East Wenatchee Road Improvement Underway; Intersection Will Close

Improvement work is finally underway at an East Wenatchee intersection that was identified as deficient back in 2013. 

Work began Tuesday morning to replace a flashing red light with full traffic lights at 9th Street & Valley Mall Parkway. 

East Wenatchee Public Works Manager Garren Melton says the project will be done quickly, except for a supply chain delay in getting the actual light poles. 

"So, it's going to be completely finished, except the signals won't be up," said Melton. "We'll be putting temporary stop signs back up. As soon as those poles get manufactured, we'll be installing them, hopefully in the late winter, early spring." 

The East Wenatchee City Council approved a $1.8 million bid for the project in July, which also includes widening a sidewalk and repaving a portion of 9th Street. 

The original plan called for a roundabout to be installed at the intersection, but engineers decided a traffic light would be better for traffic flow.  

Widening the sidewalk on the north side of the intersection by the 7-11 store is meant to improve access to the Apple Capitol Loop Trail for pedestrians and bicycles. 

Melton says the improvements also include repaving a whole block of 9th Street, from Valley Mall Parkway to Sunset Highway (SR 28), which should be done by the middle of November. 

The project will present one major inconvenience, as the intersection will be completely closed down for a two-week period from Monday, October 24th through Friday, November 4th. 

“You’ll still be able to get to all the businesses, you just have to come from the right direction to get into the parking lot,” Melton said. “So, if you want to get to 7-11, you come from the north down Valley Mall Parkway. If you want to go to the Clearwater, or any of those businesses on the south side, you just have to come from the mall side of the intersection.” 

Except for the delay in delivery of the traffic light poles, Melton says all work on the project should be complete by mid to late November.