WENATCHEE — The Wenatchee City Council on Thursday approved a land exchange agreement to swap about 5 acres with the Chelan County PUD for the Confluence Parkway Project.
A draft graphic of Confluence Parkway Project mitigation overview within the land agreement from the city of Wenatchee.
Provided graphic/Chelan County PUD
The Confluence Parkway is a proposed 2.5-mile bypass project to mitigate clogging traffic on North Wenatchee Avenue. It includes a new bridge arching over the Wenatchee River. A traffic analysis reported by the city claimed capacity would jump from 40,000 to 60,000 cars per day on the North Wenatchee Avenue route.
With the land trade agreement, the city acquired the district’s land along the western edges of the Horan Natural Area and Wenatchee Confluence State Park for the Confluence Parkway Project. In return, the city will give the PUD about the same amount of its land, although potential locations are still in private ownership so the city would have to acquire them to officially offer the property.
Laura Gloria, director of executive services for the city, said at a council meeting Thursday that the city has to go through the appropriate federal and state acquisition process for those private properties.
“They’ve (PUD staff and city staff) been working on this for the better part of two years, and really got to in six months ago and have been cranking it out pretty hard,” Wenatchee Mayor Frank Kuntz said at the meeting. “Hats off to the PUD staff and our staff; they did a remarkable job.”
The PUD approved the land exchange agreement on March 20.
Discuss the news on NABUR, a place to have local conversations The Neighborhood Alliance for Better Understanding and Respect ✔ A site just for our local community ✔ Focused on facts, not misinformation ✔ Free for everyone
