THE COWLITZ TRIBE would pay for a construction project to widen the bridge over I-5 at the La Center exit if it is allowed to build a casino in the area. Photo by Steve Kadel
THE BRIDGE UPGRADE and other work would cost an estimated $30 million, all of which would be paid by the Cowlitz Tribe. Photo by Steve Kadel
The Cowlitz Tribe is working toward a possible $30 million development project at the I-5 La Center interchange.
It would proceed if the tribe succeeds in its bid to have 152 acres it owns at the intersection put into trust, allowing construction of a casino. The case currently is in federal appeals court.
“We won’t do the improvements to the interchange unless the tribe gets a casino there,” said Steve Horenstein, attorney for Salishan-Mohegan LLC, the Cowlitz Tribe’s development partner. “We are going to widen the bridge over the freeway and realign the frontage roads on both sides to accommodate that.”
The tribe would pay all construction costs, he said. No state or federal money would be involved.
Realignment of Paradise Park Road east of I-5 also would be part of the project. Horenstein said land needed for that part of the development already is under contract.
The timetable anticipated by the Cowlitz Tribe and Salishan-Mohegan LLC shows construction beginning in spring 2016 and concluding in fall 2017. Current work is focusing on completing the Interchange Justification Report (IJR), a planning document that supports redesign and reconstruction of the intersection.
The IJR includes such things as the interchange form, ramp layout and traffic control, frontage road alignments and NW 319th Avenue realignment. Both the Washington State Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration must approve the finished IJR. That step is anticipated by August, according to the tribe’s timetable.
“We’re in the IJR process and doing a fair amount of technical work,” Horenstein said.
He recently made a presentation to City of La Center officials outlining the tribe’s intentions. Part of that meeting updated the federal litigation situation.
That issue began in December 2010 when the Department of Interior issued its decision to take the Cowlitz land in trust under the Indian Reorganization Act and declare it the tribe’s initial reservation. That step made it eligible for a casino under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
However, the La Center cardrooms, Clark County, the City of Vancouver, the Grand Ronde Tribe and some individuals filed complaints in District of Columbia federal district court. Those complaints challenged the Department of Interior’s decision as arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to law.
After some court decisions, the parties have requested oral arguments before a judge. A date hasn’t been set but Horenstein indicated during his meeting with La Center officials it may come within a few months, with a decision yet this year.
If things go as the Cowlitz Tribe hopes, design of the revamped intersection would take place from January 2015 to January 2016, setting the stage for construction.
