehalis public works director, said “it doesn’t take a public works person” to see the issues downtown. Now that the grant has been accepted, the city’s public works team will enter “immediately” into the engineering phase, which will take most of 2026 with construction starting in 2027.
Both the north and south intersections will likely be completed by the fall of 2027, Bunker said. By 2027, the city will be eligible to once again apply for grants for Phase II, which will focus on North Market Boulevard.
The TBD will be eligible for renewal by the voters in 2027. Bunker said the TBD tax brings in approximately $1.5 million per year.
Any additional costs for the Downtown Rejuvenation Project will come back to the city council for approval.
