Safety upgrade ahead for Mill Plain

A $13 million project is expected to break ground in the summer, with a second phase of work scheduled for summer 2021.

The most comprehensive chunk of the project involves rebuilding two downtown intersections — where Mill Plain Boulevard meets Washington and Main streets, a slight hump in the road turns the overhanging traffic lights in into a clearance hazard and forces oversized freight traffic to divert onto other city roads.

“That creates a challenge for overheight vehicles,” Lopossa said.

WSDOT plans to remove high points from the roadway and replace traffic signals to improve mobility for tall vehicles. The agency is also predicting it will need to remove around 30 trees from along the roadway.

The city’s 2016 transportation study, the Westside Mobility Strategy, found that Highway 501 sees collision rates nearly four times the average for a comparable urban arterial in the state.

Much of the work along the roadway will involve safety improvements for cyclists and pedestrians. The city plans to add protected bike lanes along Mill Plain from Main to Broadway, creating room by narrowing the three individual traffic lanes from 12 feet to 11 feet wide.

The project will also include improvements to bike and pedestrian crossings at the I-5 interchange. What that looks like, Lopossa said, is still up for discussion, but it’s likely the crosswalk will be equipped with flashing lights. WSDOT may also use rumble strips to encourage drivers exiting the highway to slow down faster, Lopossa added.

The changes will hopefully cut down on collisions at the interchange, and also make novice cyclists more comfortable riding on the busy street, he said.

“We’re trying to make it approachable to all users,” Lopossa said. “If you make it safer, we think more folks will use it.”

City Councilor Laurie Lebowsky recused herself from Monday’s discussion, citing a potential conflict of interest. Lebowsky works as a planner in the WSDOT Southwest Region office.

WSDOT is hosting an open house at the Vancouver Community Library from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday. The agency is seeking feedback from the public on the Highway 501 upgrades, as well as a handful of other transportation projects in and around Vancouver.

Attendees can ask questions of staffers from WSDOT, the city of Vancouver, the Oregon Department of Transportation, C-Tran and the Port of Vancouver at the open house event.

For the rest of October, WSDOT staff will continue to canvass along Highway 501 to talk with residents and businesses who may be impacted by the project, Lopossa said. The agency also plans to attend neighborhood association meetings through the winter.

Work on restructuring the Washington and Main street intersections is scheduled for summer 2020, while resurfacing work and bike lane striping is set for the following year.

Contentious history

The Highway 501 arterial made its way into the news a few years ago, when upgrades to the section of roadway found an unexpected opponent in Clark County Councilor David Madore.

In 2015, Madore feuded with the Columbia River Economic Development Council over the council’s advocacy for improvements to the I-5/Mill Plain interchange. Madore threatened to vote against granting the CREDC Associate Development Organization status, which would make the organization eligible for annual state funding.

The reason for his opposition, Madore said at the time, was that the interchange work was part of the overall Columbia River Crossing project, which was by then defunct. Going forward with a piece of the project amounted to “CRC through the backdoor,” Madore said.