ROAD REPORT: Road resurfacing to continue in Moses Lake next week

MOSES LAKE — Drivers using Moses Lake’s downtown streets should be prepared for some delays or find routes around some streets as crews continue to resurface downtown streets, East Hill Street and East Wheeler Road. 

Construction crews have been chip-sealing streets for about 10 days, starting with East Wheeler and East Hill last week and paving streets in the downtown area this week. The process is called chip-sealing, which starts with applying a layer of oil to the existing surface, followed by a layer of rock.  

Crews are also working on a roundabout at Road L Northeast and East Wheeler Road.  

The streets will be restriped once the chip-sealing is complete, and sections of West Third Avenue, West Fourth Avenue and West Fifth Avenue that are two lanes in each direction will be reduced to one lane in each direction with a left-turn lane in the center. The exception is Wheeler Road east of State Route 17, which will continue to be two lanes in each direction.  

Total cost is about $1.4 million.  

A separate project is scheduled for next week on Interlake Road in Moses Lake: 

• The 500 block of Interlake Road will be closed from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 23 and 24 while construction crews install new water and fire lines. Lynne Lynch, communications and marketing specialist for the city, said contractors will be installing a new two-inch water line and six-inch fire line for a new apartment complex currently under construction.  
• Drivers on Interstate 90 east of Moses Lake can expect one-lane roads and delays east of Moses Lake to Road O Northeast, as crews continue to work in both the eastbound and westbound lanes.  

It’s the first year of a two-year project to repave sections of I-90 between the Vantage Bridge and Road O NE. Since the project began in July, crews have removed and replaced the top layer of pavement on both the ramps and the road surface west of Moses Lake. Total project cost for both phases is $22 million. 

• Drivers at the intersection of State Route 26 and South First Avenue in Othello should expect delays while crews continue to work on a roundabout.

Work hours are 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday through mid-October, but traffic restrictions remain in place 24/7. Total project cost is about $3.2 million.  

Sebastian Moraga, communications consultant for the Washington Department of Transportation North Region, said crews will be working on the north half of the roundabout next week. The project is two to three weeks behind schedule due to a strike, which has been resolved, he said. The work stoppage affected a number of projects in Eastern Washington.  

• Crews are continuing to work at the Vantage Bridge, which is reduced to one lane in each direction 24/7. A speed limit of 45 miles per hour is in place in the work zone. Drivers should plan for delays, especially on weekends.

That’s not the only project causing delays on I-90 west of Vantage, according to a WSDOT press release. One lane on I-90 in each direction east of the summit will be closed through next week as crews clean up a fuel spill. Westbound I-90 west of the summit will have a double-lane closure through next week; crews are working on repairing a bridge deck. 

East of the summit, one lane will be closed in each direction near Easton during the day to repair guardrails. Sections of the eastbound shoulder will be closed near Easton for the next two weeks for drilling work.