Speed limit could be raised on 2 Hanford roads

The speed limit on two stretches of road on the Hanford nuclear reservation could be increased from 55 mph to 60 mph after the Tuesday meeting of the Benton County commissioners.

Commissioners are expected to approve raising the speed limit on the stretch of Route 11A from near the Yakima Barricade east to Milepost 6, which is about a mile east of the Route 4 North intersection, and on the stretch of Route 10 from its intersection with Highway 240 north to near the Wye Barricade.

Hanford workers requested the change, said Rae Weil, spokeswoman for Mission Support Alliance, the Hanford support services contractor.

The roads in both places are wide and have clear views, and the traffic there is not variable, she said. Traffic moves into the site during the morning and out of the site in the afternoon at the security barricades.

A study in 2010 led to some speed limits at Hanford being raised to 60 mph, and the new proposal is consistent with that, Weil said.

Mission Support Alliance requested the county increase speed limits. The county sets traffic regulations at Hanford under a 1998 agreement with the Department of Energy.

This story was originally published January 8, 2016 at 6:12 PM with the headline "Speed limit could be raised on 2 Hanford roads."