Driver going 107 mph stopped on Hwy 240. More ‘Hanford 500’ commuters being ticketed

Troopers stopped a dozen drivers, including one going 107 mph, during the busy Hanford commute Wednesday morning.

Washington State Patrol troopers were looking for reckless drivers on the Hanford highway section of Highway 240, near the turnoff to the Richland landfill, Trooper Chris Thorson told the Tri-City Herald.

Troopers stopped 12 drivers in all. Four were driving dangerously, he said.

The extra WSP patrols began after Hanford employees complained about their morning commute to jobs at the nuclear reservation being plagued with people driving dangerously, Thorson said.

A liaison from the Hanford site reached out to Washington State Patrol about those concerns.

The morning commute is often jokingly referred to as the “Hanford 500.” People have complained about drivers speeding, passing unsafely and other reckless driving.

While the traffic to the site through Richland is heavy in the mornings, the stretch of Highway 240, commonly called the bypass highway, has three lanes so that others can avoid reckless drivers.

But once the highway narrows to two lanes northwest of the Horn Rapids Golf Course, drivers who are speeding and weaving through traffic make it more dangerous, Thorson said.

“The problem is that there is only the one lane for passing,” he said. “They have to go into the eastbound lanes.”

Thorson said it appears the primary offenders are workers traveling to work at Hanford.

Troopers plan more emphasis patrols along that stretch of highway in the future, Thorson said.

This story was originally published July 19, 2024 at 3:03 PM.