ROAD REPORT: Both lanes of Vantage Bridge will be open through summer

MOSES LAKE — State Route 17 repaving project through Moses Lake is in the homestretch. Crews were working at the intersection of SR 17 and Wheeler Road Wednesday night.

The project involves removing the top two to three inches of asphalt and replacing them with new asphalt, as well as repaving bridges, the Stratford Road overpass and its onramps and offramps. The road has been repaved from the bridge at I-90 to the intersection with South Pioneer Way, and now crews are working north to the intersection of Patton Boulevard.

People traveling through Wenatchee June 17 should plan for delays west of the Easy Street roundabout as crews work on a mile-long stretch of U.S. Highway 2.

The section at Sunnyslope to the State Route 285 onramp will be resurfaced with chip seal, according to a WSDOT press release. The work is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Drivers should expect single-lane closures through the work area, reduced speeds and loose rocks on the roadway. 

The Washington Department of Transportation officials have changed the work schedule for the Vantage Bridge project on Interstate 90, keeping it open on weekends through Labor Day weekend. 

One lane of the bridge will be closed eastbound from Monday morning through Thursday evening, with one lane closed westbound Monday morning through Friday evening. That’s a change from the original schedule, which projected closing one lane in each direction seven days per week through the summer.

Over the summer there’s a 10-foot width restriction both eastbound and westbound while crews are working. The speed limit is 40 miles per hour during work hours. 

All lanes on the bridge will be open from July 1 through 8, and for Labor Day weekend, 7 a.m. Aug. 30 through 8 p.m. Sept. 3.

Summer Derrey, assistant communications manager for the WSDOT South Central region, said one lane of the bridge eastbound and westbound will be closed 24 hours per day, seven days a week after Labor Day through the end of the construction season in late October. When that schedule goes into effect, loads will be restricted to nine feet. That’s an update from earlier schedules, Derrey said.

Crews are repairing the bridge deck, which is showing signs of deterioration — yes, that is the Columbia River visible through some of those potholes. Work is scheduled for each spring, summer and fall at least through 2026.

Rock blasting work tentatively is scheduled to begin next week along a section of I-90 currently under construction near Easton. Stretches of the freeway will be closed for short periods while the blasting is underway. 

The section is being widened from two to three lanes in each direction, Derrey said, and reoriented. There are frequent traffic backups in that section during the summer, she said, especially eastbound Friday and westbound Sunday.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at cschweizer@columibabasinherald.com. 

   A roller compacts newly laid asphalt on SR 17. Work near Moses Lake is getting closer to completion as new portions of smooth pavement cover rough road base regularly.
  

    The Vantage Bridge on I-90 will remain open on weekends through Labor Day weekend. As the project moves forward though, travelers should plan for closures or restrictions on the bridge.