Benton - Hanks Road Phase II
Project Number: 0325-01
From milepost 7.6 to milepost 9.1
RATA Funds: $2,336,539
Legislative District: 16
Status: PE and Design
Date Approved: 2025
Hanks Road is an important farm-to-market road that runs east-west within Benton County, serving areas north of the Yakima River and south of Rattlesnake Mtn. Existing conditions include deficient vertical curves that create unsafe conditions where agricultural and other traffic not having enough time to stop. The proposed improvements would correct all deficient vertical curves and widen the roadway to the required width.
The project area is rural with residential and predominantly agricultural uses present. The adjacent census tract to the north has been identified as an area of persistent poverty, as identified through the USDOT Equitable Transportation Community (ETC) Explorer.
The facility is an important collector route for wine industry and residential traffic. Accident data from the vicinity of this project reflect both serious injuries and fatalities within the last decade, which typically have been nearby intersections and upon roadways with vertical curves. Within this period, three fatalities have occurred within the project vicinity. One of these fatality accidents was upon the Hanks Road corridor.
The project area is rural with residential and predominantly agricultural uses present. The adjacent census tract to the north has been identified as an area of persistent poverty, as identified through the USDOT Equitable Transportation Community (ETC) Explorer.
The facility is an important collector route for wine industry and residential traffic. Accident data from the vicinity of this project reflect both serious injuries and fatalities within the last decade, which typically have been nearby intersections and upon roadways with vertical curves. Within this period, three fatalities have occurred within the project vicinity. One of these fatality accidents was upon the Hanks Road corridor.