Open house planned on SR-28 revisions

EPHRATA — An open house is planned in early August to detail future revisions to state Route 28 in Ephrata.

The Washington Department of Transportation is hosting the open house from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Aug. 2 before the Ephrata City Council meeting, at Ephrata City Hall, 121 Alder St. SW. The purpose of the open house is to share details and answer questions about a new highway lane configuration that is designed to do something about rear-end collisions in the city.

In south Ephrata, about 1.5 miles of SR-28, from Oasis Park to 18th Avenue Southwest, is set to be restriped and will include two lanes and a two-way center turn lane for left-turning vehicles. Over the past five years more than 30 collisions that involved rear-end crashes in vehicles stopped to turn left into driveways and businesses have been recorded in Ephrata.

Project staff will be on hand at the meeting to detail the project, provide an overview of the plans, detail the tentative work schedule and possible traffic effects.

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.