Ephrata, port seek state funds for truck access route design

EPHRATA — Ephrata city council members on Wednesday approved an application seeking state funds to design a major arterial roadway and rail overpass that would link the north end of town at Basin Street/State Route 28 to the Ephrata Port District.

 City engineer Shawn O’Brien outlined provisions of the grant application — submitted in conjunction with the port district — to the Washington State Freight Mobility Strategic Investment Board.

The city and port are seeking $302,750 in state monies in 2027, with each contributing $23,625 in matching funds, for a total estimated cost of $350,000. The application deadline was Friday, March 6.

If approved, the feasibility study and engineering design would enhance the possibility of receiving additional state and federal monies in the future to construct the arterial/rail crossing, which has a preliminary estimated cost of $5 million, said O’Brien.

Both the roadway and rail overpass proposals are listed in the city’s 2026-2031 Six-Year Transportation Improvement Program.

The project’s main focus is to provide direct truck access from SR 28 to the port district, its rail spur, commercial and industrial tenants, and the Ephrata Airport. Currently, that access is limited. Trucks on the highway must enter town and turn onto East Division Avenue, or approach the port from State Route 282 along Nat Washington Way or Airport Street to the south.

The proposed connector would “provide a dedicated truck route through airport and industrial zones, not winding through residential and school zone areas, as it does now along Division Street,” Dave Bren, the city’s project engineer and grant writer, stated in the funding request.

A new north-south arterial could also ease traffic congestion at existing rail crossings at Division and Nat Washington Way, particularly for school bus traffic at certain times of the day. And, said council member Valli Millard, for residents on the northeast side of town.

“It is so congested up there,” she said.

The proposal has received letters of support from the Ephrata School District, Grant Transit Authority, and state Department of Transportation. 

Councilman Mike Warren commended city staff for pursuing the project, saying it has been a long-standing need for the community, while fellow councilman Matt Moore appreciated the collaboration with port officials.

If ultimately constructed, the new arterial would connect with State Route 28 at the intersection of Road B-NW, where the state Department of Transportation is proposing to construct a roundabout in 2028.

From that intersection, the new roadway would cross the Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail tracks via an overpass — a key component that makes the project “feasible,” said O’Brien — and continue south to an eastward extension of Third Avenue N.E.

There, the arterial would split: one roadway would proceed east from Third Avenue and connect to Railroad Street at the port district; the other roadway would continue south and link up to both East Division Avenue and Enterprise Street.

Right-of-way acquisition would involve one private property owner on the east side of the railroad tracks, said O’Brien.