Delays anticipated at Othello intersection as roundabout construction begins

OTHELLO — Construction begins Monday on a new roundabout near Othello, which will mean the start of flagger-controlled traffic at the intersection of State Route 17 and West Cunningham Road. Drivers going to and past Othello should plan for delays, according to a press release from the Washington Department of Transportation. 

Sebastian Moraga, communications consultant for the WSDOT North Central region, said traffic control during the first week of the project will be controlled by flaggers. They'll be directing traffic during daylight hours, and West Cunningham will be open for traffic at the intersection. That changes after the first week, however. 

After that, while SR 17 will stay open, West Cunningham will be closed to traffic across the intersection.  

“(From) May 11, one-way alternating traffic controlled by temporary signals will remain in place, including weekends and off-duty hours,” Moraga wrote in a WSDOT press release. 

Construction crews will be working from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, Moraga said.  

“The final phase of the work, striping and seeding, will occur at night with the roundabout available to travelers and flagger-controlled traffic when necessary,” Moraga said.  

Project completion is scheduled for late July. 

For drivers who use West Cunningham, the DOT is setting up detours with signage via Lee Road to the west of SR 17, Booker Road to the east and State Route 26 to the south. 

The configuration of SR 17 will stay the same, with one southbound lane and one northbound lane. The roundabout will have a high curb and a mound of rocks in the middle. 

The roundabout has been in the planning stages for about five years. Department of Transportation officials originally announced in 2021 that a roundabout would be built at that intersection in 2023. 

But challenges with right of way and other issues pushed back construction, and after some delays the project was rescheduled for 2025. The DOT was building a roundabout at the intersection of SR 26 and South First Avenue, which was completed in fall 2025. The West Cunningham project was going to follow that, but a lack of funding pushed it back another year. 

In 2021, DOT officials said the intersection had been identified as one with a high number of injury accidents. The analysis showed the highest number of injury accidents involved drivers crossing SR 17. 

The intersection has been modified over time, with left turn lanes for northbound and southbound traffic and a right turn lane for southbound traffic. The intersection was reworked to improve sight lines, and the speed limit was reduced, but those revisions didn’t solve the problems, according to DOT officials in 2021.