Looking for public input at meeting on project

COLUMBIA BASIN — There are two chances to learn about the widening of the 16-mile stretch of highway between Moses Lake and Ephrata.

The first meeting is Monday from 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Ephrata City Hall. The second meeting is Tuesday from 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Big Bend Community College in the ATEC building.

A project team from the Washington State Department of Transportation plans to share a presentation on the environmental study conducted to widen state Route 17 and state Route 282 from Moses Lake to Ephrata. The lanes could be expanded from two lanes to four lanes.

The team is also looking for input from community members to make the project the best it can be. The team takes the information collected and presents their findings at an additional meeting to be held in the springtime.

There are many advantages for widening the highway. Safety would be improved by adding more signals, turn lanes and turn pockets, according to the state. Traffic congestion would reduce and the highway would become easier for freight trucks.

The information gathering project is expected to be done by summer of 2008.

The meeting is informal, written comments are accepted and translators are available for each meeting.

For more information, contact Project Engineer Terry Mattson at 509-667-2899 or send e-mail to [email protected]. The project Web site is www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR17/Widening.