Laserfiche WebLink
<br /> <br />Chapter 4 TRANSPORTATION <br />KITTITAS COUNTY <br />Page 41 Comprehensive Plan <br />For connections outside of the County, Greyhound has a service with a stop in Ellensburg, the Apple Line bus <br />travels north into Chelan and Okanogan counties, and the Bellair private charter bus takes residents to and <br />from the SeaTac Airport. <br />Grant and Kittitas Counties were recently awarded a grant to create an express route from Ellensburg at <br />Central Washington University to Moses Lake in Grant County. This project will facilitate travel between the <br />counties along the I-90 corridor. <br /> Freight Network <br />Freight and goods movement is a vital and often underappreciated component of the transportation <br />network. Everyone is directly impacted by how goods are delivered to ports, distribution centers, stores and <br />homes. Freight movement is essential in Kittitas County in order to bring goods to citizens as well as to <br />export products such as the world famous Timothy Hay grown in Kittitas County. <br />Kittitas County is home to a number of key freight-generating and time-sensitive industries, including <br />agriculture and forestry. Providing a transportation system that accommodates these key economic <br />generators and the timely movement of goods is <br />important to Kittitas County. <br />The Washington State Department of Transportation <br />(WSDOT) has identified the state’s major truck <br />corridors. They rank the corridors by the amount of <br />goods that they carry each year, measured in gross <br />tons annually. The region is also bisected by a major <br />railroad corridor carrying over 5 million tons of goods <br />each year. These freight modes are major economic <br />drivers in the region, both as customers to the <br />businesses along the routes and as providers of goods <br />movement for producers and growers in the County. <br /> Bowers Field Airport <br />Bowers Field (ELN) is the largest airport in Kittitas County and is located just north of Ellensburg. Home to the <br />Central Washington University Flight training program, it provides regional connections for tourism, <br />emergency medical services, and firefighting operations. In 2012, it supported 129 jobs and $11.8 million in <br />regional economic activity 6. <br />Bowers Field is planning for significant capital construction over the next six years to better serve small jet <br />aircraft and increase economic development opportunities. <br /> Auto Network and Level of Service <br />With many Kittitas County residents and employees relying on vehicles as their primary mode of <br />transportation, the County’s roadway network is critical to the transportation system. Growth within the <br /> <br />6 WSDOT. 2012. “Airport Economic Profile”. https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/A3DF6FC9-CB27-4CBD-BAA4- <br />31F26BC08896/0/2012BowersField.pdf <br />Freight trucks are important for economic success but <br />also bring transportation and safety challenges.