A long-awaited project is underway to upgrade and provide urban standards for Southeast 1st (First Street), originally constructed as a rural two-lane roadway. This City of Vancouver project will provide a complete urban street system, with sidewalks, bike facilities, stormwater bio-retention, street lights and sound walls where required. The project will enhance safety, increase capacity, improve the road surface, and increase connectivity for homeowners, employees and businesses along the corridor.

​The entire Southeast 1st Street Project reaches from 164th Avenue to 192nd Avenue. Using traffic volumes now and projected 20 years into the future, the proposed design envisions a three-lane street, with one lane in each direction and a center turn lane. Near the intersection of 164th Avenue, the design provides for a widened street with a right-turn lane and dual left-turn lanes. Southeast 1st Street at 192nd Avenue is currently six lanes and would remain that way under the current design.

Project Progress/Status

Updated: December 2019

The City of Vancouver has been awarded a $2 million Urban Arterial Program grant by the state Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) to help fund construction of Southeast 1st Street improvements between Southeast 177th Avenue and 192nd Avenue.

The western segment of this corridor project, between 164th Avenue and 177th Avenue, is fully funded as a result of federal grants awarded through the RTC, an earlier state TIB grant, and matching local funds provided by the City’s Street Funding Strategy revenues. Right-of way acquisition is underway. Construction of this segment is currently planned to begin in 2020.

The eastern segment, between 177th Avenue and 192nd Avenue, is currently under design as part of overall development agreement of adjacent private property, and right-of-way acquisition is anticipated in 2020. The $2 million TIB grant will support construction of this segment, currently planned to start in 2021.

The City is pursuing a Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant for $10 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation to fully fund construction of the eastern segment of the 1st Street Improvement Project. Results of that grant process are currently anticipated in 2020. See this webpage for more information about the grant application and to view a video of the project area.

Note: Federal funding requires all right-of-way acquisition strictly comply with laws/regulations that provide for uniform and equitable treatment for persons whose property is acquired for public use.

The current design and environmental work for this project is funded by $1.6 million in federal grants and about $700,000 in matching City funds. Award of the federal grants was through the Southwest Washington Regional Transportation Council (RTC), under the federal Surface Transportation Program. In addition, RTC awarded the project another $1.9 million to assist with construction. In December 2018, an additional $3 million grant was also awarded to the project by the state Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) to help fund construction of the western segment of the project, between Southeast 164th and 177th avenues. See information above about a $2 million TIB grant received in late 2019 toward construction of the eastern segment of the project.

To best utilize resources, City efforts to date have been primarily focused on the segment of First Street from 164th Avenue to 177th Avenue. This has allowed for some limited right-of-way acquisition in this segment, as well. The City will continue to seek funding to complete this high-priority project.

Vancouver's six-year Transportation Improvement Program anticipates utilizing some Street Funding Strategy revenues as leverage or match to secure additional grants for construction. Voter approval of statewide Initiative 976 in November 2019, removes the ability for local TBDs to implement a vehicle license fee, removing an important source of funding to leverage and obtain grants in the future. City staff will be working with the City Council to review replacement revenue options.

Public Input Process

Stakeholder interviews with some key adjacent properties were conducted early on in the design process of this project. Two open house gatherings, one specifically for Cascade Estates residents and one for the general public, were held in August and September 2015. Proposed design maps shown at the open house can be found below. Summaries of this public involvement to date can be found here:

The project team is continuing to work on refining the design, with much of the current work focused on 164th Avenue to 177th Avenue. To submit comments, please send to: constructioninfo@cityofvancouver

Project Background

The Southeast 1st Street Improvement Project was identified and listed in the City's annual Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) since the area was annexed to Vancouver. It continues as part of the City's most recent TIP, adopted by the Vancouver City Council. It also has been identified as a priority improvement in the Section 30 Subarea Plan (2009).

Nearby Neighborhood