Hansen Road bridge demolition set to start Monday
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 months, 1 week AGO
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 24, 2026 3:50 AM
MOSES LAKE — Like the London bridge – only not as picturesque – the Hanson Road bridge is coming down.
“We’re starting (demolition) on Monday,” said Summer Derrey, public information officer for the Washington Department of Transportation North Central region.
That will, of course, require working directly over Interstate 90, and drivers should prepare for the traffic impacts. Both westbound lanes will be closed, Derrey said, but one eastbound lane will stay open.
“Eastbound traffic will be reduced to a single lane along I-90 and shifted onto the westbound lanes via a median crossover at Hansen Road,” Derrey wrote in a WSDOT press release.
Westbound drivers will use the offramp and onramp at Hansen Road, which is designated as exit 174. The eastbound offramp at Hansen Road will be inaccessible during demolition. Drivers heading eastbound who want to access the south side of the freeway – say, on their way to the Moses Lake Sand Dunes – will use the Hiawatha Road exit and North Frontage Road.
Some traffic restrictions will continue once the demolition is completed. Traffic will be reduced to one lane in each direction around the bridge, and speeds will be reduced in the construction zone. The lane closures stay in place through the duration of the project, which is scheduled for completion in late 2026.
Construction crews working on a project at the Alder Street Bridge will be working at night until it’s completed. While it’s not a traffic project, it has a traffic impact, with one lane closed in each direction while crews are onsite.
Crews will be working from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. daily. They are replacing an aging waterline embedded in the bridge, which requires removing the guardrail on the west side. As with all construction work, it’s going to be noisy, according to a media release from Moses Lake city officials.
“Those in the area may hear noises from heavy equipment, generators, excavators, vehicles with back-up alarms (and other things),” the city release said.
Chip-sealing is underway on sections of SR 281, the primary route from Quincy to George. Sebastian Moraga, communications consultant with the WSDOT North Central region, said chip-sealing work also is underway on sections of SR 17 south of Moses Lake.
“The chip seal project is expected to be done in September,” Moraga wrote in answer to an email from the Columbia Basin Herald.
Construction crews have shifted to night work on a project impacting traffic on the Alder Street Bridge in Moses Lake.ARTICLES BY CHERYL SCHWEIZER
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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
UPDATE: As of 12:30 p.m. SR 26 has been reopened. OTHELLO — State Route 26 is closed about 12 miles west of Othello due to a serious two-vehicle collision, according to a media alert from the Grant County Sheriff's Office. The highway is closed in both directions, according to a release from the Washington Department of Transportation. The closure is at the intersection of SR 26 and Road D Southeast, according to the GCSO release. There is a detour in place, the WSDOT release said. As of 10 a.m. Wednesday, there was no estimated time for reopening, the WSDOT release said. This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.