Exclusive | Amazon will put 2,800 trucks, cars a day on Tri-Cities roads. But where?

The city of Pasco is working with the world’s largest retailer to get ahead of the potential traffic woes in the fall.

Amazon expects to see a considerable amount of traffic when it opens two massive Pasco distribution centers later this year.

Each warehouse will be more than 1 million square feet — making them some of the largest in North America.

Between employees and freight, Amazon expects about 2,800 vehicles in and out of the facilities each day, according to data provided to the city.

The data is part of a traffic impact study used in the permitting process. The study will help guide what road improvements Amazon will need to pay for in the coming months and years.

Permits showing the estimated costs of traffic signals, turn lanes, sidewalks and other improvements paid for by Amazon are expected to be filed later this year.

“They have to come in and make those improvements, as well as frontage improvements that are standard for any developer,” Pasco City Engineer Dan Ford told the Tri-City Herald.

Construction is on track and much of the exterior work is finished on the two warehouses, which will handle different types of products.

Amazon is expected to announce more hiring details in the next few weeks, ahead of an initiative to bring on 1,500 employees by the time the warehouses open.

The massive buildings are across the road from each other on South Road 40 East, between A Street and Sacajawea Park Road in east Pasco, just west of Highway 12.

Peak traffic times

The facility on the east side of the roadway — dubbed Project Oyster — will handle smaller goods such as household items, books, toys and technology.

That facility will average 1,727 vehicles in and out each day.

That includes 138 trucks in and 138 trucks out daily, while the rest of the traffic will be employees driving to and from work.

The warehouse on the west side — or Project Pearl — will stock larger items such as furniture, outdoor equipment, as well as large packages of paper goods and pet supplies.

Pearl will have 1,073 vehicles in and out daily, including 177 trucks.

Ford said that Amazon plans to stagger shifts to manage the traffic flow.

“They’ll do whatever they can to try and minimize those kinds of traffic impacts. The last thing they want is all their employees stuck out on Road 40 East trying to get to work or get home,” he said.

“There’s no way you’re not going to see some type of traffic impact out there, but we’ve tried to mitigate it as much as we can,” he said.

Staggered work shifts

That means Amazon will be starting its shifts at nontraditional times to ensure employees aren’t coming to and from the warehouses during common rush hours.

The company expects employees to work two main shifts from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 5 a.m., according to the analysis.

At many Amazon warehouses with two shifts, employees typically work four days a week unless doing overtime, according to information from Indeed.

Their traffic analysis also shows Amazon will be minimizing the number of trucks traveling during peak times.

Pasco officials define peak times as 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 4 to 6 p.m.

For example, only 10 trucks are expected in and out of the Pearl facility during morning peak hours, and 11 in and out during the afternoon peak.

Amazon also will be paying for several changes to nearby roads but it’s unclear how much they expect to spend on those improvements.

Traffic Flow

Ford said that the vast majority of truck traffic from the warehouses will come from Highway 395 and Interstate 182 and funnel down Heritage Boulevard toward the distribution centers.

The breakdown offered by Amazon shows 50% of traffic leaving the distribution centers will go west on Interstate 182 toward Richland and Yakima.

Another 40% will head across the blue bridge and south on Highway 395 through Kennewick toward Oregon.

And 10% will drive east a few blocks to Highway 12 and head south into Walla Walla County.

Ford said Amazon trucks will use the interchange at the Pasco-Kahlotus highway and Highway 12 to feed toward their destinations.

Typical traffic flow would follow a pattern like this:

• When leaving the warehouse, freight trucks will head north on South Road 40 East and take a left at A Street.
• They will then take a right onto Heritage and use the Lewis Street and Pasco-Kahlotus interchange to get onto Highway 12. (Heritage becomes East Lewis Street and, after it crosses the highway, becomes the Pasco-Kahlotus road.)
• Then, trucks will head west to either Highway 395 or Interstate 182 or they will drive south on Highway 12.
• Trucks are not expected to use Oregon Avenue (Highway 397). However, about 15% of employees likely will come and go to work using Oregon Avenue.

Needed road improvements

To accommodate the increased traffic, Amazon has proposed several changes to key intersections. The goal is to minimize traffic impacts and the risk of crashes.

While the truck traffic is expected to feed onto highways, the city also is looking into changes to ease traffic in town from commuting warehouse workers.

Traffic coming to the warehouses from the south will be almost exclusively employee cars. That could include workers coming into Pasco from Burbank or commuters from Kennewick and Richland coming in through the Big Pasco Industrial area.

A Street

• At the right turn-only lane of southbound Highway 12 and A Street, Amazon will pay to add a 700-foot deceleration lane.
• They also will be widening the road at the intersection of A Street and South Road 40 E. and installing a traffic signal. That includes a 200-foot westbound left-turn lane.

Sacajawea and Highway 12

Sacajawea Park Road will primarily see traffic from employee vehicles.

“The problem with that crossing is that you come across the Snake River and and you’re climbing as you head north,” Ford said. “As you pull out and try to accelerate it’s hard to judge because the vehicles are coming up that hill.”

• The intersection where Sacajawea and Tank Farm Road cross Highway 12 will likely be shifted to a southbound right-turn only, similar to the nearby intersection at A Street and Highway 12.
• As part of its 2021-26 transportation improvement program, the city of Pasco also plans to add bike and pedestrian pathways on the east side of the road running from the intersection of A Street and South Road 40 East down to Sacajawea Park Road and over to Highway 12.

Future possible improvements

There are several areas that Amazon and the city of Pasco will be monitoring to determine if they need upgrades.

Some would be paid for by Amazon, and others may be a partnership between developers and the city as part of larger projects.

Heritage Boulevard

• Heritage Boulevard is a designated truck route. It currently is not a signalized intersection. If traffic is impacted more severely than estimated, Amazon will pay to install a traffic signal at the intersection, said Ford. Amazon will be monitoring traffic levels at that intersection from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31.
  
  “Right now it doesn’t (warrant the change) with the number of trips it has, but that will probably be one of the next ones to receive some consideration for improvement,” Ford said.

West Road 40

• Amazon also will be monitoring the intersection of Sacajawea West Road 40 to determine if any changes are needed.
  
  While not a high traffic area, it is prone to delays when trains crossing West Road 40 pause the flow of trucks trying to reach waterfront warehouses. It’s also the road to Sacajawea State Park.

Lewis Place

• Ford also has proposed connecting East Lewis Place through to A Street. Currently East Lewis Place dead ends running parallel to Highway 12, just north of South Road 40.
  
  He said that already there are trails in use there that could be turned into a paved road to create a full 4-way intersection. Doing so could relieve pressure on both Heritage Boulevard and A Street.
  
  “Not to have that connection through is detrimental to everybody,” Ford said. “The opportunity to make that loop and connect it all the way down to the same intersection would be huge.”
  
  The road currently ends in a driveway on either side that is used for a potato warehouse. The A Street driveway is staggered just slightly across from the intersection of A and South Road 40 E. Ford said he has met with land owners who have been amenable to the idea of connecting those roads. He said the major hurdle would be burying utilities that feed in from a utility district substation on the other side of Highway 12.

This story was originally published January 30, 2022 at 5:00 AM.

Cory McCoy

Tri-City Herald

Cory is an award-winning investigative reporter. He joined the Tri-City Herald in Dec. 2021 as an Editor/Reporter covering social accountability issues. His past work can be found in the Tyler Morning Telegraph and other Texas newspapers. He was a 2019-20 Education Writers Association Fellow, and has been featured on The Murder Tapes, Grave Mysteries and Crime Watch Daily with Chris Hansen.