Roadwork season gets rolling

MOSES LAKE — Washington Department of Transportation crews will be sealing cracks along State Route 17 between Moses Lake and Ephrata starting Monday. Drivers should plan for flagger-controlled traffic and delays in the work zone.  

Crews will be working for about nine miles along SR 17, starting at milepost 56 north of Moses Lake, said Sebastian Moraga, WSDOT communications consultant.  

With the first hint of spring comes the resumption of work on the Vantage Bridge deck for the third year. Work on the bridge began Monday. 

“We’re progressing really well on the project,” said Summer Derrey, WSDOT communications.  

But while the work is underway drivers should expect delays and might want to look for other routes if they’re heading across the state. 

“Traffic is reduced to a single lane in each direction around the clock, seven days a week, with reduced speeds and a nine-foot width restriction,” Derrey wrote in a WSDOT press release.  

Work on the bridge will continue until the end of construction season in October. Construction is projected to continue until 2028, Derrey said. 

All four lanes of the bridge will be open on summer holiday weekends. Those include Memorial Day, May 22 through 26; Fourth of July weekend, July 3 through 6 and Labor Day, Sept. 4 through 8.  

Otherwise, one lane will be closed in each direction throughout the summer travel season. That has resulted in delays on busy days, historically for eastbound traffic on Fridays and westbound traffic on Sundays. Delays have also been a problem on concert weekends at the Gorge Amphitheater.  

The DOT has issued a map showing some alternative routes for drivers planning a cross-state trip that avoids the bridge.   

Drivers can use Highway 97 over Blewett Pass through Wenatchee, to State Route 28 and back to the freeway at Quincy. Moraga said in an earlier interview that since SR 28 is one lane in each direction, drivers should be prepared for a lot of traffic and increased travel time.  

An alternate route will take drivers west through Yakima or east through Tri-Cities using Interstate 82, then Highway 395 to its intersection with I-90 in Ritzville. That is estimated to add up to an hour of travel time. 

Derrey said DOT is advising that drivers avoid the Vantage Highway, which is north of I-90, reconnecting to the freeway at Vantage. That reconnection means it also experiences traffic backups on busy days as drivers try to get back on the freeway. 

“It’s a huge pinch point as you’re tapping back into I-90,” Derrey said.