Trip from Moscow to Pullman to become life in the four-lane

The drive between Moscow, Idaho, and Pullman is about to get an overhaul more than a decade in the making.

The Washington state Department of Transportation will begin work this year on a six-mile-long state Highway 270 project that will boost the two-lane road to four lanes with a center turn lane and rumble strips.

The widening work will be done between Pullman and the Idaho border this year and next.

Highway 270 is the main road connecting Pullman, home of Washington State University, and Moscow, site of the University of Idaho. It has been the scene of some deadly wrecks, including a 2001 collision in which three WSU students were killed.

While the main goal of the widening project is to increase traffic capacity, it will have the added benefit of improving safety, said Transportation Department spokesman Al Gilson.

“The most horrific accidents come from improper passing,” he said.

That was the case in the 2001 collision. Fred Russell, the WSU student accused of causing that crash while driving drunk, fled to Ireland. He’s now awaiting a decision on whether he will be extradited to stand trial in Whitman County.

With an additional lane in each direction, passing accidents should decrease, Gilson said.

It has taken a few fits and starts to get to this point. After the state allocated funding under its 2003 nickel gas tax increase, it quickly became clear that there wasn’t enough money to fund a proposal for a divided four-lane highway with frontage roads.

The new plan without frontage roads and with the center turning lane rather than a median fits within the state’s $30 million budget.

Drivers will be able to use the highway while it’s under construction.

Insult to injury

What’s worse than a parking ticket?

Getting more than one in a day.

That is possible in Spokane, where vehicles can be ticketed multiple times depending on the time limit at the meter where they are parked.

If it’s an expired two-hour meter, that could mean a ticket every two hours. An expired 15-minute meter could technically get you a ticket every 15 minutes.

That doesn’t typically happen, though, said streets department spokeswoman Staci Lehman. That’s because the meter readers don’t usually pass the same spot that frequently.

Enforcement is gentler in Coeur d’Alene, where vehicles are rarely ticketed more than once unless they’re left parked in the same spot for days.

But don’t let that knowledge prompt you to try the dirty trick of putting an old ticket on your windshield to ward off a new one.

Parking enforcement workers report they’re on to that one.

Tie it down

The Washington State Patrol is cracking down on drivers who fail to secure their loads.

On Friday troopers responded to a debris-caused multiple-vehicle collision on Interstate 90 just east of the Division Street exit.

Turns out a pickup traveling in the middle lane lost a chunk of its load of foam board. Two drivers then hit the mess, and a third hit them.

To make matters worse, the oblivious pickup driver said he didn’t even realize the havoc he had caused.

As Getting There reported last year, it’s now a gross misdemeanor in Washington if an unsecured load causes serious injuries. Thankfully in this case it did not, but a woman on the west side of the state was blinded and severely disfigured when an entertainment center fell off the back of the vehicle in front of her and then rammed through her windshield.

That, in part, prompted the tougher law with a fine of up to $5,000 and a year in jail.

Letting material drop from your vehicle carries a fine of $194 even if there is no damage, said Washington State Trooper Jeff Sevigney.

Sevigney said that drivers who see other vehicles losing their loads should report it. If the material is large and could be dangerous, drivers should call 911, he said.

And even if you don’t lose your load, there are still penalties.

Drivers with loads that aren’t covered by a tarp or secured with ropes to prevent spills are now being fined at the Spokane Waste to Energy facility and transfer stations.

In this case it’s to prevent litter. The majority of the garbage on the side of the road is from unsecured loads.

Fines are $5 for loads up to 3 cubic yards and $15 for larger loads.

Fair warning

The Spokane Police Department’s traffic unit will be conducting emphasis patrols this week in the vicinity of Maple Street between Seventh and 10th avenues.

They’ll be looking for speeders.

Slow going

Riverside Avenue will be closed between Browne and Bernard early this week to allow water service connection to a building there. A detour will be in place.

Drivers should be cautious Thursday evening on Howard Street between North Central High School and the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, when NC students will be walking to their annual “Groovy Shoes” basketball game and spirit competition with Shadle Park High School. Police may stop traffic at times on cross streets to make way for the student procession.

Aubrey L. White Parkway is still closed from Rifle Club Road to the Bowl and Pitcher.

Southbound McClellan Street traffic is restricted to one lane between Seventh and Eighth avenues for work on Sacred Heart Medical Center.