Highway 14 construction to add third lanes set to begin next week

Third lanes in both directions expected to ease congestion

By William Seekamp, Columbian staff writer

Published: September 28, 2022, 6:03am

The segment of state Highway 14 between Interstate 205 and 164th Avenue is notorious for congestion, a problem which WSDOT seeks to address by adding additional travel lanes and a "peak-use shoulder lane" for overflow traffic. (Amanda Cowan/The Columbian)

Construction of a third lane in both directions of state Highway 14 between the Interstate 205 and Southeast 164th Avenue interchanges will begin as early as Oct. 3.

The project is expected to significantly improve commute times, ease congestion and improve travel reliability.

Travelers should plan for delays as travel lanes in both directions of Highway 14 will be narrowed during construction.

The $28 million Washington State Department of Transportation project has been in the works since 2017 and is scheduled to be completed by the summer of 2024.

“There’s a bottleneck, both eastbound and westbound, currently where the lanes narrow to two lanes instead of three lanes,” said Laura Peterson, assistant project manager at WSDOT’s southwest office. “We’re removing it by adding a third lane.”

The project will also include a peak-use shoulder lane along westbound Highway 14 between Southeast 164th Avenue and I-205, the first in Clark County. Buses may currently use the shoulder lane.

“(Westbound is) where most of the congestion happens,” Peterson said. “Eastbound by just adding that third lane, we completely remove congestion — it’s free-flow conditions. We needed to add that peak use shoulder lane westbound to help with congestion.”

When the project is completed, electronic signs will display when the shoulder lane is open or closed to traffic, including buses. When the lane is open, there will be four travel lanes instead of three.

Other improvements include stormwater facilities, a noise wall, fiber optics, electronic message signs, a ramp meter, traffic cameras and right-of-way acquisition.

This story was made possible by Community Funded Journalism, a project from The Columbian and the Local Media Foundation. Top donors include the Ed and Dollie Lynch Fund, Patricia, David and Jacob Nierenberg, Connie and Lee Kearney, Steve and Jan Oliva, The Cowlitz Tribal Foundation and the Mason E. Nolan Charitable Fund. The Columbian controls all content. For more information, visit columbian.com/cfj.

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