By Kevin Hanson-The Courier-Herald
Plateau motorists who travel between Buckley and Bonney Lake pass through a busy stretch of highway that is soon due for a $25 million upgrade.
To keep the public abreast of their plans for state Route 410 between 234th Avenue East and 214th, staff from the state's Department of Transportation has scheduled a public meeting from 5 to 8 tonight, Wednesday, in the Foothills Elementary School multipurpose room. The school is a couple of blocks south of 410 on 234th.
The project has been in the planning stages for years, due to the number of accidents at the 234th intersection and anticipated growth along the 1.49-mile stretch of highway. The area between 214th and 234th is identified as Bonney Lake's “Eastown” neighborhood and is the next region primed for growth by the city.
The area “is currently identified as a high accident location,” according to information posted on the DOT Web site. “The traffic volumes for this area are so high there are very few gaps in the traffic flow to make left turns, which causes many people to make risky maneuvers - leading to collisions.”
Reconfiguring the intersection at the east end of the project is an ambitious undertaking. Part of the current problem is that motorists use both 234th and 233rd, which aren't quite aligned, creating a hazard as cars and trucks enter and leave the highway. When traffic from a mini-mart is factored in, the intersection lends itself to accidents.
The DOT proposal is to create a new intersection, pushing 234th slightly to the east and adding a new stretch of road on the north side of the highway, making a perfectly-aligned road for those crossing 410. Traffic through the intersection would be controlled with a traditional, three-phase traffic light.
As for the highway, DOT plans call for adding a second lane in both directions and limiting left turns to just three locations along the way. Those left-turn locations have not yet been decided.
According to the DOT Web site, design teams are currently preparing plans and specifications for roadway, walls, stormwater treatment and erosion control. Utility conflicts have been identified and engineers are working with several utility companies to relocate utilities. The environmental documentation is under way and should be completed by spring 2008. The right-of-way acquisition process has begun and DOT expects to begin construction in spring 2009.
The project is being funded primarily through gas taxes imposed in 2005 ($13.5 m million) and 2003 (almost $6 million). DOT also had about $4.5 million identified as “existing funding and is collection the remainder from a handful of developers.
Kevin Hanson can be reached at khanson@courierherald.com.
