Two-way left-turn lane proposed DOT representatives discuss U.S. 97 traffic upgrade with Brewster Council

BREWSTER – Representatives from the Wenatchee Department of Transportation for North Central Washington appeared before the Brewster City Council during its regular monthly meeting last Wednesday, July 11, to advise members to a traffic upgrade on State Route 97 south of Brewster later this summer.

Kevin Daratha and Brian Pearson told members that while the project under consideration is on county property outside the Brewster city limits, its proximity was close enough to warrant a courtesy advisory to city officials and get local feedback.

Every five to seven years the Wenatchee DOT evaluates every highway within its region which includes all of Okanogan, Douglas, Chelan and pieces of surrounding counties.

“This last year we looked at U.S. 97 going through the City of Brewster,” said Pearson. “One of the primary things we look at is crashes and crash history and try to pinpoint where the hotspots are.”

The project calls for adding a two-way left-turn center lane on a .8-mile section of U.S. 97 at Brewster Grange Road to reduce the risk of collisions with vehicles making left turns there.

“We’ve had five reportable crashes, reportable meaning there was an injury or property damage over $1,000,” said Pearson. “Three of those incidents involved vehicles trying to pass another vehicle attempting a left turn."

DOT officials concluded that the addition of a designated left turn lane in that section would reduce the collision risk.
“The nice thing about this roadway section is that we have enough width that we don’t have to add any pavement,” said Pearson.

The alteration calls for narrowing the lanes from 12 feet to 11 feet and the current eight-foot shoulders will be narrowed to four feet.

The proposed speed limit on the 1.18-mile stretch of highway from the end of the two-way turn lane to the 40-mile-per-hour transition coming into south Brewster is 50 mph.

There are currently no plans to add a bike lane in the alteration and that was another reason given by the DOT reps for reducing the speed limit to 50 mph. The project is expected to require from one to two weeks to complete.