The City of Zillah has been committed to the complete Vintage Valley Parkway for years. In 2013, the Yakima Valley Conference of Governments (YVCOG), the metropolitan and regional planning organization for Yakima County, awarded regional Surface Transportation Program (STP) funding to Zillah to design the Vintage Valley Parkway. In 2015, YVCOG committed $4,900,000 to the City for the needed improvements. Often, single source funding does not provide complete funding for a $10,000,000 – $11,000,000 transportation investment. This is the case with Zillah’s Vintage Valley Parkway. As the designs were finalized it was apparent that more funding would need to be gathered for the project. The City has succeeded in obtaining grants and loans from other state, county,and regional funding sources, but remains $6,468,031 short of fully funding their $11,075,423 project.
Importance
- Reduces I-82 traffic between exits (part of the National Freight Network)
- Allows access to previously inaccessible commercial properties
- Connects residential and commercial development to the City’s core
- Eases regional movement