Warden Port Commission solicits support for SR17 improvements

WARDEN — The Port of Warden is soliciting letters of support to the Washington State Department of Transportation for safety improvements at the intersection of S.R. 17 and S.R. 170, just west of Warden, which likely means replacing the intersection with a roundabout.

“We’re waiting for support letters, we should 15 or 16 when done,” said Pat Boss, director of government affairs with the Columbia Basin Railroad, during a regular meeting of the Port of Warden Commission on Thursday. “Most of the Warden community agrees, something needs to be done about that intersection.”

Pat Millard, executive director of the Port of Warden, said that the wait time to make left turns either from southbound S.R. 17 onto S.R. 170 east to Warden, or from westbound S.R. 170 south toward Othello, can sometimes result in waiting for traffic back up all to the to Road R, about 1,000 feet. Millard also said a roughly seven-mile stretch of S.R. 17 from Road 5 south to Road 12 — the Adams County line — has averaged around nine accidents per year since 2018.

“We’re trying to get the state to fix that,” Millard said of both the wait time and the number of accidents.

Boss said the Washington State Department of Transportation has already done both a traffic study and engineering work on a roundabout at S.R. 17 and S.R. 170, but that the project has not yet received state funding so a date for construction has not yet been set. The letters of support are necessary to encourage the state to put the project — or any improvements at the intersection — on the list of funded projects.

Whatever the state does at that intersection to improve safety, Boss said the Port of Warden needs to be as supportive as it can.

“We want to be helpful with WashDOT regarding improvements,” he said. “We want to see funding. It is an infrastructure issue that will help the Warden area.”

Boss said the state is also considering approval of a $14 million, redesigned improvement of the rail interchange at Connell connecting the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad with the Columbia Basin Railroad. The redesign reduces the cost of the proposed improvement, and the approving funding covers about 80% of the estimated cost of the project, Boss said.

“Both projects directly affect Warden,” Boss said. “We need to make sure both projects get funded and completed, and that will help out Warden, Othello and Moses Lake.”

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached at cfeatherstone@columbiabasinherald.com