205 W 5th Ave Ellensburg, WA 98926-2887
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Kittitas (pronounced 'KITT-i-tass') County is located in central Washington State. It spans from the lush forested Cascade Mountains to the upper Yakima River Valley plains and the Columbia River.
Kittitas County, WA - 05/04/2022 - The Board of County Commissioners is soliciting qualified engineering consultants to verify the feasibility of widening Interstate 90 from Easton to Cle Elum.
Diverting I-90 weekend traffic is adversely impacting upper county roadways. Attempts to stop traffic diverting software deployments such as Google Maps and Waze have failed with all service providers declining to cease advising drivers of local route bypass options. In 2020, the county evaluated various alternatives designed to alleviate the adverse impacts from I-90 diverting traffic. Widening I-90 appears to be the only viable solution to provide long term results. Attempts to have the work completed by the Washington State Department of Transportation have failed and county residents continue suffering under the weight of diverting I-90 traffic. The Board is now interested in validating the feasibility of widening I-90 from Easton to Cle Elum. Public Works recently succeeded in placing the project onto the State’s Transportation Improvement Plan. This work is just the beginning of a long-term solution to address the traffic impacts Kittitas County is facing. We are also continuing to work on various road networks to install short term solutions and funding additional law enforcement in some of the most affected areas. The feasibility study is expected to kickoff in August 2022 and complete by August 2024. Commissioner Osiadacz stated: "It is important to look into the future for transportation. We can make small changes that are temporary today but is proud of the fact Kittitas County is looking into the future seeing where the source of our challenges fall. We are taking our fate into our own hands. When not assisted directly by those responsible for the impacts we have chosen to do it ourselves, because it is the right thing to do for the people of Kittitas County.”
Kittitas County, from the Cascades to the Columbia, and online at http://www.co.kittitas.wa.us
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Contact: Kittitas County Public Works at 509-962-7523