2024 Rose Street Pavement Preservation

Updated: Oct. 7, 2024

Project Update:

Permanent striping application on Rose Street is set to begin on Wednesday, Oct. 9, with a tentative completion date of Friday, Oct. 18. The contractor will apply permanent striping from West Rose Street, starting at Wallula Avenue and moving eastwards towards Park Street with detours in place. Weather and other factors may impact the striping completion date.

While business and local access will be maintained, it is highly recommended to avoid Rose Street and use detours when possible (Oct. 9 -Oct. 18). Anticipate significant delays on Rose Street, with expected delays of up to an hour. When navigating the work zone, speeds should not exceed 20 MPH.

Beginning Oct. 9: Wallula Avenue to Myra Road | Stage C

Rose Street traffic will be detoured using a combination of Myra Road, C Street, College Avenue/Gose Street, and Electric Avenue.

Myra Road to 2nd Avenue | Stage B

9^th Avenue is anticipated to close either Wednesday, Oct. 9 or Thursday, Oct. 10, and the intersection closure will be removed as soon as work is completed.
9^th Avenue will be detoured using a combination of Poplar Street, 2^nd Avenue, Pine Street, and Myra Road.
Jade Street will have a flagger in place while work is completed.
Flaggers will be located at the limits of work on Rose Street to coordinate local access. Those desiring access within the closed area should approach these flaggers who will facilitate this local access.

2^nd Avenue to Park Street | Stage A

Rose Street will be detoured from 9^th Avenue to Poplar Street, to Palouse Street, onto Main Street, and back to Isaacs Avenue.
The 2^nd Avenue closure will be removed as soon as work on the 2^nd Avenue/Rose Street intersection is complete. This intersection will be detoured from Poplar Street to 9^th Avenue, to Pine Street, and back to 2^nd Avenue.

Schedule:

The notice of Call for Bids for the Rose Street Pavement Preservation Project was published on 12/30/2023. Construction bids were opened on 01/31/2024 with Nelson Construction being the low bidder. The project was awarded on 02/14/2024 and a preconstruction meeting was held on 04/04/2024.

The anticipated schedule is as follows:

January 31, 2024 – Opening Bids
February 14, 2024 – Construction Award
June 2024 – Tree trimming along the project limits
June 10, 2024 – Construction begins
Construction is anticipated to be completed in the winter of 2024/2025.

What is this project going to accomplish?

This project will apply a pavement preservation application to Rose Street from Park Street to Carrie Court which is our City Limits at College Place. Additionally, the road will be re-striped from primarily a 4-lane road, to a 3-lane configuration with a single travel lane in each direction, a two-way center turn lane, and bike lanes. The project will also include traffic and pedestrian signal improvements at all seven existing signalized intersections and an additional RRFB at the intersection of Avery Street in coordination between the City and Valley Transit.

How will this project be funded?

The total project cost is estimated at $4 million. The project will be primarily funded with $2,093,700 in Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) funding and $1,698,825 in National Highway Pavement Preservation (NHPP) funding. The remaining balance will be covered by the Transportation Benefit District (TBD) funding. The City’s TBD is funded by the citizen approved 0.2% sales tax, dedicated to transportation improvements on our citizens top 25 identified streets.

Virtual Open House

Why three lanes instead of four?

Safety is the prime reason. According to the Highway Safety Manual, replacing a four-lane roadway with three lanes results in a 29% reduction in crashes at intersections and driveways. Overall, similar projects see collisions reduced by 10%-60%.

A total of 206 crashes occurred within the project limits between 2016-2021, a much higher rate than on similar roadways statewide. Six crashes involved pedestrians and five involved bicyclists. Many of the vehicle crashes were rear-end collisions and sideswipes, both of which are typically reduced by changing to three lanes.

The recent conversion of Isaacs Avenue from four lanes to three has resulted in a 50% reduction in crashes, a 78% reduction in injury-related crashes and zero reported fatal or serious injury crashes or bicycle or pedestrian crashes.

Will three lanes accommodate the traffic on Rose?

Yes — now and in the future. Studies show the difference in capacity between three- and four-lane roadways is minimal until traffic volumes approach 18,000 vehicles per day.

Currently, about 8,000 vehicles travel on Rose Street daily. Three-lane roads can handle more than twice that, up to 18,000 to 24,000 vehicles daily. With future growth, traffic volumes could be as high as 9,800 a day by the year 2033 — still well below the capacity of a three-lane roadway.

Won't traffic get backed up behind slow drivers?

How will the changes affect pedestrians?

Safety will be improved by allowing pedestrians to focus their attention on fewer lanes when crossing Rose. In addition to the lane reconfigurations, a new flashing pedestrian crossing beacon will be installed at Avery Street to improve safety and access for Valley Transit users. Other traffic signals will be upgraded with audible pedestrian push buttons to improve access for people with visual impairments.

With constant traffic flow, won't it be difficult to turn onto Rose?

Not really. While it might seem like the configuration will result in nonstop traffic, gaps will be present, as on Walla Walla’s existing three-lane roadways.

Turning right onto Rose shouldn't be much different than turning onto a four-lane roadway, since most drivers wait for both travel lanes to be open before entering with a right-hand turn. Turning left onto Rose will be easier, as drivers can use the center turn lane to partially enter traffic before merging into the travel lane.

Why are bicycle lanes being added?

Can't cyclists just use the sidewalk?

Will drivers have to wait behind stopped buses?

Rarely. When Valley Transit buses are stopped for passengers, the new configuration will allow drivers to use the center turn lane to pass them. However, most drivers won’t need to drive around a stopped bus. The frequency of the route through this corridor is every half-hour at most, and buses don’t pull over at every stop — only those requested by riders.

Buses are required to stop at the railroad crossings at 13th Avenue, so vehicles behind them will also have to stop. Drivers should expect to wait 10-20 seconds while the bus driver checks for oncoming trains.

Why is this fairly new roadway being treated when other streets in Walla Walla need repair?

Couldn't the grant money be used to repair or replace other streets?