Lane changes coming to Washington’s Hwy 92

WASHINGTON — Initial roadwork is underway for some long-awaited improvements to Highway 92/East Washington Street, a main route for commuters to and from Washington’s east side of town.

The roadwork will include pavement widening and repainted lines, making the strip a three-lane road with a stream of traffic heading east and west, and a shared middle turning lane all the way up to city limits. The changes will facilitate a stoplight’s installation as well, at the intersection of 92 and 12th Avenue, in front of United Presbyterian Home.

City Administrator Joe Gaa said the initial wave of work would be done in a matter of days, and that crews would later return to install the stoplight itself, as the local government waits out backlogs in the supply chain.

“The city-led project is to install the traffic signal, but before that, the pavement widening and road re-striping is a separate project,” he said.

Municipal officials say they’re excited for the changes, after the Iowa DOT said in 2023 that switching from four lanes to three had reduced crashes by up to 47% on similar streets around the state, giving cars a chance to slow down and turn without obstructing any other traffic.

The change is also expected to make passing easier in the area for emergency vehicles, while the anticipated stoplight should make crossings safer for pedestrians.

“It’ll be good to see some progress happening out there,” Mayor Millie Youngquist said. “It feels like we’ve been talking about it forever!”

The road widening and repaving project cost the city $200,500, according to a copy of the contract with TK Concrete Inc., a company based in Pella.

Leland Belding, a consultant hired by the city in 2023, showed decision-makers a projection suggesting that the changes would cause some congestion at intersections around rush hour, although not on 12th Avenue’s southbound lane, which is currently notorious for backing up behind any driver hoping to turn left at peak commute times.

Belding’s model also showed that, once installed, the planned stoplight at 92 and 12th would largely offset backups at every intersection along the road by “platooning” vehicles to create more openings for side street traffic. That would also reduce wait times for any residents whose driveways turn directly onto the often-busy highway.

“If somebody wants to enter their driveway, they just pull into the middle lane, wait for a gap in a single lane, and pull in,” Belding said at a council meeting almost two years ago. “When they pull out … all they have to do is wait for a gap in the nearside traffic, pause, wait for a gap, and they keep going.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com