After two employees were killed as they drove to work on a road in Snowqualmie, Washington, known for its dangerous lanes, the CEO of Snoqualmie Casino has offered $1 million in funding to the Washington State Department of Transportation to fix the road.
According to a news release from the casino, the money would pay for a needed assessment for a design and construction on SR 18 between Issaquah-Hobart Road and Interstate 90.
The offer comes after the Oct. 12 deaths of a mother and daughter, who were both casino employees. Maria Wong and Jasmine Lao were struck head-on on a stretch of SR 18 by a driver who crossed the center line as the two were on their way to work.
According to the casino, since 2010, there have been 25 serious-injury or fatal traffic crashes that have occurred between Issaquah-Hobart Road and I-90. Over the last 10 months, there have been seven fatalities.
A WSDOT blog post said that funding for an assessment of SR 18 will be available sometime next year.
Snoqualmie Casino CEO Brian Decorah said the casino is offering to prepay the fee so there can be immediate action if WSDOT agrees to begin the assessment in the next 90 days.
"We have 450 team members that travel this stretch of road, every day. Each day without action is another day that we wait to hear news of another tragedy. We don't want to wait. We want action, for Maria, Jasmine, and everyone that has lost a loved one on this road," Decorah said.
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