Future
The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) plans to extend the highway to be 6 miles (9.7 km) long, originating at Interstate 5 in the Tillicum neighborhood of Lakewood, Washington. A four-lane, divided highway with four intersections over its entire length, SR 704 may improve access to and between the military installations by providing an exclusive roadway between Fort Lewis and McChord AFB. It could also connect the developing industrial areas of DuPont and Frederickson as well as provide an east–west alternate thoroughfare to overcrowded State Route 512.
When voters rejected a November 2007 ballot measure which would fund the construction, most of the project was put on hold. However, on June 20, 2008, the WSDOT awarded a $7.35 million dollar contract to Ceccanti Inc. for widening of the eastern 0.7 miles (1.1 km) of the route between Spanaway Loop Road and State Route 7. Groundbreaking was July 30, 2008. Assistant Project Engineer John Ho says that the project is scheduled to be completed by 2017 at the earliest.
The WSDOT puts the 2007 price tag for the highway at $480 million. However, only $43 million has been funded, requiring at least $437 million. Of this gap, only $50 million had been expected to be funded by a failed 2007 ballot initiative which in the end did not include the project.
These figures are expected to increase considerably due to rising costs of construction materials and fuel.
Read more about this topic: Washington State Route 704
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