Continuing its effort to promote safety along SR 18, Snoqualmie Casino will launch a free employee commuter shuttle on June 10th, providing its employees with a safer ride across the historically dangerous, 7-mile stretch of SR 18 between Tiger Mountain and Issaquah-Hobart Road.
According to a news release, the decision to launch the commuter shuttle came after the tragic loss of two casino team members, a mother and daughter, last October, during their morning commute on SR 18.
Since 2010, there have been 25 serious injury or fatal traffic accidents on that stretch of highway. Four of those fatalities were Snoqualmie Casino employees.
In November of 2018, Snoqualmie Casino and the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe offered the WSDOT $1 million to speed up the process of widening SR 18 and began lobbying for additional funds for the necessary improvements.
Last month, state legislators allocated $26.9 million in additional funding toward SR 18 improvements in the new transportation budget. Snoqualmie Casino still decided to take further action.
“While we are thankful that the state has put funding in the budget, we understand that highway improvements take time,” said Snoqualmie Casino President and CEO Brian Decorah. “With over 40% of our workforce commuting over Tiger Mountain every day, the Snoqualmie Tribal Council put safety over profits by providing our work family with a safer and sturdier vehicle for their daily commute.”
The employee shuttle, operated by professional drivers employed by the casino, will run continuously, Monday through Saturday, 2AM-12:30AM. It will travel between Covington and Snoqualmie Casino, providing free transportation to casino employees during the times that most of the serious-injury and fatal accidents occurred.
