Passing lane construction starts

The slew of Whitman County road construction projects will continue next week as the long-anticipated passing lane work on Highway 195 begins on Monday, July 31.

Al Gilson, communications director for the eastern region of WSDOT, told the Gazette Tuesday that he is unsure of the full slate of work at this time but will know more by the end of the week.

“Yes, work starts on Monday,” he said. “I do not know the exact work that will start though.”

He said he is unsure of exactly where construction workers will be early next week and what, if any, traffic impacts there will be. He is set to hear from project engineers this morning to hear the full scope.

“They get me all of their material by close of business Wednesday and then I come in here and look at that Thursday morning,” said Gilson. “That should provide me the 10-day outlook.”

Though he is unsure of the exact details of where construction will start next week, Gilson said the scope of work includes adding two passing lanes on Highway 195, at mile markers 45 and 49. A southbound lane will be constructed at mile market 45 just south of Steptoe, and a northbound lane will go in at marker 49 north of Steptoe.

Both passing lanes will extend for approximately one mile.

Selland Construction of Wenatchee was the low bidder on the project, which came in at approximately $3.2 million. The contract was awarded earlier this month after two bids were received.

This passing lane project is part of the Connecting Washington package passed in the legislature in 2015 that includes approximately $16 billion for traffic infrastructure improvements across the state. The Whitman County portion totals $10.1 million and will later include passing lanes on Highway 26 from Colfax to Dusty. That work is currently projected for sometime between 2024 and 2027, according to the WSDOT website.

The package also includes funding for the ongoing West Whitman railroad improvement project in Palouse and the Palouse rail loadout improvements.

The current phase starting next week is contracted for 10 weeks, and a new contract will be issued later for phase two.

“There will be four more lanes next season,” said Gilson. “That’s what the projection is. I’m not exactly sure where, though.”

The passing lanes have been projected on the highway as a means of increasing safety. Previous announcements have indicated that two of the lanes to be constructed next year will be on the southbound side of the highway, with one south of the intersection with Highway 271 south of Rosalia and one south of the Trestle Creek Road intersection.

For weekly project updates, visit the WSDOT website: wsdot.wa.gov/projects/US195.