Median barrier installed on SR 17

MOSES LAKE - No delays are expected, but drivers will experience some lane shifting over the next few months as median barriers are installed on state Route 17.

The $1.25 million project will wrap up in late September and involves paving the median and installing concrete barriers from Kittleson Road Northeast to where the four lanes end north of Patton Boulevard, according to the Washington Department of Transportation.

Tri-State Construction Co. of Bellevue is doing the work, which will typically be carried out from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. The job requires one lane of travel to be shut down while crews excavate dirt and install asphalt and the concrete barrier, according to WSDOT project engineer Eric Pierson. Crews will also be excavating ditches off the outside shoulders.

This portion of SR 17 was among those determined to require a median barrier for safety after an analysis of state routes across Washington, Pierson said.

Since the route is so narrow a rigid barrier is necessary to block vehicles from entering lanes of oncoming traffic, Pierson said, unlike more flexible cable barriers as seen on I-90.

A sign bridge at Grape Drive was removed to allow space for the median barrier. It will be replaced with a cantilever structure, Pierson said, which is designed to hold overhead signs closer to one side of the road.

The project began July 5 and should be complete by late September.