The intersection of SR 17 and SR 170 on Thursday afternoon. Commissioners with the Port of Warden are soliciting letters of support from Warden area businesses for safety improvements, which would likely include replacing the current intersection with a roundabout.
October 8, 2022
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Warden Port Commission solicits support for SR17 improvements
WARDEN — The Port of Warden is soliciting letters of support to the Washington State Department of Transportation for safety improvements at the intersection of S.R. 17 and S.R. 170, just west of Warden, which likely means replacing the intersection with a roundabout. “We’re waiting for support letters, we should 15 or 16 when done,” said Pat Boss, director of government affairs with the Columbia Basin Railroad, during a regular meeting of the Port of Warden Commission on Thursday. “Most of the Warden community agrees, something needs to be done about that intersection.” Pat Millard, executive director of the Port of Warden, said that the wait time to make left turns either from southbound S.R. 17 onto S.R. 170 east to Warden, or from westbound S.R. 170 south toward Othello, can sometimes result in waiting traffic back up all to the to Road R, about 1,000 feet. Millard also said a roughly seven mile stretch of S.R. 17 from Road 5 south to Road 12 — the Adams County line — has averaged around nine accidents per year since 2018.