Deadly stretch of Tri-Cities highway getting attention from WA lawmakers

The dangerous stretch of Highway 395 north of Pasco is closer to getting help from Olympia.

The 5-mile stretch of road has claimed the lives of 12 people since 2015 and dozens others have been hurt. That total has included the family of a Benton County sheriff’s deputy and a Kahlotus councilman.

Now bills moving through the House and Senate would give Franklin County commissioners or the Washington state Department of Transportation a path to help with the deadly stretch of highway.

Rep. Mark Klicker, R-Walla Walla, and Sen. Nikki Torres, R-Pasco, introduced measures that would allow any Washington city, county, town or the Department of Transportation to create “crash prevention zones” along problem areas of roadways.

These zones would help local governments and the Department of Transportation highlight problem areas and create plans to address the underlying causes.

It would also add a $73 fine for speeding or any ticket related to a crash in those areas.

Klicker pointed to deadly crashes on Highway 395 between Pasco and Country Mercantile as one of the areas the prompted the bill. He pinned the blame for the increase on a growing population combined with roads in need of changes.

“We have farm equipment moving through that area, which we have had for many years, but as we increase traffic, increase population, we continue to see more and more and more incidents that create severe injury and fatalities,” Klicker said at a hearing this week.

Torres pointed to the most recent deadly crash that claimed the life of Perrie N. Robitaille, 77, just days before Thanksgiving. The Kahlotus city councilman was part of a family with a long history of service to the rural farming community.

Legislators and local leaders held a listening session following the November crash where more than 100 people called for some change on the road.

“Our communities are rightfully asking that something be done to prevent the next tragedy,” she told the Senate Transportation committee this week.

This isn’t just a Tri-Cities problem, Kicker pointed out when he testified Wednesday in the House Transportation Committee. Dangerous stretches of road are problems around the state.

“We’re really having some issues across the state in different areas — probably all four corners, the center and everything within the state,” he said.

The measures received support from the Washington State Association of Counties, the Association of Washington Cities, Pasco officials and the Washington Counties Risk Pool.

“We think this bill is creative in a way to curb the poor behavior of drivers as well as solving some of the revenue needs to solve the problem,” said Maria Serra, Pasco’s public works director.

The Senate bill is scheduled for a vote to leave the committee before Monday’s deadline. The House bill has not been scheduled for a vote.

Crash Prevention Zones

The bills allow any city, county, town or the Washington state Department of Transportation to create one of the zones on a public road marked by a “multitude of collisions” that have caused serious injury or death.

Prior to creating the zone, there would be need to be a public hearing where stakeholders can see and comment on a map that shows the area included in the zone.

Once it’s put into place, whichever group made the zone, would need to conduct a traffic and engineering study to determine ways to make it safer.

It also calls on the Washington State Patrol and local police to coordinate increasing enforcement in those zones.

Once it’s created, anyone caught speeding or breaking the law in a way that causes a collision would pay $73 as part of their ticket. This would be marked on road signs showing that there is a crash prevention zone.

That money would be set aside to fund engineering, traffic investigations, installing road signs, safety improvements or law enforcement patrols.

The zone can be dissolved once the improvements have been made, by the government agency that created it or by a petition of 10% of the property owners, businesses or residents in the area.

This story was originally published February 9, 2026 at 5:00 AM.