Detours on I-90 in early November for Hansen Road overpass work
Drivers using Interstate 90 at Hansen Road will be required to negotiate some detours in the first week of November, as construction crews will be working on installing the foundation of the overpass deck.
CHERYL SCHWEIZER/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
MOSES LAKE — While not much was visible above ground, work on the Hansen Road overpass has progressed to the point where detours on Interstate 90 will be required during the first week of November.
"Eastbound traffic will be reduced to a single lane along I-90 and will be shifted to westbound lanes via a median crossover at Hansen Road," said Summer Derrey, public information officer for the North Central Region of the Washington Department of Transportation.
"Westbound I-90 travelers will be detoured via the off- and on- ramps at exit 174 (at Hansen Road) to continue onto westbound I-90," Derrey wrote in a press release.
The eastbound exit at Hansen Road will be closed to traffic while that work is underway, she said. Drivers heading west can access Mae Valley at the Blue Heron Park exit, but will have to use the Hiawatha Road exit to access the south side of the freeway.
Eastbound drivers will have to use Hiawatha Road and North Frontage Road to access Mae Valley. The access route south of the freeway will be Hiawatha Road and South Frontage Road, Derrey said.
Construction crews have been building the bridge abutment walls on each side of the overpass, Derrey said, along with the underground supports. Drivers no doubt noticed the work on the center support, which also has been completed.
"They're now building the median crossbeam that will support the bridge girders," Derrey said.
That's the work scheduled for November, which will require the detours.
Crews also have been doing preliminary work at the Hiawatha Road and Adams Road overpasses.
"We're going to start Adams and Hiawatha next year," Derrey said.
Hansen Road was closed in January after an inspection discovered extensive damage. A subsequent inspection found similar damage, although less severe, at Hiawatha Road. The Adams Road overpass was evaluated after holes were reported in the bridge deck and also found to be in a state of poor repair. Department of Transportation officials decided to replace all three structures.
Chris Keifenheim, North Central Region administrator, estimated in an earlier interview that the replacement for Hansen Road will cost $15 to $17 million.
The detours will end when the crossbeam installation is completed, but drivers will still face traffic restrictions in the work zone, Derrey said. One lane will be closed in each direction for the rest of the project and speeds are reduced in the construction zone. Since the lane closures shift depending on the work underway, traffic signs will guide drivers through the construction area.