Transportation Council To Consider Upgrades to SR 28

The Chelan Douglas Transportation Council is trying to identify what upgrades need to be done on State Route 28 between East Wenatchee and Rock Island.

A study last year produced numerous options for two, three and four-lane expansion of the roadway from 3rd Street SE to Battermann Road.

Transportation Council member and Chelan County Commissioner Kevin Overbay says safety is a top concern.

"Huge safety issue because you've got a lot of ingress egress coming off that stretch with all the different side roads," Overbay said while discussing the issue with fellow county commissioners Monday.

Overbay said the Transportation Council will continue to look at three options for improvements to SR 28 in January.

Options for improvements proposed in last year's study ranged in cost from $19 million to $258 million, depending on whether the project included two, three or four lane upgrades.

Overbay says the council is thinking big at this point.

"(It) would be a larger scale project that we're still trying to work with consultants on, planning on what would be the best product in the future," Overbay said.

The overall study last year looked at improvements from East Wenatchee to Quincy on SR 28, and on SR 281 between Quincy and I-90.

The public comment portion of the study showed widespread agreement the Quincy to East Wenatchee section of SR28 is very unsafe, with high speed and risky driving.

There was also agreement that Highway 28 should be expanded to 4 lanes with turn lanes at each intersection.

In addition, public comment reflected a concern over a lack of turn lanes on the highway

An economic analysis of the project named four priorities for the SR 28: