A COMMUNITY ROOTED IN HISTORY AND HOSPITALITY “The average person doesn’t know where Union Gap starts, and Yakima ends. So, we’re very close neighbors. They are basically our bedroom community, and we’re the commercial side,” says Mayor John Hodkinson. Union Gap’s charm is evident in its public spaces, including Ahtanum Youth Park, offering an ideal space for sports and recreation, and Fullbright Park, home to the Central Washington Agricultural Museum. One of the largest of its kind in the Pacific Northwest, the museum showcases more than 150 antique tractors and over 1,000 pieces of historic machinery and is a major draw to the community. “We’re proud to be associated with it,” shares City Manager, Sharon Bounds. “They’ve got acres of exhibits that showcase life on the farm over the past 100 years.” City events from car shows and tractor swaps to the beloved Old Town Days and parades further enrich the community, drawing visitors from near and far and cementing Union Gap’s reputation as close-knit and welcoming. THE BELTWAY PROJECT- A CITY TRANSFORMED Key to the city’s growth is the ambitious Beltway Project, a $53 million investment that is changing Union Gap’s economic and physical landscape. Originally introduced over two decades ago, the project has evolved in several phases, with the completion of phase one in 2016, and phase three in 2020 as part of a WSDOT initiative. Currently, phase two is under development. “We’ve got one more layer of asphalt to put down on that,” recounts Jason Cavanaugh, Director of Public Works. “It’s basically two miles of roadway with some roundabouts that could open up land for current developers. It ties into the final piece, which is a connector into State Route 97 and Interstate 82. The idea there is to allow freight traffic to be able to bypass the downtown corridor in order to get to the interstate more effectively.” With phase 2b currently being finalized, Union Gap is now working to secure additional federal 239 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 03 UNION GAP, WA
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