This dangerous Highway 12 intersection in Pasco will change under WA state plan
State officials are looking to change a dangerous intersection along Highway 12 in Pasco.
More than 22,000 vehicles a day travel through the A Street intersection — all but about 2,000 are on the highway that heads south to Burbank and Walla Walla County.
People were injured in three of nine collisions at the intersection between 2017 and 2019, said Meagan Lott, with the Washington Department of Transportation. And one person was seriously hurt.
While left turns off the highway at A Street have resulted in dramatic crashes, state officials said 75 percent of the collisions happened when drivers were trying to get on the highway.
“Based on our analysis, it was determined left turning vehicles from A Street were being struck from (Highway) 12 eastbound traffic,” Lott said.
To fix the problem, the state plans to stop drivers from making a left onto the highway.
Instead, eastbound A Street drivers will be rerouted before they get to the highway and be diverted north to use the Kahlotus Road interchange.
The detour will funnel drivers from A Street onto Heritage Boulevard to East Lewis Street, according to state plans.
“With a 60 mph speed limit, the configuration of the intersection and potential shadowing from eastbound traffic, we determined to eliminate the left turn,” Lott said.
Transportation officials worked with the state patrol and city planners on the design.
The Department of Transportation is looking for feedback on the estimated $40,000 project that would use new markings and signs to reroute drivers.
The Kahlotus Road interchange has fewer spots where vehicles could potentially hit each other, Lott said.
The change won’t affect drivers wanting to turn right onto Highway 12 at A Street toward Walla Walla. But the state plans to use markings and signs to make the free right clearer for travelers.
Plans also call for new striping to make it clearer for drivers turning left from the highway onto A Street.
The state is providing information and maps and is taking comments online until Monday, March 22. Submit thoughts about the project online at bit.ly/AStreetChange.
The timeline for the project is not set but state officials say they want to make the changes as soon as they are approved.