Roundabout proposed between Ephrata and Soap Lake

EPHRATA — A new roundabout will be coming to State Route 28 between Ephrata and Soap Lake, probably in 2028. The Washington Department of Transportation is looking for information and ideas from Ephrata-area residents while the project is still in design. 

“We are here to get as much information as possible. Information that we don’t have,” said Daniel Turner, WSDOT Complete Streets team lead for the North Central Region. Turner talked about the proposal at the regular meeting of the Ephrata City Council Wednesday.  

The roundabout will be at the intersection of Alder Street Northwest and SR 28. Roundabout design is scheduled for 2026, with construction in 2028. Turner said the project has secured funding so it’s likely to be built, although the dates could change.  

“We do know that this is a high-speed, control intersection,” he said. “When we were looking at alternatives, signalized treatment was kind of ruled out. Because all it would do at a high-speed intersection would transfer the type of collisions from angled collisions to rear-end collisions.”  

SR 28 is two lanes in each direction through that section, but the roundabout won’t be. 

“We are working with the concept of a single-lane roundabout,” he said. 

Turner said the projected cost means the project qualifies for the Complete Streets program. Complete Streets projects must make accommodation for walkers and bike riders as well as vehicles, he said. 

The DOT has a lot of information about that intersection – as they do for roads throughout the state, he said. But not all that information is useful when it comes to a specific project, and there are things about that and other intersections that the DOT doesn’t know, especially when it comes to pedestrians and bike riders.  

Design engineers want to know how drivers and pedestrians use the intersection now, any near-misses that might’ve occurred and how a roundabout would affect the use of that intersection. 

“Things that are not recorded that I cannot see back in my office. That’s why we want to make the effort to come to the communities,” he said.  

Department of Transportation officials are trying to get local jurisdictions and people who will be affected by road revisions involved in the planning process. 

“In my experience working with city councils, developers (and) county commissioners, one of the complaints I’ve always heard from the public is, ‘We never got a chance to provide input on this. You’re showing us a site plan that’s going to be decided on tonight, and we didn’t have to sit down and review it,’” he said.  

As a result, DOT officials are asking people for their reactions and suggestions early in the process, Turner said.  

Council member Matt Moore said there seems to be some confusion about how bikes and cars use the road. He cited changes to Nat Washington Way, which is now one vehicle lane in each direction and a bike lane in each direction.  

“The drivers all behave with the rules and mentality of a two-lane road, while the cyclists behave with the rules and mentality of a four-lane road, which comes into conflict,” Moore said. 

From his perspective, that problem is even more acute at a roundabout, he said. 

Turner said DOT would rather keep cars and bikes away from each other. 

“Our desire is to separate these modes. I think it’s easier and safer to mix bicycles and pedestrians,” he said.