‘Death trap.’ Franklin leaders demand changes to lethal stretch of Hwy 395
Tri-City leaders are pushing for help from Washington state and the federal government to address a deadly stretch of highway.
Franklin County commissioners voted Wednesday to send a letter to state and federal agencies, as well as lawmakers, asking for help dealing with the increasingly common fatal crashes on Highway 395 just north of Pasco.
The intersections near the Country Mercantile store are of particular concern, including Crestloch Road, East Vineyard Drive, Foster Wells Road and Sagemoor Road.
Commissioner Clint Didier said improvements to safety on Highway 395 are a major priority for the community. He even received a message during the meeting thanking the commissioners for having the conversation.
“It’s something that keeps all of our neighbors up at night. It’s a death trap,” Didier said.
Asking for help
“We are writing to express profound and urgent safety concerns regarding the deteriorating conditions and alarming rate of serious incidents on U.S. Route 395 near Pasco just outside of King City (Truck Stop),” County Administrator Brian Dansel read from the letter.
He said those concerns were highlighted by a serious collission Friday involving some farming equipment and then a fatal wreck Tuesday that took the life of Kahlotus city Councilman Perrie Robitaille.
Dansel said the stretch of highway faces a complex and highly dangerous combination of factors ranging from heavy commercial traffic causing severe speed differentials with passenger vehicles to agricultural traffic and other issues caused by growth in the region.
They also pointed to the recent string of deadly collisions as evidence the current configuration is inadequate for the existing traffic mix and speed.
“It is no longer a question of if a major fatal incident will occur, but when,” Dansel said. “We must act decisively now to prevent further loss of life and property.”
They’re asking for:
• Increased emphasis patrols and presence from Washington State Patrol, especially during commute times and peak agricultural seasons.
• A traffic review to determine what improvements could be made to make the roadway and intersections safer.
• Dedicated safety funding and partnerships, including any available money the highway safety improvement commission can fast track.
Dansel said the letter was sent to the WSP, state Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Congressmen Dan Newhouse and Michael Baumgartner, Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell and state representatives.
They also plan to reach out to leaders from the Port of Pasco, city of Pasco, Benton Franklin Council of Governments, which does regional transportation planning, and the state and federal departments of agriculture.
The commissioners said they are committed to doing anything they can to help on the county’s end.
Managing growth
The commissioners also discussed a wide range of options from tapping local funds to potentially declaring an emergency and taking a new approach to long-term planning to alleviate congestion.
They expressed concern that growth in the area is moving faster than local governments can keep up with.
“This is going to be expensive. We need to look at how we’re going to manage the growth and how we’re going to move traffic around the Tri-Cities rather than through it,” Commissioner Rocky Mullen said. “As fast as we’re growing, I think we need to figure out a bypass plan.”
Connell Police Chief Chris Lee spoke briefly at Wednesday’s meeting, emphasing the need for a holistic approach.
“Something’s gotta happen, something’s got to change,” Lee said. “We can’t be there all the time, we can’t always be in the area. It’s got to be a holistic approach.”
Lee said Highway 395 has gotten so bad it is beginning to be jokingly referred to as the Autobahn, Germany’s major roadway famous for having stretches with no speed limit.
He suggested examining changes to the entire corridor, starting at Highway 12 near the Snake River.
Didier said larger projects also need to be considered in addition to pullouts for agriculture equipment, better signage and potential changes to turn lanes.
“Overpasses or frontage roads, I think we should be looking into both,” he said. “Either way it’s going to be a lot of money, but lives are worth more than money.”
The commissioners plan to host a workshop with Eric Johnson, a former director of the Washington state Association of Counties, to strategize on how to best manage which projects should be paid for locally and which they can tap state and federal help for.
Other major roadways of concern they want to see addressed include Highway 17 and local safety improvements to Glade Road and Road 68.
Fatal wrecks
On Tuesday morning, Kahlotus Councilman Perrie Robitaille was killed when he was struck by another vehicle while attempting to cross the highway at East Vineyard Drive.
Last Friday, Timothy Korchmar, 28, of Spokane Valley, was seriously injured on Highway 395 near Crestloch Road.
Korchmar was driving a semi truck and struck a pilot truck for a tractor, spinning the truck out of the way and hitting the back of the tractor trailer.
Earlier this year, several people have been killed in wrecks at other intersections on the stretch of Highway 395 just north of Pasco.
In August, a Richland mother and her teen daughter were killed at Highway 395 and Foster Wells Road. Rafaela Alquicira Huipio, 50, was driving west on Foster Wells Road when she attempted to cross the highway. She cleared the northbound lanes, but did not yield to southbound traffic, WSP said.
She and her daughter, Yureli Ontiveros Alquicira, 17, died at the scene.
Less than two weeks later Patricia Wallum, 73, of Vancouver, Wash., was attempting to cross the highway at the intersection with Crestloch Road when she failed to yield while attempting a left turn across the northbound lanes of the highway. She was struck by an SUV and died at a local hospital.
In late 2023, Luis Acosta Hernandez, 23, was killed at the same intersection as Robitaille when he failed to yield to traffic while trying to cross the highway.
