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

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.

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