Unforeseen issues add $200,000 to Port of Camas-Washougal’s 41st Street project

The Port of Camas-Washougal’s effort to build a new street in the Steigerwald Commerce Center industrial park has hit a speed bump that will add about $200,000 to the project’s cost.

McKay Sposito, a Vancouver-based consultant firm, agreed to a contract with the port in 2024 to design and construct 41st Street, which will connect Lincoln and Grant streets near the port’s industrial park. The firm has since requested a contract amendment to address “a multitude of issues” at the project site, said Jennifer Taylor, the port’s environmental and projects manager.

“The project began with the wetland impacts … being far greater than expected, which triggered additional wetland delineation, topographic survey and environmental permitting work, and an alignment study for the realignment of the road, which was not anticipated,” Taylor Wilson, a project manager for MacKay Sposito, stated in a letter to the port.

The amendment extends to Jan. 1, 2029, and will add $212,183 to the project’s budget, bringing the contract amount to $779,121 for professional engineering services.

“The delays of the engineering and the funding (are) making the project even more expensive,” Port of Camas-Washougal Commissioner Larry Keister said.

The project will construct approximately 1,300 feet of new roadway in an effort to enable future development opportunities at the east end of the industrial park.

“I would like to see a more diverse development of the east end to take advantage of the view of Steigerwald Wildlife Refuge and access to the dike trail,” Keister said. “It’s a totally different personality than the core of our industrial park, and we need to take advantage of that.”

The port hopes to install electric vehicle charging stations along the street, according to Keister.

“Not only for cars, but also for potential future electric trucks, (which) will have different charging system requirements,” he said. “That would be an ideal location for that type of service. The infrastructure for the future is what we’re looking at for 41st Street.”

The port now hopes to complete the project by late 2028.