Detour takes toll on Hatton

The December shutdown of Highway 26 has taken a big toll on Hatton. The small Adams County town is located southwest of the Highway 26 bridge across the Burlington Northern Santa Fee tracks. Work on the bridge deck started Oct. 15 and Highway 26 was blocked off.

The Hatton and Cunningham roads intersect Highway 26 on the west side of the bridge.

During the construction job, the state posted a Highway 26 detour which takes westbound motorists south to Connell on Highway 395, west on Highway 260 and north on Highway 17 to get back on 26 east of Othello.

Local drivers familiar with the Adams County grid use an alternate route which takes them south through Hatton and then south to were Garrison Road makes on on-grade crossing over the railroad on West Muse Road with links with 395.

Going through Hatton only adds about eight miles to the trip from Seattle to Colfax, instead of the extra 14 miles added on by taking the detour by Connell, but the small town's roads aren't designed for the heavy traffic that is coming through.

Hatton Mayor Brittany Baldwin said a lot of trucks end up going through Hatton at highway speeds and with excessive weight that damages the roads and bridge in the town. Hatton has a population of 106 people as of July.

Baldwin added the Highway 26 detour signs directing traffic via Connell are not well marked, and are widely spaced. That leads to a lot of "lost" drivers finding their way through town and the route used by the local drivers.