LETTER: Why not rebuild the Hansen Road overpass better than before?

I have asked officials from the city of Moses Lake and the Washington State Department of Transportation a straightforward question about the Hansen Road overpass replacement: Why is the new overpass being built to the same dimensions as the bridge designed and constructed in the mid-1950s? Based on the drawings available online, the proposed overpass appears to be narrower than the city’s four other crossings. This matters because cyclists may have only about 18 inches of clearance when two semi-trucks pass each other on the overpass, creating an unsafe and intimidating situation.

This overpass may have been adequate before the truck stop opened, but traffic has increased and continues to grow because of new housing developments on both sides of the freeway, two golf courses, small industrial developments and truck traffic. The replacement should therefore be designed to meet current and future demand and provide safer access for cyclists and pedestrians. We trust our elected officials to make the right decisions for us; from my perspective, they have failed the people who live and work in the Westlake area.

John Hill

Moses Lake