Traffic concerns: Hansen Road interchange gets spotlight

MOSES LAKE — Increasing residential development in Mae Valley and plans for a new truck stop at the Hansen Road exit on Interstate 90 have focused attention on traffic flows and traffic volume around the interchange.

Chris Keifenheim, Washington Department of Transportation assistant regional director administrator for engineering for the north central region, said the interchange probably dates to the 1960s, and met the standards when it was built.

“How it (the interchange) is currently does not meet the current standard,” he said.

Love’s Travel Stop has submitted plans to the city of Moses Lake for a convenience store and truck stop on the south side of I-90 at Hansen Road. Part of that plan is traffic revisions to the roads surrounding the property, including the eastbound on- and off-ramps.

Keifenheim said the revisions will help when it comes to eastbound traffic exiting and entering I-90. Both the eastbound off-ramp and on-ramp will be lengthened, which will bring them up to current standards. The changes will help drivers when they’re slowing down at the off-ramp and speeding up at the on-ramp, he said.

The westbound on- and off-ramp meet current standards, he said. Westbound traffic enters and exits on the north side of the freeway, and uses the Hansen Road overpass.

The solutions to any traffic problems at the Hansen Road interchange will only partially be the responsibility of the Washington Department of Transportation. The approaches from either side are the responsibility of the city. So any revisions to the intersection, widening the overpass or redoing approaches, would involve both the city and the DOT.

Department of Transportation officials evaluate sections of the highway system every couple of years, including interchanges, looking at the number of collisions. Currently, the Hansen Road interchange is experiencing about the number of collisions engineers would expect, Keifenheim said.

Those evaluations influence which projects are selected for DOT funding. Projects also can be funded through requests from legislators for the capital budget, and Keifenheim said the legislative request, at least right now, would be the most likely way to obtain funding for upgrades at the Hansen Road interchange.

The roads leading to and from the interchange are within the city of Moses Lake. And the city may have opportunities to apply for funding for projects to alleviate traffic concerns, he said. City officials have commissioned a traffic study for Hansen Road, Mae Valley and the residential developments south of I-90. That study is scheduled for release in June.

There are possibilities for relieving traffic congestion that don’t involve rebuilding the overpass, Keifenheim said, and roundabouts are among them. Roundabouts are usually among the first options when traffic revisions are discussed, he said.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached at [email protected].