Traffic projects coming to I-90, SR 282

MOSES LAKE — Drivers on Interstate 90 between Road O NE and Dodson Road should be prepared for delays beginning in mid-July. Sebastian Moraga, communications consultant for the Washington Department of Transportation, said construction crews will be paving both the eastbound and westbound lanes.

“This year it will be day work,” Moraga said.  

Construction crews will be shaving down the top layers of the existing pavement and repaving, along with fixing cracks, adding signage and lane markings. Crews will be working from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., according to the WSDOT website. 

Speeds will be reduced to 40 to 55 miles per hour in the work zone, and there will be short-term ramp closures during working hours. The work is expected to last through the end of the construction season in October.  

Originally, crews were going to be repaving another section from the Vantage Bridge to George, but it was broken into two phases. The Vantage Bridge-George section is scheduled for next spring.  

Project cost, including both phases, is about $8 million. 

Bids were opened Wednesday for a project to build a roundabout at the intersection of State Route 282 and Nat Washington Way in Ephrata. Grant County Central Services Director Tom Gaines said the project is going require a major disruption on SR 282. 

“We are going to close SR 282 entirely,” Gaines said. “It’s going to be very impactful.” 

The project is scheduled to start in mid-July and last through mid-September. 

“The 21st of July is what we’re shooting for,” he said. 

The way the intersection is laid out and right-of-way constraints, among other things, make it impossible to keep both lanes open, he said. 

“It’s a difficult roundabout to get done,” Gaines said. “There’s so much that goes into building a roundabout.” 

Closing the intersection will shorten the project timeline; Gaines estimated it would cut four to six weeks off construction. 

Traffic will be routed down Airport Road Southeast, but Gaines said county officials will be meeting with Ephrata and Ephrata School District officials to talk about detour options. County officials will be starting an information campaign on detour routes following that meeting. 

Bids will be opened July 2 for the first phase of a project to rebuild sections of Schoonover Road north of Ritzville. 

“This is a reconstruction that is widening (the road), with a new subbase and surfacing with asphalt, drainage facilities and safety rail where needed,” said Adams County Engineer Scott Yaeger in an earlier interview.   

Total cost for the first phase of the project is about $3.13 million. 

The DOT announced the completion of a pilot project that added speed cameras to a section of I-90 near Spokane and Interstate 5 in Skagit County. The cameras were installed April 10 as part of a pilot project. 

The cameras tracked vehicle speeds in the two test areas, detecting 277 vehicles averaging 100 miles per hour or more, according to a WSDOT press release. Drivers who were caught speeding received a notice telling them so, with information about the possible fines.