Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire's proposed Washington Jobs Now Initiative includes funding for Washington State University Vancouver's planned engineering and teaching facility, which is expected to break ground in 2009.
Southwest Washington could directly receive a little more than 11 percent of the proposed $427 million total package, which is intended to create jobs in the construction industry.
The governor has asked state legislators to act quickly on its approval.
In the plan, the governor reserved $38.6 million for construction of WSU Vancouver's Applied Technology and Classroom building. Construction on the building is expected to conclude in 2011, giving a home to the school's new electrical engineering program with specialized laboratories, classrooms, departmental offices and student support spaces.
The project proposal is considered a top capital budget priority at WSU, and is expected to bolster the local technological workforce.
"The traded sector of the economy here is really dominated by (the) silicon cluster. The number of jobs in that industry is one of the pieces that documents the demand" for the project, said WSU Vancouver Chancellor Hal Dengerink in a previous conversation with the VBJ. "The feedback we get from local (tech) companies is that there's no place to hire from in Southwest Washington."
In 2008, total enrollment for WSU Vancouver's science, technology, engineering and math programs rose 23 percent.
The other regional project included in the governor's package is concrete rehabilitation on Interstate 5 from North Kelso to Castle Rock worth $9.5 million, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.
A spokeswoman from the governor's office said awards were granted to projects that would have completed designs by the end of January 2009 and would be ready for bidding by the end of April.
