Sidewalks, paving among plans for Mattawa street improvements
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 months, 2 weeks AGO
Government Road is scheduled for a makeover in 2028, depending in part on funding availability.
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. | July 22, 2026 3:45 AM
MATTAWA — Mattawa city officials are planning upgrades to West Steven Street, with the work tentatively scheduled for 2027.
The project will depend on obtaining state funding; the Mattawa City Council discussed the project during a hearing on an application for a Community Development Block Grant during the regular meeting July 16.
Jamin Ankney with Grey & Osborne, the city’s engineer, wrote that the city is planning to build water and sewer lines along with rebuilding the road. The road would be repaved with sidewalks and gutters added, a new storm drainage system and street lighting.
“This project establishes the foundational multimodal network required to construct a new Catholic Charities low-income housing community,” Ankney said.
Utility access points would be added for potential commercial development on Port of Mattawa property, Ankney said.
The project would finish the section of Steven Street from Second Street to Government Road, which as of now is a dirt road.
The city’s six-year street plan, approved by council members July 2, anticipates a lot of roadwork around town, with planning for a lot of those projects scheduled for 2027.
Street projects usually are tentative, and timing depends a lot on funding availability. Most involve a mix of state and local, and sometimes federal, funding.
The major project scheduled for 2028 is the reconstruction of Government Road all the way through the business district, from Boundary Road to the intersection at SR 243. That will require removing the existing road to the subgrade and rebuilding it. Total project cost is estimated at about $6.3 million, with an estimated $1.05 million coming from local funds.
Sections of Priest Rapids Drive are scheduled to get sidewalks on the north side in 2028, with planning and engineering in 2027. The street provides access to the Wahluke School District’s three elementary schools. The tentative project cost is about $1.3 million.
Riverview Avenue and Saddle Mountain Drive both are scheduled for sidewalks in 2028; total cost is estimated at $724,300 for each project. Both will get sidewalks and curbs. Design and planning are scheduled for 2027.
Riverview Avenue between Government Road and Priest Rapids Drive also is scheduled for resurfacing in 2028, with an estimated cost of about $586,200.
Other streets tentatively scheduled for sidewalk improvements includes Hoose Street from Riverview to Boundary avenues, and William Avenue from Priest Rapids Drive to Government Road. Both projects are scheduled for 2029.
ARTICLES BY CHERYL SCHWEIZER
Comment period still open for 2027 Grant PUD budget
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Two hospitalized after collision near Othello
OTHELLO — Two people were injured and hospitalized when a car collided with a semitruck about 12 miles west of Othello Wednesday morning. According to a press memo from the Washington State Patrol, Leslie Villalobos, 23, was driving south on Road D Southeast at about 8:15 a.m. when she failed to slow down at the intersection. Rigoberto Pruneda, 41, Othello, was driving west on SR 26 when Villalobos's car entered the intersection, the WSP memo said. Trooper Jeremy Weber, WSP District 6 public information officer, said Pruneda attempted to steer out of the way of her vehicle, which is difficult to do in a semitruck.
State Route 26 closed due to collision
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