The 2022 supplemental budget passed by state legislators on Thursday, March 10, includes three priorities for Snoqualmie.

On the transportation side, the state will spend $640 million to widen State Route 18 between Deep Creek and Issaquah-Hobart Road.

That stretch of the highway was the last in need of construction funding. With construction near the interchange expected to begin this summer, the entire highway is expected to be widened to four lanes, with 10-foot-wide shoulders on each side.

The project would also create a median barrier all the way from Issaquah-Hobart Road until the I-90 intersection, in an effort to eliminate head-on collisions. The only break in the barrier would be a small section just past the Tiger Mountain trailhead for an emergency vehicle turn-around.

Also included in the transportation budget was $5 million to repave the Snoqualmie Parkway. That represents about 80% of the $6.4 million needed to complete the project.

That remaining 20% could be paid by city taxpayers, assuming the city is unsuccessful in its attempt to convert the road’s jurisdiction to the state. The city is expected to hear an update on that request in July.

The state’s operating budget also earmarks $150,000 in one-time grant funds to Snoqualmie to start a behavioral health coordinator pilot program.

That coordinator would be a licensed mental health or substance abuse professional that works alongside Snoqualmie Police, Snoqualmie Fire, Eastside Fire & Rescue and other first responders.

As part of the program, the city would submit a report to the state Legislature and other agencies about the coordinator’s work and how the program could be introduced in other cities.