With more traffic using State Route 14 than ever before, this project will construct new lanes of travel on both directions of SR 14 between I-205 and Southeast 164th Avenue in Vancouver to help ease congestion and improve travel reliability.
Needs & benefits
This project includes widening SR 14 between I-205 and Southeast 164th Avenue to remove chokepoints eastbound and westbound and includes a new part time shoulder to add an additional westbound travel lane during highly congested travel times. Other elements included to support these improvements are storm water facilities, a noise wall, fiber optics, electronic message signs, a ramp meter, traffic cameras, and right of way acquisition.
Part time shoulder lane
In addition to new lanes of travel in either direction, this project also creates a new part time shoulder that will extend along a mile and a half of westbound SR 14 between Southeast 164th Avenue and I-205. This means that when traffic is heavy, westbound SR 14 travelers going to northbound I-205 will be able to use the right shoulder, creating an additional lane of travel. When this lane is open, there will be four travel lanes instead of three.
- Electronic signs over the highway will display whether the part time shoulder is open to traffic, allowing travelers, including buses, to use the shoulder as a regular travel lane during times with heavy traffic.
- A green arrow will indicate that the shoulder lane is open, and a red X will indicate when it is closed.
- Yellow arrows will let drivers know when they need to use caution or exit the shoulder lane.
In the event of an emergency or a blocking vehicle, the electronic overhead sign will display a red X, indicating the shoulder lane is closed until the problem can be cleared. The WSDOT Incident Response Team will continue to patrol the SR 14 corridor to respond to incidents and keep traffic moving. There will also be paved emergency pullouts in the area of the peak-use shoulder lane. More information about part time shoulders and how to use them is available on our website.
Ramp meter
As part of this project, a ramp meter will be installed for travelers accessing westbound SR 14 from Southeast 164th Avenue. The ramp meter will dynamically adjust the flow of vehicles entering SR 14 based on current roadway conditions to maximize traffic flow on the highway.
- Ramp meters help maximize the flow of traffic by increasing merging space between vehicles entering the highway and traffic already on the highway - maintaining a more consistent traffic flow and improving travel speeds and safety.
- Ramp meters help reduce collisions.
Public transit benefits
Buses will be able to use the shoulder to access both northbound and southbound I-205, and by including a westbound peak-use shoulder lane in the project, traffic flow for the overall corridor will improve - benefiting transit. Transit will be able to enter the peak-use shoulder lane directly from the dedicated westbound on-ramp lane from Southeast 164th Avenue.
Noise wall
Part of any widening project includes conducting a noise wall feasibility study. In order to provide a fair and equitable process for all, we follow a uniform procedure using consistent criteria for all transportation projects to identify the noise effects on neighborhoods; to determine where noise barriers will be built; and to meet federal noise regulations. The evaluation of noise for new roadway construction projects is a mandatory program under federal law.
To be responsible stewards of tax money, noise wall construction is determined by whether or not a wall is both reasonable and feasible per those guidelines. Not all neighborhoods in the project area met this requirement, which means that a noise wall will not be constructed in every neighborhood within the corridor.
The end result
This project will improve safety, increase traffic flow and reduce commute times on this highly congested roadway. This project will not fix all of the problems along the corridor, but with your help, we are addressing the most critical needs with the $28 million in available funding.
SR 14 - I-205 to SE 164th Avenue Auxiliary Lanes - Información del proyecto - Spanish
Si desea recibir más información sobre este proyecto, llame al 360-705-7090 o envíe un correo electrónico al Departamento de Transporte del Estado de Washington (WSDOT) swrCCEO@wsdot.wa.gov.
Funding for this project was originally slated for the SR 14 West Camas Slough Bridge project, a few miles to the east on SR 14. It was determined that there was a more pressing need to reduce congestion on SR 14 between I-205 and Southeast 164th Avenue, so the entire funding amount was moved in the 2017 legislative session.
