Clark County Public Works is hosting an open house on the planned 179th Street corridor road improvements at 6 p.m. Thursday. County residents can attend the open house virtually or in person at 1300 Franklin St. in Vancouver. The meeting will be on the sixth floor of the Public Service Center.
The proposed road work is part of the county’s access management and circulation plan for Northeast 179th Street. Public Works officials said the road improvement project is geared toward improving the safety and mobility of the road while balancing the infrastructure and utility needs of future development.
Public Works officials announced in February the county was moving forward with plans for the 2-mile road project. The first phase of the road project calls for improvements at two intersections along 179th Street, the first at Northeast 50th Avenue and the second at Northeast 29th Avenue. The addition of roundabouts had been planned for both intersections, but Public Works determined an interim project that adds left-turn lanes on the east and west sides of Northeast 179th at the 50th Avenue intersection would serve the area’s needs until 2035.
Residents living near the Northeast 50th Avenue intersection have been especially critical of the project and Public Works. Among their concerns are additional housing developments and the number and types of roads needed to support those developments, additional roads planned for their neighborhood which they say are unneeded, loss of wetlands habitat and whether the county is applying planning requirements equally, among others. They also say the county is putting the needs of developers above the needs of those already living in the area.
