Purpose & Need
The purpose of this project was to reduce traffic congestion through this section of SR-14, which improved safety and traffic flow (mobility). The city of Bingen needed economic revitalization of the downtown corridor, and anticipated that their efforts to improve the transportation system would result in improved economic vitality.
Context
This project is rural in nature with business and residential land use. On-street parking is present. The town has a posted speed of 40 mph just preceding the city, with speeds lowering to between 25-35 mph through the city. This location has the potential for additional new development. The project is also environmentally sensitive because of the Columbia River. There are sidewalks present in the central part of town and shoulders exist for use by bicyclists. The corridor experiences high levels of freight traffic.
Initial Design Concept
To relieve congestion and improve safety and mobility, it was
envisioned that the westerly portion of this project would
provide two through lanes, a two-way left-turn lane, and
shoulders with curbs and a sidewalk on the south side from MP
65.12 to MP 66.17. The north side is curbed to separate the offsite
water from the roadway drainage, with a ditch section
behind the curbing from MP 65.12 to MP 66.17. A new sidewalk
will be installed on the north side from MP 65.93 to MP 66.17.
The easterly portion of this project is from Willow Street to Vine
Street (MP 66.17 to MP 66.84). This portion of the project,
which is within downtown Bingen, proposes to rebuild the
roadway to meet the recommendations set forth in Bingen’s
“Downtown Revitalization Plan.” The wide sidewalks will be
rebuilt with bulbouts, new drainage will be installed, and the
roadway will be overlayed with asphalt concrete pavement. New
streetscapes will be installed along with decorative lighting to
enhance the downtown corridor. A sidewalk will be constructed
from MP 66.47 to 66.76 on the north side.
Funding
Funding for this project came from an assortment of federal and
state grants, local agencies, and Klickitat County. The
Washington Department of Transportation’s (WSDOT’s)
contribution to the construction phase of this project was about
$392,000. The City was able to obtain two revitalization grants
for the project in addition to other federal funding and state
funding, for a total of about $7.8 million. The overall project
budget is about $8.2 million.
Challenges
- Designing the project to help
revitalize the downtown
- Not enough room to widen roadway
- Location and number of diagonal
parking on both sides of road in
downtown section
Solutions
- Shoulders widened to 6 feet
- Left-turn lanes and right-turn
pockets added to facilitate traffic
movement through town
- Street trees and planting strips
added in the downtown area
- Pedestrian bulb-outs and widerthan-
standard sidewalks installed
through the downtown corridor to
encourage pedestrian activity
- Utilities placed underground
through the town’s core area
- Concrete pavers, street furniture,
and special light standards added
to improve the aesthetic qualities of
the downtown corridor
SR-14Bingen
