Friday, April 03, 2026
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ROAD REPORT: Aug. 1, 2025

CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 8 months 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

Road closures, roundabout, mean construction season underway
April 3, 2026 3 a.m.

Road closures, roundabout, mean construction season underway

EPHRATA — The grass is starting to turn green, the trees are starting to leaf out, construction crews are starting to build roundabouts – hey, it’s spring. At least one roundabout project is in its final phase, held over from fall 2025. The intersection of State Route 282 and Nat Washington Way will be closed the week of April 6 to allow crews to install permanent lights. “This really is the final (closure),” wrote Grant County Administrator Tom Gaines in a media release. “The roundabout will close at 6 a.m. Monday, and we plan to reopen by Friday, possibly sooner if the work finishes early.”

Ybarra announces run for Washington Senate
April 2, 2026 1:48 p.m.

Ybarra announces run for Washington Senate

QUINCY — State Representative Alex Ybarra, R-Quincy, has announced his candidacy for the Washington Senate. If he’s elected, he would replace Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, who announced her retirement in March.

Othello Community Museum to open April 25
April 1, 2026 3:45 a.m.

Othello Community Museum to open April 25

OTHELLO — With a couple of new exhibits, a new heating-cooling system, rearranged displays and a thorough cleaning, the Othello Community Museum will open for the summer April 25. The goal, said Molly Popchock, museum board secretary, is to operate for a full season.