Vantage Bridge construction gets rolling again

VANTAGE — Among many other things, spring and summer mean roadwork. And work has already started for 2025 on the Vantage Bridge. Starting Monday, the bridge is back to a single lane of traffic in each direction.  

Summer Derrey, Washington Department of Transportation assistant communications manager for the south central region, said WSDOT is asking drivers to think about taking alternate routes.  

“As we get into those months, especially with concerts at the (Gorge Amphitheater) it may benefit travelers to choose an alternate route, whether they’re going north toward Stevens Pass or down south toward Tri-Cities,” Derrey said.  

The bridge will have one lane open in each direction seven days per week, 24 hours per day, from now until May 23. Both lanes will be open in both directions from May 23 through July 8, then will go back to one lane eastbound and westbound through the end of the construction season in late October. 

“Typically, the Vantage Bridge has four lanes, so it will be (reduced) to two lanes, one lane in each direction. We’ve got a nine-foot width restriction, and we’ve got reduced speeds as well,” she said.  

Derry said work on the bridge will continue during late May and June, but it will have less effect on travel. 

“(Construction crews) are taking a pause so they can work on other aspects of construction,” Derrey said. “It just so happens that is (a period) of peak summer travel, so it benefits the travelers. During that pause, they’re going to have some single lane closures, but it’s not going to be the full 24/7, so some impacts but not as significant.” 

Traffic controllers known as ramp meters are going to be installed on two roads on the west side of the Columbia River around Vantage to help regulate heavy traffic.  

“One will be on the ramp at Huntzinger looping eastbound into I-90 across the bridge,” Derry said. “The second ramp meter is for traffic eastbound coming off the old Vantage Highway.” 

The goal is to help even out the flow of traffic, she said. 

“Ramp meters are traffic signals that operate according to real-time conditions on the highway and ramp. The traffic signals provide consistent gaps between vehicles and prevent multiple vehicles from flooding the highway at once,” Derrey said.  

Drivers should expect delays — sometimes long delays — eastbound and westbound at the bridge while the lane closures are in effect, she said. Typically, the longest delays are eastbound Friday and westbound Sunday. 

As a result, WSDOT officials are asking drivers to consider taking alternate routes, with three major options. One route uses U.S. 2 over Stevens Pass to Leavenworth and Wenatchee. The second uses State Route 970 from Cle Elum to U.S. 97 over Blewett Pass to Wenatchee. In both cases, drivers use SR 28 and SR 281 through Quincy to get ack to I-90. The third goes from Ellensburg to Yakima, Interstate 82 to Pasco, and then U.S. 395 to Ritzville.  

“We really want to advise drivers not to take the old Vantage Highway as a detour,” Derrey said. “There are other ways around.” 

The Vantage Highway is the alternate route from Vantage to Ellensburg. Vehicles get off and on I-90 at Vantage. However, the Vantage Highway was not designed for large volumes of traffic, she said.  

    The Washington Department of Transportation is urging drivers to look for alternate routes to cross the state while the Vantage Bridge is under construction.