Othello roundabout, I-90 paving focus of WSDOT projects in Columbia Basin

OTHELLO — Drivers using state Route 26 this summer should prepare for some road closures and delays around Othello as Washington Department of Transportation crews install a roundabout at the highway’s intersection with South First Avenue. Repaving of a substantial section of Interstate 90 between Vantage and Moses Lake also starts this summer.

A second Othello-area roundabout has been put on hold. A roundabout was supposed to be built at the intersection of State Route 17 and Cunningham Road, which is Main Street where it runs through Othello. That project had been pushed back a couple of times, was rescheduled for this summer. Sebastian Moraga, WSDOT public information officer, said that the intersection is no longer on the 2025 schedule.  

“Cunningham (roundabout) has been put on hold,” Moraga said. “We are going to find out whether Cunningham gets funded around the beginning of the next fiscal year – May (or) June.” 

Construction is scheduled to begin sometime in the summer, according to the DOT website, and is projected to cost about $2.5 million.  

Ellen Guisfredi, DOT assistant project engineer for the roundabout, told Othello City Council members in December that the project should take about 55 working days, which she said would equal about three months.  

Once it’s finished drivers will be able to cross SR 26 from South First Avenue to state Route 24 (South Broadway Avenue in Othello), which currently requires a detour via Columbia Street. Vehicles will be able to turn left at that intersection from SR 26 to SR 24, which isn’t allowed there now. 

A lot of truck traffic uses that intersection, and Guisfredi said the design takes that into account. It will be what she called a compact roundabout, with lower curbs and without the mound of rocks in the center.  

“It will have a fully mountable truck apron as a lot of heavy traffic and very large trucks come through this intersection,” she said. “It is designed for larger vehicles because of the large truck movement coming through the area.” 

Moraga said drivers should be prepared for delays when the work starts. 

"The roundabout will have closures, will require detours and will have a (big) impact,” he said. “ 

Guisfredi said the detours will affect people trying to access SR 26. 

“The majority of (traffic control) will be alternating one-lane traffic with temporary signals on state Route 26,” Guisfredi said. “We won’t be detouring highway traffic, but we will be detouring traffic that is on city and county roads. So any traffic attempting to enter 26 at this intersection will be directed to use detour (routes).”   

The I-90 paving project is scheduled for both directions, Moraga said. Crews will be working from the Vantage Bridge to George, then the separate section from Dodson Road to Mae Valley, according to the DOT website. 

Crews will be shaving down the existing surface and repaving the road, along with fixing cracks, adding signage and lane markings. The total project cost is about $8 million.  

Drivers staying on I-90 may experience delays, but they won’t have to detour, Moraga said. Getting on and off I-90 in the project areas may require taking an alternate route.  

“We always make some room – we always leave one lane for people to get through,” he said. “There will also be some short-term ramp closures during working hours, and traffic will be detoured to the nearest interchange on the closed ramps.” 

When construction is underway, crews will be working from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. on the section from Vantage to George. Construction work will be from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Dodson Road to Mae Valley. 

The DOT website doesn’t have a start date, but Moraga said it’s scheduled for midsummer. 

“So that is scheduled to start the first of July. Given that it is not a complicated project, but it is also not a small project, it’s almost certainly going to be interrupted and continued next year at some point,” he said. “So it’s going to be a summertime project that more likely than not will have to continue in 2026.” 

The Vantage Bridge, of course, is in the process of being rebuilt; 2025 will be the second year of a planned four-year project. Work on the bridge resumes in March, according to the DOT website.  

One lane of the bridge will be closed in each direction beginning in March, and the lanes will be narrower. Speeds will be restricted in the work zone. Vehicles more than nine feet wide will not be allowed. 

It being spring and summer while the work is underway, and that being travel season, drivers should be prepared for delays on Fridays and Sundays, the DOT website said. As was the case last summer, drivers will be encouraged to find alternate routes.