Date:
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Contact:
North Central Region Project Engineer, Bob Romine (509) 667-2880,
E-mail: RomineR@wsdot.wa.gov
North Central Region Communications Manager Jeff Adamson, (509) 667-2815,
(509) 669-8778 Cell. E-mail: adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov
WENATCHEE – A white ribbon was cut Monday morning on a $15.5 million project that expanded the last three mile, two lane segment of SR 17 in Moses Lake to four lanes between the Port of Moses Lake and Interstate 90. Construction began last September, paving was complete last month and the last of the noise wall panels will be in place by the end of the month, completing the project.
Some 45 elected officials, dignitaries and guests gathered at the SR 17-Wheeler Road intersection to hear keynote speaker, former Senator Joyce Mulliken (R-Moses Lake), describe the effort to get the project funded and its economic and safety benefits. Mulliken, 13th District State Representatives Bill Hinkle (R-Cle Elum) and Judy Warnick (R-Moses Lake), Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) North Central Regional Administrator Don Senn and the Majority and Minority Chairs of the House Transportation Committee, Judy Clibborn (D-Mercer Island) and Fred Jarrett (R-Mercer Island) each wielded an orange-handled pair of scissors and cut the ribbon under the bright fall sunshine at the Wheeler Road intersection with SR 17 in Moses Lake.
Governor Christine Gregoire sent a special proclamation to be read at the ceremony. It stressed the project not only improves safety, but also highway service for freight haulers and shippers. There are 900 acres of quickly developing industrial property located at the airport three miles north of the project and another 350 acres just east of the project in the Wheeler Industrial Corridor. The Governor noted that WSDOT computer modeling estimated that if the project was not built, the average afternoon travel speed would have been 15 mph by 2020.
The project improved major intersections at Nelson Road, Wheeler Road and Broadway Avenue, as well as a railroad crossing near Stratford Road. A new bridge was built across Moses Lake’s Parker Horn and a sound wall was constructed between Nelson and Wheeler Roads. The Governor noted the project is finishing on time and on budget.
The Governor also singled out Senator Mulliken for special recognition. “With her encouragement, the legislature approved $13 million for this project in 2005. We all watched the prices for oil, steel and concrete go up and Joyce secured the extra $2.5 million needed to build the expansion last June so the project could be advertised for private contractor bids. It’s the only tax increase she ever voted for and it’s paying big dividends for Moses Lake and the entire state.”
Senator Mulliken said she was particularly pleased that a Moses Lake contractor, Central Washington Asphalt, was the successful bidder on the project, providing local jobs.
Visit the project web page for more information. www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR17/MosesLakePioneerWay/
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