Work scheduled for SR 26 this week

Cheryl Schweizer, Columbia Basin Herald, Moses Lake, Wash.
·2 min read

Jul. 15—OTHELLO — Drivers should plan for delays along State Route 26 between Interstate 90 and Othello for about a week beginning Tuesday.

Crews will be working from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday from July 16 to 23, according to a press release from the Washington Department of Transportation. The construction zone stretches from the SR 26-Interstate 90 intersection to Othello.

"A contractor (is working) on pre-leveling the asphalt and removing markings along a 32-stretch of highway," the press release said. "Travelers will encounter a pilot car leading traffic across the work zone."

It's part of a region-wide project to repair roads in central Washington, NCR Seal 2024 is scheduled for completion in August. Crews have been working on roads in Okanogan, Chelan and Grant counties. The project began in April, was suspended in June, resumed this month and is scheduled for completion in August. Total project cost is about $7.9 million, the press release said.

Crews also will be working on a nine-mile section of U.S. Highway 97 between Tonakset and Oroville, starting Monday and continuing through Thursday.

It's the height of road construction season, and work is continuing on I-90 between the Vantage Bridge and North Bend.

It's the first year of a four-year project to repair the deck of the Vantage Bridge. Crews will be working Monday through Friday, with one lane closed across the bridge in each direction during working hours. There's a 10-foot width restriction in the construction zone.

Travelers headed east or west on I-90 Thursday evening should plan for delays at Easton, where crews are working on widening the freeway. The road will be closed for about one hour at about 8 p.m. while workers are blasting rocks along the shoulder.

"Rock blasting is scheduled to occur one to two times per week into the fall, one hour before sunset," according to a DOT press release.

Westbound travelers will be stopped at exit 70 while eastbound drivers will be stopped at milepost 64.

Crews will be replacing the westbound bridge deck east of the Snoqualmie summit near Coal Creek. Westbound traffic will be shifted to the eastbound lanes for about a half-mile, starting at about milepost 55.

Slope stabilization work is underway east of North Bend, where single lanes will be closed in each direction of I-90.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com.