Queensgate was a total drama queen for its big debut in south Richland
Queensgate Drive lived up to its queenly name Wednesday morning.
The last stretch of Queensgate opened to motorists at 9 a.m. Wednesday — as advertised — but the moment came with plenty of drama, including a wreck and traffic jams.
An early morning car crash delayed the dozens of city workers who converged at Queensgate and Keene to remove a fence, reconfigure traffic signals, take covers off lights and ensure everything was working before the road opened.
A dark sedan, apparently blinded by the rising sun, turned into the path of a work truck.
The collision spread debris across the pavement and forced workers there to open the intersection to step aside while police and fire crews tended to the drivers and their vehicles.
Traffic backups
The wreck coupled with the road crew led to traffic backups at Queensgate and Keene. Despite long waits, only one driver was frustrated enough to lean on their horn.
Once tow trucks hauled off the wrecked vehicles, the Queensgate team began a choreographed process to convert the intersection into a four-way operation from three.
An electrician took over the traffic signals while flaggers armed with STOP/SLOW signs took over traffic control.
While technicians changed the signal sequence, a worker used a bucket truck to take covers from the formerly unused stop lights.
As opening time approached, an orange-vested crew appeared out of nowhere to remove the fences that kept the intersection closed.
They loaded the sections of fence into a waiting pickup, swept debris off the roadway and disappeared as quickly as they appeared.
Before the intersection officially opened, one driver saw an opening and darted up the new road.
Small, white sedan
The small, white sedan headed south on Queensgate at precisely 9 a.m., making it the first official user.
Everyone else waited. Once the traffic engineer was satisfied the signals were working, they were turned on for good. A supervisor directed flaggers to step aside. As they did, they told waiting drivers to obey the lights.
By 9:04 the lights were in control and the intersection was open.
The short new stretch of pavement carries Queensgate Drive between Shockley and Keene roads. Previously, drivers detoured onto Shockley and accessed Keene to the east.
Eliminating the dog-leg detour provides direct access from central Richland to the Rancho Reata area in south Kennewick via the Duportail Bridge.
The road links neighborhoods of Badger and Little Badger mountains to the Queensgate commercial district north of Interstate 182.
Terraces at Queensgate
The Queensgate extension was privately built by a developer bringing residential and commercial development to 48 acres of orchard property above Keene.
The road itself couldn’t open until Columbia Valley Holdings Inc. of Bellevue finalized the subdivision it calls “Terraces at Queensgate” and recorded the property with Benton County. Once that happened, the road was turned over to the city of Richland, which put it into use.
Columbia Valley intends to develop 18 half-acre lots for single-family homes along the western property line it shares with the Country Ridge subdivision. The interior includes 89 town homes, commercial space and other amenities.
NAI Tri-Cities, a commercial brokerage, is marketing several lots at Terraces for retail, office and other uses.
This story was originally published May 7, 2025 at 12:54 PM.