ML Downtown work slated for July 31

Tentative intersection closure scheduled for Aug. 8

Editor's note: For complete coverage of proposed detours and closures during the downtown redesign, see next Friday's Columbia Basin Herald.

MOSES LAKE — Contractors originally scheduled to begin work Monday on a downtown reconstruction and revitalization project will now begin work July 31.

The redesign aimed at revitalizing downtown is the result of numerous study sessions and public meetings over the last two years, and will bring wider sidewalks and roundabouts to one and a half blocks of Third Avenue. The adjacent Sinkiuse Square parking lot will also see construction, and will be transformed into a plaza with a stage, landscaping and rest room.

Moses Lake project engineer Richard Law said work on the street itself, which will close the intersection of Division Street and Third Avenue, will begin Aug. 8. Law said the intersection of Ash Street and Third Avenue will be open during the initial phases of construction and closed at a later date.

"The current plan is to concentrate on that intersection and get it back in service as soon as possible," Law said.

The city is working to coordinate traffic signals and traffic detours when the intersections are closed. Access to the post office via the alley between the building and Sinkiuse Square will remain open during construction, Law said, but the remainder of the Sinkiuse Square parking lot will house project equipment and remain closed throughout the project.

City staff members have been working with the Moses Lake Business Association to accommodate business owners during the closure, and Law said the city will provide updates to the businesses through meetings with the contractor.

The city has also required the contractor, MRM Construction of Ellensburg, to provide pedestrian access to businesses via a temporary walking surface beginning at noon each day.

MRM Construction was awarded a $1.92 million contract for the redesign. With engineering, design and other fees, the city expects the project to cost approximately $2.3 million.

Work was originally scheduled to start Monday, but was delayed one week to allow the contractor and project equipment to get in place. Law said the project is scheduled to be complete, and the street reopened, by the end of November.