BATTLE GROUND — With cars whizzing by in the background, a group of local politicians and Washington State Department of Transportation officials held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new, wider state Highway 502.
“Just 10 minutes off (Interstate 5) exit 11 is a very beautiful part of the county inhabited by hard working, welcoming, friendly people who strive every day to raise their families and live the small town life that many people in this country can only hope for,” Battle Ground Mayor Phillip Johnson said.
He added that the improvements to 502 will not only make it easier for Battle Ground residents to get to I-5, it also will allow for easier access to Battle Ground and north Clark County.
The $84.4 million project widens 502 from two lanes to four lanes and more than doubles the shoulders on both sides. With the extra lanes and wider shoulders, 502 expanded from 28-feet wide to 84-feet wide, WSDOT Regional Administrator Kris Strickler said. The shoulders are now 10 feet wide, and the project added a median to separate eastbound from westbound traffic.
Another new feature of the road is a U-turn lane for large trucks at the intersection of 502 and Northeast 92nd Avenue. Truck drivers heading east can pull into the far right lane, which will trigger the traffic light to give the driver a chance to make the U-turn. While the U-turn light is on, a box underneath the traffic lights that face drivers on 92nd will light up, telling them to not make a right turn on red.
Strickler said the project was done to accommodate population growth in the region, and that traffic in the corridor around 502 is expected to double within the next 20 years.
Monday’s ribbon-cutting was a celebration more than a decade in the making. Chris Tams, WSDOT construction engineering manager and former project manager for the 502 widening project, said planning and development started more than 12 years ago.
Construction started July 2012.
“It’s gratifying seeing it go from something like an idea on a piece of paper to a project done well,” Tams said. “It’s something that will serve the community well for many years.”
While designs started in 2003, the project was completed a bit earlier than planned; it was supposed to finish up by the end of October, according to Tamara Greenwell, WSDOT spokeswoman. She said there are a few “punch-list items” to finish, such as some landscaping, which usually takes place in the fall.
Greenwell said the project came in about $2 million under budget.
A bulk of the money for the project came from the 2005 gas tax, which made up around $76.5 million of the funding. About $7.8 million came from the “nickel” gas tax package approved in 2003. Strickler said this was one of the last projects in the region to use funding from that package. The state will continue to work with Clark County cities on transportation, he added, thanks to the $15 billion transportation package passed last year by the state.
“This is not the end,” Strickler said. “This is not the last time you’ll see us.”
Adam Littman: 360-735-4518; adam.littman@columbian.com; twitter.com/a_littman
