NISQUALLY INDIAN COMMUNITY, Wash. — Growing up on the Nisqually River, Willie Frank, III, has seen the river change, and not for the better.
“The bank is rotting away, the sandbars in the middle of the river, those never used to be there,” said Frank, III, chair of the Nisqually Tribal Council.
Instead of building Interstate 5 on piers above the river, the state used landfill for some of the foundation, permanently changing the route of the river.
Decades later, the changes could lead to catastrophic problems, economically and for commuters in the state. A U.S. Geological Survey predicts the bridge over the river could be wiped out by floods within 20 years, cutting off a vital portion of I-5.
Monday morning Frank, III, led a boat tour of the Nisqually River with U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, U.S. Representative Marilyn Strickland, and Gov. Jay Inslee.
“It’s necessary we do this now,” said Inslee. “This river is fast and it’s moving sand by the ton fast ... and we have some long-term risk, so I'm glad we're moving on this.”
State lawmakers have authorized nearly $80 million to look at replacing or repairing the stretch of highway, but those projects could cost more than $4 billion.
Sen. Cantwell said federal infrastructure funding could cover some of the costs.
"We're hoping to get a game plan of how the state and federal partners can work together to try to look at those numbers and see how they might be used for this project,” said Cantwell.
Rep. Strickland said the federal government and the state need to take action.
"We typically are responding to crises,” said Strickland. “We have to get ahead of this."