Passing lane project moving forward

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is moving forward with its plans to add passing lanes at locations on Highway 195 between Colfax and Spangle. WSDOT has conducted public forums and recently issued a determination of non-significance relating to environmental impacts of the project.

“What we look at is what those impacts are and how they can be mitigated,” said Rebecca Smith, environmental document coordinator. “We've avoided wetlands. There are a number out there. And we'll need to expand some culverts.”

Smith said the department is also studying possible cultural impacts, such as if any tribal groups have connection to the land. She said the next step in the project is to purchase property.

“Quite a bit of lane we’re designing is already state-owned,” she said. “But some slivers need to be purchased from adjacent landowners. It's agricultural land right now.”

Project manager Larry Rasmussen said this phase will begin in the next month.

“We're just establishing our right-of-way footprint that we need,” he said.

Rasmussen said the project, for which WSDOT has $10.1 million in funds from the Connecting Washington package, is expected to add seven or eight passing lanes.

“We've gotten funding, and we're trying to see how far we can stretch that funding,” he said.

The established timeline has WSDOT issuing a call for bid notice next spring, with the contract expected to be awarded shortly after. Rasmussen said construction would begin in early to mid-May 2017.

“It will carry all the way through summer, and depending on the weather, maybe into next spring,” he said.

Rasmussen said the goal with adding passing lanes is to reduce collisions on Highway 195.

“We're excited to be working with the Colfax community and coming up with some practical solutions to reduce collisions there,” he said.