Tamara Greenwell, communications, 360-905-2076

Carley Francis, planning, 360-905-2182

Construction to start as early as this fall

VANCOUVER – In response to input from thousands of people during a safety study conducted earlier this year, the Washington State Department of Transportation has selected a Right In, Right Out design to improve safety on State Route 500 at Northeast Falk Road/Northeast 42nd Avenue and Northeast Stapleton Road/Northeast 54th Avenue in Vancouver.

In collaboration with the City of Vancouver, Clark County, C-TRAN and the Southwest Washington Regional Transportation Council, the design was chosen because it balances significant safety improvements to SR 500, while maintaining some connectivity to SR 500 from local streets.

“With nearly 400 crashes occurring on SR 500 near these intersections over five years, we believe it’s our responsibility to do something to improve safety,” said Carley Francis, WSDOT Southwest Region Planning Director. “These improvements are relatively low cost, can be implemented rather quickly, and will significantly improve safety on SR 500.”

WSDOT has secured funding to begin implementing highway safety improvements identified through the study and is currently advertising a construction contract for the work to begin as early as this fall.

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