W. Richland wanted its own freeway exit. It’s getting 5 roundabouts instead
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- West Richland launched a $33.7M project to overhaul 3.5 miles of Highway 224.
- Five roundabouts and infrastructure upgrades aim to boost growth and mobility.
- Connecting Washington funds cover $32.2M; project completion expected in 2026.
It’s begun.
West Richland is overhauling Highway 224 — aka West Van Giesen Street — into a proper gateway into a fast-growing city.
The $33.7 million project, funded by gas taxes, will modernize a 3.5-mile stretch of highway with five roundabouts, pedestrian and bicycle amenities and bus turnouts.
Highway 224/West Van Giesen Street carries traffic through the heart of the city, past its fast-growing neighborhoods and to the Interstate 82 interchange in Benton City.
Officials say the overhaul will improve connections, tame traffic and attract the commercial development it needs to beef up its property tax base.
“It really is a big deal for West Richland. It’s been a long time coming,” said Roscoe Slade III, West Richland’s public works director.
Apollo Inc., the contractor, is already at work. City and state officials will gather for a kickoff celebration at 10 a.m. Thursday, July 24, at the police station, 7920 W. Van Giesen St.
Work is expected to take about 18 months.
An earlier project extended utilities to vacant lots along the way.
The $2 million investment from the Benton County Rural Capital fund means future developers won’t have to rip up the new roadway to access utilities.
Interchange dreams dashed
Officially known as the Red Mountain Vicinity Improvements Project, the corridor project began as a very different plan.
West Richland initially wanted its own interchange at Interstate 82 and Red Mountain.
State officials concurred and the $30 million project was included in a list of transportation projects funded by lawmakers in 2015.
The interchange plan collapsed in 2019 when federal highway officials said there wasn’t enough traffic on I-82 in Benton County to warrant a new interchange. Economic development interests don’t factor into exit-making decisions.
The city pivoted, transferring its focus to improving Highway 224.
The state signed off in 2020, but progress slowed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Slade said the roundabout project will deliver similar economic development benefits to West Richland that the exit promised: Modernizing the highway/West Van Giesen will enable denser development and improve mobility.
But, he noted, the Red Mountain interchange could happen in the future. The project was shelved, not killed.
If or when highway officials become more amenable, West Richland will be ready.
“We’ll take another run at it,” he said.
11.9-cent fuel tax
The corridor work is primarily funded by Connecting Washington, the 16-year, $16 billion transportation package approved by lawmakers in 2015.
Tri-Cities lawmakers were mixed on the mechanism to fund it all — raising gas taxes by 11.9 cents a gallon, starting in 2016.
Then Reps. Brad Klippert and Larry Haler voted against it. Then-Sen. Sharon Brown voted in favor, saying it was necessary to ensure Tri-Cities projects made the cut.
West Richland is receiving the largest local award from Connecting Washington to date — $32.2 million for the roundabout project.
The balance is coming from the federal government ($960,000), the city ($450,000) and Benton County ($91,500).
Connecting Washington dollars paid for Benton City’s $4.5 million roundabout built in 2016.
The same gas tax plan also covered $20 million of Richland’s $35.7 million Duportail Bridge across the Yakima River, $24.4 million of Pasco’s Lewis Street Overpass across the rail yard, and $15 million of Kennewick’s Ridgeline Underpass at Highway 395.
Small but growing
West Richland, population 18,430, is home to a small but growing share of the Tri-Cities population.
It represents 5.7% of the 322,000 residents of Benton and Franklin counties, a two-tenths boost in just two years.
Some of the region’s largest residential developments are happening along Highway 224.
The Heights at Red Mountain Ranch, now 75% developed, includes 558 homes and 226 apartments near Ruppert Road.
The city recently gave plat approval to the Bluffs, a 104-acre property that will feature 406 homes near The Heights.
Both pale in comparison to the 7,600-acre Lewis & Clark Ranch, owned by Frank Tiegs LLC.
The ranch accounts for half the city’s land area and could add up to 100,000 residents as it develops over the next 20 to 100 years.
The city will settle on the best option by the end of the year.
West Richland will post updates about traffic and other impacts on its website and social media channels. Follow it on Facebook.
This story was originally published July 19, 2025 at 5:00 AM.