State commission hears Wenatchee Metro plan to connect, preserve, diversify

WENATCHEE — Business and economic development leaders told the Washington State Transportation Commission on Wednesday that the Wenatchee Valley’s growth hinges on a familiar formula: keep working together, keep investing in chokepoint fixes, and keep broadening travel options from bridges to buses to bike paths.

Speaking at the Confluence Technology Center, Wenatchee Valley Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Steve Wilkinson said the area’s culture of collaboration makes his job “easier,” pointing to recent wins in air service, transit and downtown vitality. “It’s easy to attract businesses here because you have success stories,” he said. “Downtown is alive 18 hours a day.” He added one clear ask: “We need another flight” with an additional destination besides Seattle to better serve business travelers.

Soo Ing-Moody, Douglas County’s economic development director, framed the stakes from the county side: 1,800 square miles, roughly 46,000 residents, five far-flung cities and towns, and agriculture still accounting for about 30% of jobs. “Douglas County covers an area of approximately 1,800 square miles with a very small population, really about 46,000 people,” she said. As ag weathers higher input costs and unstable markets, she argued, the county’s future will lean on innovation and infrastructure — from hydrogen and battery manufacturing to safer highways and continuous trail links. “Transportation funding is an investment in our collective futures,” Ing-Moody said, noting the county has already committed $8 million toward the Wenatchi Landing interchange that would connect US-2/97 and SR-28 and unlock a 317-acre mixed-use district on the East Wenatchee waterfront.

Ing-Moody said a recent federal BUILD grant bid for the interchange fell short, but the project has bipartisan support in Congress, with requests submitted for $10 million in the House by Dan Newhouse and $3 million by Patty Murray in the Senate. Beyond traffic relief and freight reliability, she stressed the project’s multimodal value: Completing a continuous riverfront path that ties the Apple Capital Loop Trail to the Rocky Reach corridor. With Douglas County likely to absorb more of the region’s housing demand, she said, “connectivity is definitely going to be a challenge,” but added that non-motorized links and transit can help close the gap.

Wilkinson, who previously led economic development in Kansas and worked as a commercial banker, returned repeatedly to the way local agencies stack efforts: Link Transit’s expansion and free youth fares connecting students to college classes; coordinated outreach that helped secure and then fill a third daily Alaska Airlines flight; and “Reimagine Wenatchee” planning that’s steering safer e-bike and pedestrian links from the river trail into the core. He joked about “hover taxis,” but his practical wishlist stayed grounded: Keep executing the adopted plans, keep businesses informed during construction so they can plan, and keep transit robust as the population ages. “You take their car away [as they get older], it’s tough,” he said, calling Link a “quality-of-life” lifeline.

Both speakers underscored that freight and tourism share the same backbone. Ing-Moody called out SR-28’s role for farm products and recreation traffic alike, and said airports — regional and municipal — are “really key for us here, too.” Wilkinson said the valley’s draw is feeding a wave of entrepreneurship: spouses relocating with remote work, local startups filling new storefronts, and a “renaissance” downtown that’s bringing people in, not steering them around.

Wednesday’s session was intended as a panel, but illness sidelined three scheduled speakers. Wilkinson ended up fielding most of the Q&A, and commissioners probed the housing–transportation link: How to add middle housing and apartments without pushing workers into long commutes. Ing-Moody pointed to accessory dwelling units inside cities and realistic growth in smaller Douglas County towns — supported by frequent transit and safer bike connections. Wilkinson added that not everyone wants to live in the core and that the region’s short, scenic drives can still work — so long as the network holds together.

“You’re really coming to a special place,” Wilkinson told the commission. “My job’s easy because I just get to share success stories.”

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media