Focus on intersection work

MOSES LAKE — The state Route 17 widening project in Moses Lake is ahead of schedule.

"They're chomping at the bit," Project Engineer Bob Romine said.

The construction crew is working on a lot of projects along the highway leading up to the actual conversion from two lanes to four lanes.

At the intersections along the project the crews are working on street lights, traffic signals, sidewalks and curbs, he said.

The crew is working on the retaining wall between Wheeler Road and Broadway Avenue. The wall is to maintain the structure of the road to keep it separate from nearby wetlands.

The crew is preparing to install the support columns for the 14-foot noise wall this month, Romine said.

In about three weeks people will see the noise wall being erected.

The three-mile widening project extends from Pioneer Way, over Parker Horn to North Stratford Road.

The $14.6 million project was awarded to Central Washington Asphalt Inc. in August 2006. A groundbreaking ceremony was held in mid-September. The project is scheduled to be completed by fall 2007, the Washington State Department of Transportation noted.

The project has benefits.

The additional lanes help clear up traffic congestion caused by an increased number of semi-trucks and industrial vehicles, the state noted. Traffic signals are improved and a concrete median will separate oncoming traffic.