Some road projects close to completion, others scheduled for July
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 weeks, 3 days AGO
Construction crews pour new sidewalk along South Balsam Street in Moses Lake Thursday.
CHERYL SCHWEIZER/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
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. | June 13, 2025 3:00 AM
MOSES LAKE — Summer construction season does not always mean road construction. A section of a downtown Moses Lake street got a new sidewalk this week.
Crews from McBoyz Construction, Moses Lake, were out Thursday morning pouring and finishing new sidewalk at the intersection of West Third Avenue and South Balsam Street. The old sidewalk was removed from about half the block of West Third Avenue, along with the corner sections and about half the block along South Balsam Street.
A construction worker stood ankle-deep in wet cement, using a board to spread the concrete into the nooks and crannies. Other workers followed with trowels and a float for the finish work.
It’s the first sidewalk project this side of Westshore Drive, where crews are entering the home stretch of a project that began in early March. About two miles of Westshore are getting a repaved road, along with sidewalks, curbs, gutters and subsurface drainage.
The sidewalks were poured about two weeks ago, and crews are working on the subsurface layer for the new asphalt. The project is scheduled for completion by mid-July and will be the last piece in the reconstruction and improvement of Westshore Drive.
Construction season 2024 was very busy in the Columbia Basin; there’s a lot less going on in 2025. The next round of major projects tentatively is scheduled for July, depending on the bid awards.
A project to resurface streets in downtown Moses Lake is being advertised for bid. Both north-south and east-west streets downtown, as well as Hill Avenue and East Wheeler Road, will be resurfaced with chip-seal.
Traffic revisions are planned once the chip-sealing is finished, with streets that are now two lanes in each direction being reduced to one with a left turn lane added. City engineers also have proposed adding angled parking in some sections of West Third and West Fourth avenues.
A new roundabout is scheduled for construction at the intersection of South First Avenue and State Route 26 in Othello. That project is scheduled to begin in late July or early August.
People who travel on State Route 155 near Omak are being invited to give their opinion on a project to rebuild the bridge over the Okanogan River. An open house to explain the project is scheduled for June 16 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Omak City Hall, 2 Ash St. Repaving of a section of SR 155 around East Omak Elementary School is planned for the same time.
The project includes a designated route for pedestrians and bikes around the school and across the railroad tracks, according to a press release from the Washington Department of Transportation. Construction for both projects is scheduled to start in early 2027.
ARTICLES BY CHERYL SCHWEIZER
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