$40M in Tri-Cities highway construction congestion. 3 trouble spots to avoid
Warmer weather means highway construction is heating up throughout the Tri-Cities region.
The Washington Department of Transportation and its partners are spending about $40 million on three major projects in the Tri-Cities in 2025, said Alex Sanguino, project engineer for WSDOT.
- A section of Highway 240 in Richland that’s key for commuters to Hanford is getting an $8 million update.
- The Umatilla bridge that carries Interstate 82 across the Columbia River is getting an $18 million paint job.
- The Plymouth weigh station on I-82 north of the river is midway through a $14 million rebuild.
The Highway 240 and Umatilla painting bridge work are requiring detours and reduced speed.
The uptick in construction carries an annual caution to motorists to slow down and heed safety warnings. And if they don’t, fines double in construction zones, just like they do in school zones.
The transportation department and the Washington State Patrol remind drivers to keep the safety of road workers in mind as they pass through constructions.
Work zones are unmistakable. Workers wear bright vests and hardhats. Flashing lights and road signs warn of work ahead. Specialized vehicles with crumple zones protect workers from wayward vehicles.
“We’re trying to be as noticed as possible,” said Matt Wilhelm, transportation engineer and project manager.
Highway 240 corridor
WSDOT is widening the section of Highway 240 between Stevens Drive and the Hagen Road intersection to the west.
Workers are building a sound wall along Moon River RV Resort, which is on the south side of the road.
The sound wall will be finished with a rock face, echoing similar designs on the bypass highway in Richland. Once the wall is built, workers will dig into the highway itself.
The project includes widening the roadway and updating traffic signals, pedestrian crossings, lights and signs.
The project will require nighttime detours for most, though local access will be preserved for Moon River and its neighbors, including the Richland Lamb Weston complex and a Lineage cold storage facility.
Detours will direct traffic around the work zone between 6 p.m. and 4 a.m., Sunday evenings to Saturday mornings. Routes along Kingsgate Way, Battelle Boulevard and Stevens Drive will be marked. The detour roads were repaired in anticipation of the heavier traffic.
Granite Construction is the contractor.
Umatilla Bridge repainting
WSDOT is partnering with its Oregon counterpart on a year-long, $18 million project to repaint the underside of the Interstate 82 bridge that carries traffic across the Columbia River into Oregon.
The two states are sharing the expense, but WSDOT is the manager. Vimas Painting Co. of Lowelville, Ohio, is the contractor.
The work includes cleaning and painting existing metal girders, repairing support systems and other items. The Umatilla bridge painting project echoes of the blue bridge painting project on the Highway 395 bridge that snarled traffic in 2024.
The blue bridge project involved painting the entire bridge. The Umatilla work involves the underside of the bridge, with more work to come in the future.
Plymouth weigh station rebuild
The weigh station at near the I 82 interchange with Highway 14 is getting a complete rebuild. Granite Construction is the contractor for the state-funded project, which began in 2024 and is expected to wrap up by January 2026.
The project is a partnership between WSDOT and WSP as part of their joint mission to patrol commercial vehicles for compliance with Washington safety and other regulations.
The update includes new facilities and electronic screening equipment.
Construction zones
WSDOT officials highlighted the need for drivers to pay attention in construction zones by arranging 61 orange traffic cones in an arc, one representing each construction worker killed in accidents in the agency’s history.
Every accident or injury is 100% preventable, said Trooper Daniel Mosqueda, public information officer for WSP. Speeding, distractions and following too close are the leading cause of accidents and the numbers rise as temperatures warm up and traffic builds.
Working alongside speeding traffic can be scary and near-misses are endemic. Road workers deserve better.
“These people are out here fixing our roads and infrastructure for us,” Mosqueda said. “We monitor construction zones very closely.”
Speed limits are almost always reduced in construction zones, which are are heavily marked by traffic cones, flashing lights and vehicles that double as crumple zones to shield workers from wayward drivers.
Besides adhering to reduced speed limits, WSP advises drivers to set aside any distractions. That includes pausing conversations, including in-person ones with fellow passengers and those being conducted over hands free devices.
Pets in laps also can be a big distraction. It’s not illegal for a pet to ride in a driver’s lap. However, it can lead to a dangerous driving citation if it results in a crash.
Go to WSDOT projects for more information.
This story was originally published April 22, 2025 at 5:00 AM.