Shifting traffic lanes planned along I-90 in Hansen Road construction zone

MOSES LAKE — At least for a while, drivers at the Hansen Road intersection on Interstate 90 probably won’t face delays but will be working their way through the construction zone. 

Demolition of the old Hansen Road overpass is complete, with the overpass and its supports removed. With the old bridge out of the way – literally – freeway drivers will be experiencing 24/7 single lane closures. Summer Derrey, communications manager for the Washington Department of Transportation North Central region, said different lanes will be closed at different times. 

“Shifts will occur as needed, depending on the work taking place,” Derrey said. 

The changing construction zone means local access is subject to change. The eastbound offramp at Hansen Road was closed while crews worked on the south end of the bridge but reopened once they moved to the north end. 

Drivers are conducted through the construction zones with the aid of temporary signs and a lot of big orange barrels. Speeds are reduced in the construction area.  

The bridge is being replaced due to extensive damage discovered during an inspection in January. The bridge was closed to traffic, and DOT officials eventually decided to replace rather than repair it. The new bridge is scheduled to open in late 2026 or early 2027. 

An inspection of the Adams Road overpass east of George at about the same time found extensive damage there too. The inspection followed the discovery of a hole in the bridge deck, and it’s been closed since early March.  

The overpass is scheduled for replacement in 2027, which is why there was a drilling rig at the south end of the bridge for a few days this week. Department of Transportation employees were obtaining subsoil samples, Derrey said. 

“Crews are testing the stability of the ground,” she said.  

Some projects are done or almost done, it being August and more than halfway through the construction season. One of the almost-done ones is on North Stratford Road in Moses Lake.  

Construction crews have been replacing a water main that extended, among other places, over the Alder Street bridge. The water line was embedded in the bridge, and it required cutting a section of the street to access it. That required single lane closures in the construction zone.  

That project was scheduled to be completed tomorrow, but the city’s engineering department said repaving the sections of road is scheduled for early next week. Once that’s done, the project is finished.