MOSES LAKE — A new roundabout could be coming to the intersection of Yonezawa Boulevard and State Route 17 sometime in 2025, the preliminary step to development of property on the east side of SR 17. Moses Lake city officials will apply for additional funding to help pay for the project later this year.  

The new roundabout was the subject of a presentation at the Moses Lake City Council meeting Tuesday. 

Levi Bisnett, project surveyor for the city, said the property to the east of the intersection has been purchased with the possible intent to develop it, but that city officials had committed to extending Yonezawa and upgrading the intersection in 2019. 

 “The school district started construction of Groff Elementary and reached out to the city about providing alternative access to the south end of their property,” Bisnett said. 

The city had received an easement for a road through that property from the previous owner in the early 2000s, Bisnett said. City Engineer Richard Law said city officials found a plan for intersection improvements dating back to that attempt to develop that land.  

“Twenty years ago, when (the previous landowner) was looking to develop this, he actually had DOT-approved plans to put in the fourth arm of the (traffic) signal,” Law said. “When this was talked about in 2019, I took that approved plan set to (the Washington Department of Transportation) and said, ‘Look. We have approved plans from 2001. Can we build this?’ And we were told, ‘No, they’re too old. You have to do a new intersection control evaluation.’ So we did the evaluation.”  

State officials required that a traffic evaluation take the long view, looking at current and anticipated traffic over a 25-year period. That study concluded a traffic light would be inadequate for the intersection over time.  

“So the only treatment that we can do today that will take us through at least the next 25 years is a roundabout,” Law said. “So that’s what DOT said, ‘If you want to build this, it has to be a roundabout.’”  

State Route 17 is also Pioneer Way in that section, but it’s still a state highway. Council member Mark Fancher said he was familiar with the original attempt to develop the property, and that trying to build a road accessing a state highway is a difficult proposition for a private business. 

“That is a limited access highway. You can get (access), but it’s very, very, very costly,” Fancher said.  

Bisnett said it’s relatively easier for a city to get access for infrastructure or to connect existing roads. And state officials are beginning to recognize that highways like SR 17 tend to cut communities into sections, he said.  

Brent Powell of Perteet, Everett, the company designing the project, said the city received some federal money for design and construction in 2022 and additional money earlier this year. City officials will apply for state funding in August. 

“We recognize the proposal to change this (intersection) from a traffic signal to a roundabout might draw questions, but we really think there is a lot of benefit to that decision,” Powell said. 

A roundabout will reduce the potential for serious traffic accidents, he said, and will be able to handle the traffic flow better. It also increases the potential for development east of SR 17 and will complete the link to Moses Lake Avenue and Groff Elementary. 

Powell said the design isn’t complete, but some decisions have been made. Pioneer Way (or SR 17) will continue to have two lanes in each direction. Yonezawa Boulevard will have one lane in each direction with right turn lanes. Each side of the intersection will have a crosswalk with a flashing light. Sidewalks will be added to both sides of the Yonezawa section.  

“We are working with (city officials) to help nail down a little bit more of a visually attractive center treatment to the intersection, more than just a little bit of gravel,” Powell said. “We don’t yet know what that is.” 

The intersection will get new street lighting and an updated stormwater system.  

“This is a trucking route – this is a major regional highway. Trucks will absolutely be able to use this,” Powell said.  

City officials will know by the end of the year if the city gets state funding for the project. If that funding is awarded, Powell said the final design could be ready by June 2025, with construction starting later in the year.