Chelan Douglas Port Authority Votes to Study Widening State Route Corridor from Wenatchee Valley to I-90

A plan to widen the highway connection from the Wenatchee Valley to I-90 through Quincy is picking up momentum.

The Chelan Douglas Port Authority has voted to enter into an agreement to study the cost and safety of widening the corridor from two to four lanes.

Port Authority CEO Jim Kuntz says the state Department of Transportation is noticing an increase of traffic in the corridor.

"WSDOT for a long time said this is not on our list," said Kuntz. "And they have changed their tune over the past six months to a year saying, 'Ya know, we are getting some volume."

Kuntz also says the expanded highway would be an important connection to I-90 for the Chelan and Douglas County areas.

Port Authority Commissioner JC Baldwin thinks widening the corridor could help with safety.

"I'm excited for the study," said Baldwin. "We've had more and more fatalities on that route and significantly more accidents, because people are getting frustrated, they're taking chances."

The study will look at widening State Route 28 between East Wenatchee and Quincy, as well as doing the same on State Route 281 from Quincy to I-90.

The Port Authority voted Tuesday to enter into an agreement with the Chelan Douglas Transportation Council (CDTC), the City of Quincy and the Port of Quincy to spend $252,923 on a planning study of the corridor. CDTC currently has a consultant under contract to perform the study, which is also being funded by the Department of Transportation.

The study will include an economic market and development forecast for the SR 28 corridor to come up with an estimate of future travel demand between the Wenatchee Valley and Quincy.

The study will also develop a planning-level cost estimate to expand SR 28 from two to four lanes between Rock Island to Quincy, and to expand SR 281 from two to four lanes between Quincy and I-90.

The state already is planning to install a roundabout at State Route 28 and White Trail Rd. west of Quincy in order to relieve left turn conflicts at the intersection.  The roundabout will cost $2.8 million to construct and is scheduled to be complete by the fall of 2023.

During a Tuesday meeting of the Chelan Douglas Port Authority, CEO Kuntz expressed frustration that the City of Quincy had already tweaked the highway widening study to run specifically through Quincy without considering a route that would run along White Trail Rd.