Traffic restrictions throughout Columbia Basin with road construction season in full swing

MOSES LAKE — Summer is definitely here with hot sunny days, a lot of time outdoors, and plenty of road construction, both locally and regionally.  

Drivers on Interstate 90 have encountered the first phase of demolition and replacement of the Hansen Road overpass, with traffic reduced to one lane in each direction around the bridge. Speeds are reduced in the construction zone. The lane closures stay in place through the duration of the project, which is scheduled for completion in late 2026 or early 2027. 

Of course, it's a major project on a cross-state travel route, so traffic impacts will vary. Traffic will get really snarly for a few days beginning July 27, when the existing bridge is demolished.  

“There will be a full closure of I-90 for several days with detours in place,” said Summer Derrey, public information officer for the Washington Department of Transportation North Central region, in a press release.  

Travelers heading east will exit at Hiawatha Road and use North Frontage Road, returning to the freeway at the Hansen Road onramp just west of Moses Lake. Westbound drivers can use the Hansen Road onramp and offramp. 

A section of Jackrabbit Street, aka M Street Northeast, will be closed to traffic while companies working on two housing developments rebuild the road. 

Quincy City Engineer Ariel Belino said the project area starts at Sixth Avenue Northeast and ends near the intersection with Columbia Way. Along with the rebuilt road, the contractors will be adding water and sewer mains as well as the infrastructure for water reclamation. Quincy City Council members awarded a $1.9 million contract to Beacon Construction to pay for the infrastructure work. Belino said doing the work now would save the city some money.  

“If we allow them to put in the roadways before we move the utilities, it will cost us more in the sense that we (would) have to rip apart the roadways,” Belino said. 

Chip-sealing is underway on sections of SR 281, the primary route from Quincy to George. Sebastian Moraga, communications consultant with the WSDOT North Central region, said chip-sealing work also is underway on sections of SR 17 south of Moses Lake.  

“The chip seal project is expected to be done in September,” Moraga wrote in answer to an email from the Columbia Basin Herald. 

Drivers on Stratford Road in Moses Lake have already noticed traffic disruptions around the Alder Street Bridge. Contractors are replacing water mains that run under the bridge, according to information from Moses Lake city officials. 

“For most of the project, southbound traffic, heading into downtown Moses Lake, will be reduced to a single lane near the bridge,” according to a media release from city officials.  

The project will start with work underneath the bridge and outside the roadway in an effort to minimize traffic impacts, the release said. Crews will be working at night once construction moves to the roadway.  

“During those nighttime operations, both directions will be reduced to one lane near the bridge,” it said.  

The job is scheduled for completion by Aug. 7.