Bill to fund US 195 intersection work introduced in state House
6th District Reps. Driscoll and Parker want action this session
Legislation to improve the deadly intersection at US 195 and Spokane Cheney Road was introduced today in the state House. State Reps. John Driscoll and Kevin Parker will be advocating for the project after attending a community meeting Tuesday, Feb. 10 to listen to public concern about the intersection.
Three weeks ago, a 16-year-old girl was killed as she was trying to cross US 195 from Spokane- Cheney Road. In the past five years, 27 collisions have occurred at the intersection. Lorissa Greene's story and the emotional community meeting inspired the lawmakers to do something in Olympia about the dangerous intersection.
“Getting state transportation funding is difficult, but with the community coming together to support this, I think we can address this clear safety hazard,” said Driscoll, D-Spokane. “For transportation funding, safety is priority number one—and I think we have a good case to make for the US 195 intersection.”
The project, House Bill 2225, would fund a new right-turn lane at the intersection for cars turning right from the highway onto Spokane Cheney Road, allowing more visibility for vehicles turning left onto the highway.
“One of the biggest concerns I heard at the community meeting was the lack of visibility. Adding this turn lane will make a significant improvement to the safety of this intersection by increasing visibility for cars turning left onto the highway,” said Parker, R-Spokane. “We realize that a larger project is needed to fully address the problem, but we need a solution now to prevent future accidents.”
A public hearing for the bill in the House Transportation Committee is preliminarily set for March 16. Both plan to work to also get funding for the project into the transportation budget being worked on through session.
