So I was scrolling through Facebook a week or so back, when I stumbled upon a discussion that caught my eye. This passionate discussion within a local Facebook Group piqued my interest because it was about a traffic disagreement and subsequent snarl I had happened to get caught in myself a time or two.
If you’re driving eastbound from Adna towards Chehalis often, you’ve probably got a story about almost getting hit there, too: The State Route 6, Riverside Drive, and Louisiana Avenue intersection at the first and second light.
As you come back over the bridge into Chehalis, you pull up to two lanes — you can go straight or you can enter the left turn lane to Louisiana Avenue. But, fairly often, I see cars attempt to double up in the lane that goes straight. Sometimes, those drivers are turning right on to Riverside Drive, but other times, the driver on the far right tries to go through the intersection, through the second light, to turn onto the southbound on-ramp to Interstate 5.
That means, the driver in the now inadvertent middle lane has to pay attention to avoid a collision once they realize that they’re about to get sideswiped by someone creating an extra lane.
Now, there was some debate online about the nuances of this intersection and whether or not you can double up to turn right on Riverside Drive or not, etc. So, since it was something I had personally experienced as well, I started to wonder which local government organization was truly responsible for the intersection so I could reach out for hard facts.
On Google Maps, half of the intersection was coded yellow and the other white — so it looked like a combination of local and state traffic authorities. I started with Lewis County Public Works, thinking they’d have a map that could tell me with certainty. They did and informed me that the Washington State Department of Transportation was the lead authority in that intersection.
So, I started with the local WSDOT office at Rush Road. The woman who answered the phone there knew exactly the issue and location I was talking about. She, too, had experienced the same near-miss collision. We then joked about how we deal with that intersection, as frequent users.
I said: “I bet you do exactly what I do and park your butt right in the middle of that lane at Highway 6 and Riverside just so no one can pull up alongside you, right?”
She said “yep” and we both had a good laugh.
At any rate, she forwarded my information request to the correct person and I finally heard back this week. Celeste Dimichina, Communications Consultant for WSDOT, sent the following information:
• “Travelers driving in the eastbound direction on Hwy 6 towards Chehalis/I-5 will approach a signalized intersection on Hwy 6 at NW Louisiana Avenue/Riverside Drive.
• Within this intersection, Hwy 6 splits into two separate lanes — a left turn lane and the main line of Hwy 6:
• A left turn only lane which is clearly marked with a white left turn arrow on the pavement, as well as green left turn signal
• The main line of Hwy 6 — for those remaining on the main line of Hwy 6
• Although the striping at this intersection appears to be wide enough to accommodate two lanes of traffic, the main line is not striped as two separate through lanes, and should therefore be approached as a single-lane – drivers will either remain heading east on Hwy 6 towards Chehalis/I-5 or they can turn right onto Riverside Drive.
• For drivers continuing east on the main line on Hwy 6, they will remain in a single-lane configuration as they approach the next signalized intersection where they have the option to remain east on the main line on Hwy 6, or turn right, this time onto the on-ramp for I-5.”
Dimichina continued to provide context for some of the confusion:
• “Because Hwy 6 splits into two separate lanes with two separate signal heads at the intersection of NW Louisiana Avenue/Riverside Drive, the assumption is because there’s two signals at the next intersection (again for those continuing east on Hwy 6, or turning right onto I-5), this must be two separate lanes as well. Although it is not striped as two lanes we are required to have a minimum of two thru signal heads. This follows a standard that is followed by agencies across the nation. A lot of this has to do with driver visibility, but also due to the chance that a signal head display burns out or fails. More information can be found in Part 4 of the 2009 edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD).”
So there you have it. One lane straight or right. One lane to turn left. That’s it.
I doubt my column will reach enough people to make a real difference, but here’s to hoping WSDOT can add a single white arrow or some other visual clues for drivers down the road to help alleviate the confusion at that intersection.
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Brittany Voie is a columnist for The Chronicle. She lives south of Chehalis with her husband and two young sons. She welcomes correspondence from the community at voiedevelopment@comcast.net.
