Monday, May 25, 2026
41.0°F

ROAD REPORT: Aug. 1, 2025

CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 9 months, 3 weeks AGO
by CHERYL SCHWEIZER
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | August 1, 2025 2:30 AM

MOSES LAKE — Drivers should be ready for single lane traffic, delays and temporary ramp closures along sections of Interstate 90 between Dodson Road and Road O Northeast. Sections of the road and the access ramps are being repaved, with the work expected to continue through the end of the construction season. 

The section of I-90 from Dodson to Mae Valley will be repaved in the eastbound lanes only, while Mae Valley to Road O NE will be both eastbound and westbound lanes. Crews will be working Monday through Thursday until after Labor Day, then switch to Monday through Friday through the end of the construction season. 

Crews will be working from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Labor Day. The speed limit will be reduced to 40 to 55 miles per hour in the construction zone.  

It’s the first year of a two-year project to repave sections of I-90 from the Vantage Bridge to Road O Northeast. Total project cost is $22 million.  

Other road projects in Grant and Adams counties include: 

Construction of a roundabout at the intersection of State Route 26 and South First Avenue in Othello begins Monday. Crews will be working from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Drivers should be prepared for delays, flaggers, one-way traffic and designated detours through and around Othello. 

Drivers should expect delays outside of work hours, since the temporary signals will be in place 24/7. Completion is expected in mid-October. Project cost is $3.2 million. 

State Route 28 is closed at its intersection with Nat Washington Way in Ephrata as crews install a roundabout as part of the construction of the new Grant County Jail. Construction began July 21 and is scheduled to last eight weeks. Project cost is estimated at $4 million.  

There is a recommended detour route using Airport Road SE to Fifth Avenue Southeast to Nat Washington Way. The detour route includes residential streets and A Street Southeast, which provides access to Ephrata Middle School. Drivers are asked to exercise caution and watch for pedestrians in residential neighborhoods and be prepared for a lot of traffic at A Street SE and Nat Washington Way once school starts. 

Work is scheduled to start in late August on a project to resurface Moses Lake’s downtown section, East Hill Avenue and East Wheeler Road. A roundabout will be added at the intersection of Wheeler and Road L Northeast.  

The top layer of existing pavement will be removed, cracks will be repaired and the road resurfaced. Streets in the downtown section that have two lanes in each direction will be revised to have one lane in each direction and a left turn lane. Sections of Wheeler Road will continue to have two lanes in each direction, but the Road L Northeast roundabout will be one lane in each direction. 

    Onramps and offramps will be closed temporarily through the end of the construction season as part of the I-90 project
 
 


ARTICLES BY CHERYL SCHWEIZER

QPlex design going through revisions
May 25, 2026 1:10 a.m.

QPlex design going through revisions

QUINCY — With groundbreaking scheduled for 2027, Quincy Valley Parks District board members are working on finalizing a design for the Quincy QPlex.

All Vantage Bridge lanes open for holiday travel – but expect delays
May 22, 2026 3:10 a.m.

All Vantage Bridge lanes open for holiday travel – but expect delays

VANTAGE — The good news for Memorial Day weekend is that most road construction has been suspended from Friday through Tuesday morning. On the other hand, the weather forecast is for sunny skies, it’s a three-day weekend and it’s going to be busy out there.

May 20, 2026 6:13 p.m.

No deficiencies in Wahluke School District audit

MATTAWA — An audit of the Wahluke School District didn’t find any deficiencies in the district’s federal program management or its financial reporting. It was the second straight deficiency-free audit for the district. Wahluke Superintendent Andy Harlow said that was due to WSD’s financial staff. “I continue to be impressed with (Gabriela) Chacon, our finance director, and her team’s hard work, growth and commitment to implementing and sustaining fiscal systems,” Harlow wrote in response to an email from the Columbia Basin Herald