Pierce County business, labor and community leaders have worked tirelessly to secure the funding necessary to complete SR-167 for decades. The new working group is aimed at bringing together the stakeholders who have been working on this issue into a single group with a unified agenda and message.
The uncompleted portion of SR-167 is a critical missing link in Washington’s transportation system. Without completion, over the next two decades Washington risks losing out on significant amounts of new public and private revenue to other ports along the Pacific coast. The new revenue would be generated primarily by increased containerized cargo traffic.
Completion of SR-167 would also reduce congestion and commute times between Tacoma and Puyallup as well as provide other indirect benefits to the local economy.
The working group named Tim Thompson of Thompson Smitch Consulting Group to coordinate efforts amongst the stakeholders. Thompson is President of the firm and has long been involved in issues that jointly benefit the public and private sectors.
The members of the SR-167 Completion Coalition’s executive committee are as follows:
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Co-Chair:
Dick Marzano, Port of Tacoma Commissioner
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Co-Chair:
John Parrot, TOTE (Totem Ocean Trailer Express)
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Congressman
Denny Heck, Washington’s 10th Congressional District
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Pat
McCarthy, Pierce County Executive
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Marilyn
Strickland, Mayor of Tacoma
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Pete
Lewis, Mayor of Auburn
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Glen
Hull, Mayor Pro-tem City of Fife
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Tom
Pierson, Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber President & CEO
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Bill
Sterud, Puyallup Tribe
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Scott
Mason, International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 23
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Toby
Murray, Murray Pacific Corporation
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Tim
Thompson, Project Consultant
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