One of the Tri-Cities 1st roundabouts is about to be torn out. Here’s why
One of the first roundabouts in the Tri-Cities is set to be torn out.
The roundabout at Keene Road and Bombing Range Road in West Richland is a year older than the city’s first stoplight, and officials say it’s reached the end of its useful life.
With the population explosion the city has seen over the past two decades, it’s just no longer efficient enough for the fast growing area.
The West Richland City Council is expected in January to select a contractor to replace the roundabout with a signalized intersection.
Built when roundabouts were first becoming popular in the Tri-Cities, construction on the intersection began in 2004 and was meant to last 20 years.
Rapid expansion in the Tri-Cities has caused it to hit its replacement date a few years early, though. The city got its first traffic light, at Bombing Range Road and Van Giesen Street, a year later.
Just before planning for the intersection, West Richland had about 8,400 residents according to the 2000 Census. As of 2021, the population of the city had doubled to just shy of 17,000 residents.
The city is expected to continue seeing that explosive growth as the Lewis and Clark Ranch area is incorporated and developed over the coming decades. That will almost double the city’s geographic footprint.
Over the past two decades residents seem to have softened on roundabouts, said West Richland Public Works director Roscoe Slade.
They’re now common throughout the Tri-Cities and are an effective tool to help manage traffic in the fast growing region. Planning for growth in a city that has doubled in population in 20 years isn’t an easy task though.
“It’s been a challenge, not just keeping up with the roadway demand, but water and sewer capacity,” Slade said. “People overall have gotten used to single-lane roundabouts and how to drive them, it’s the double lane people have an issue with.”
Slade oversaw the installation of the roundabout, and he’ll be there when it’s torn out next year.
New intersection
West Richland began planning for the roundabout’s replacement in 2020. It’s going to cost the city just over $3 million, but should help alleviate congestion during peak traffic hours.
Some may be surprised to hear that many residents would rather see the roundabout expanded to two lanes than replaced with a light. In discussions in a West Richland Facebook community group, residents said they had grown accustomed to the traffic flow and many were open to a larger version.
Slade said that while an expanded roundabout was considered and scored as highly as a signalized intersection, there were more drawbacks.
In particular, expanding the roundabout would mean the city would have to displace an elderly resident.
Both would work, but I think ultimately, at the end of the day the double-lane roundabout took out an 85-year-old woman’s home in the southwest corner ... ,” Slade said. “Mrs. Mason there at the corner, she remembers meeting me 20 years ago with her late husband talking about the roundabout coming in.”
Slade also said there were concerns about the regional pathway with a double roundabout, as well as access to nearby neighborhoods and the efficiency of emergency services. Slade said that in the end it came down to the two options, and the signalized intersection was the less disruptive.
That doesn’t mean there won’t be some disruption during construction though.
Construction zone
The West Richland City Council is expected to select a contractor at a January meeting, and work will begin soon after. While they would ideally begin within weeks, a start date is really dependent on the weather.
Slade said a rough winter will likely mean a March kick-off.
He recommends residents check the city’s social media sites for updates throughout the year. The project will be done in two portions, which will temporarily turn the roundabout into a three-way stop at the intersection. At times drivers will not be able to go left through the intersection.
“Bottom line, it will impact traffic,” he said. “So if people can avoid that intersection they’re going to be a lot happier.”
They hope to have the project complete by November of next year, provided there aren’t any major weather setbacks or supply chain issues.
The new signalized intersection will be four lanes passing through the intersection on Keene Road with additional turn lanes.
Slade said that Keene will likely see further improvements and expansion, but future changes are still in the planning stages. West Richland will have plenty more growth ahead as the city develops the Lewis and Clark Ranch area.
A 750-acre piece of the ranch will be the first portion of the land developed. It is expected to be a mix of residential and commercial development, bringing thousands of new homes and a shopping center the size of Richland’s Queensgate over the next decade. That area is nearest Ruppert Road and Highway 224.
Businessman Frank Tiegs, who owns the Lewis and Clark Ranch land, has set aside more than 7,700 acres for development and expansion in West Richland.
That land is already in city limits, but hasn’t been used. It’s roughly half of the city’s 22 square miles. The entire project could take over 50 years or more.
Tri-Cities roundabouts
The first roundabout in the Tri-Cities debuted at the intersection of 27th Avenue and Union Street in Kennewick in August 2000, in part as a means of reducing congestion coming from Southridge High School, according to Herald archives.
According to the Roundabouts Database, which tracks the traffic circles across the world, the Tri-Cities has 45 roundabouts of various sizes and types and four traffic calming circles.
The traffic calming circles are all in Richland, with two on Oahu Street and the others on Cortona Way. They’re not complete roundabouts, but have a circular island in the middle of the intersection.
The Tri-Cities built many of the first roundabouts in Eastern Washington.
Kennewick had several in use by the time Moses Lake opened its first in 2001. Yakima’s first roundabout opened in 2004 and Spokane’s in 2005, according to the database.
This story was originally published February 3, 2023 at 2:42 PM.
