Four lanes to stay on E. Wheeler Road

MOSES LAKE — A section of East Wheeler Road won’t be reconfigured to one lane in each direction and a left-turn lane. Moses Lake City Council members voted 6-1 July 22 to agree to a request from businesses along Wheeler Road to keep the current lane configuration.

“We’ve been doing a better job lately of trying to get in front of the public, and in this case, at least we got there before we did it. And we heard from some of our largest taxpayers, loud and clear, what they would like,” Councilmember Mark Fancher said. 

It’s a change from the original design, and the city will have to pay the cost of resurfacing, estimated at $250,000. Fancher said he thought it was important that the request for a change came before the project started. 

Councilmember Don Myers voted no. 

Wheeler Road is part of a larger project to resurface streets in Moses Lake’s downtown area and along East Hill Street as well as East Wheeler Road. Some sections are two lanes in each direction; some are one lane each way. The original design called for the sections that are currently two lanes in each direction to be changed to one lane in each direction with a left turn lane.  

The project will be funded with money from the Transportation Improvement Board, and Levi Bisnett, city design engineer, said TIB would not pay for that section if the council opted to keep the existing configuration. 

Councilmember Deanna Martinez said there were opportunities for Wheeler Road businesses to express their opinions before a design was completed. She was glad they met with city officials before the project started, since it’s important to hear from the city’s population and businesses.  

“Having been down in that area, because my father used to run a family trucking business, I know how busy Wheeler can get. I also would be open to keeping it at four lanes,” she said. 

The businesses did support the planned roundabout at Wheeler and Road L Northeast, Fancher said. The roundabout will be one lane in each direction, and Fancher said that might change traffic on Wheeler. 

The road can be restriped if city officials think it needs to be, he said. 

“Let’s see how it flows,” Fancher said.