Paving project to close I-90 ramps near Moses Lake
A photo taken from the westbound side of Exit 176. The off ramp of Exit 174 near Love’s Travel Stop and the Chevron gas station leaving the Mae Valley area will be closed starting July 29 with the onramp for Exit 174 and both off- and onramps of Exit 176 to be closed July 31.
CHERYL SCHWEIZER/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
CORRECTION: A previous version of the story incorrectly described the roadwork being done. The ramps will be closed for planing and paving. The story has been corrected below.
MOSES LAKE — The project involving repaving a section of Interstate 90 near Moses Lake will require temporary closures of the off and on ramps from Exit 174 to Exit 179 to allow Washington State Department of Transportation contractors to work on the lanes leading up to the ramps.
“They are part of what’s necessary to get the paving project that’s going on in that region completed,” said Sebastian Moraga from the Washington State Department of Transportation’s Communications department.
The eastbound offramp of Exit 174, the Mae Valley/Hansen Road exit, is expected to be closed from noon to 6 p.m. on July 29 or from 7 a.m. to noon on July 31. Following this will be the closure of the onramp for Exit 174 which will be closed on July 31 from 7 a.m. to noon.
The final closure for July will be Exit 176 near Broadway Avenue will have the eastbound off- and onramps closed from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. July 31.
August will have three more closures for I-90 with eastbound on and off ramps of Exit 179 near SR 17 closed Aug. 5 from 7-10 p.m., westbound on and off ramps of Exit 179 closed Aug. 7 from 7-10 p.m. and westbound on and off ramps of Exit 176 closed Aug. 12 from 7-10 p.m.
This is part of a two-year paving project for I-90 with this year’s half starting on the east end at Dodson Road and running to the end of Exit 181, said Moraga.
“As part of that, we need to have these ramps closed so that the planing and the paving can be completed,” he said.
A press release by the Washington State Department of Transportation said signs will be posted on the ramp to inform travelers of the closures. Once the ramps are closed electronic message signs will inform travelers of possible detours.
“The detour that will be in place for the Mae Valley exit will be to take Frontage Road and take it all the way to the Hiawatha interchange and then loop back onto I-90 in both directions,” said Moraga.
Paving work is scheduled to run 6 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Thursday until Labor Day and then Monday through Friday until October. The only exception will be when the ramps will be closed at night, including July 31, Aug. 7 and Aug. 12 which will have work scheduled from 10 a.m.-10 p.m., as outlined in the WSDOT press release.
Moraga said residents should tune in to the real-time travel maps on wsdot.com and on DOT social media pages to stay up to date on any off and on ramp closures and any other projects that will be worked on through the rest of the year.
Ramp Closures
Eastbound Exit 174 offramp July 29, noon- 6 p.m.
Eastbound Exit 174 onramp July 31, 7 a.m.-noon
Eastbound Exit 176 offramp and onramp July 31, 7-10 p.m.
Eastbound Exit 179 offramp and onramp Aug. 5, 7-10 p.m.
Westbound Exit 179 offramp and onramp Aug. 7, 7-10 p.m.
Westbound Exit 176 offramp and onramp Aug. 12, 7-10 p.m.