Lewis County plans to raise the speed limit along Bunker Creek Road through the unincorporated community of Adna.
It will also soon close the nearby Ceres Hill Bridge over the Chehalis River for repair work.
The Lewis County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday announced a public hearing and road closure for two rural road matters.
First, the board approved the closure of Ceres Hill Road around the Ceres Hill Road Bridge as the county begins repairs to the bridge that has been increasingly compromised by erosion around its supports in recent years.
Secondly, on March 17, the board will hold a hearing on plans to raise the speed limit from 20 miles per hour to 30 miles per hour on Bunker Creek Road from state Route 6 to the Willapa Hills Trail on the other side of town.
Bunker Hill Road
According to Lewis County Public Works Director Geoff Soderquist, the change comes after a request from the Lewis County Sheriff's Office and some Adna residents. After a traffic study, the county found that the speed met the criteria for being raised above the 20 miles per hour limit, which is the lowest allowable by law on a public road in the state and is usually reserved for school zones.
He added that while the road is close to Adna High School, it does not meet the definition of a school zone and is likely "artificially low.” The goal of the change is to set the road at a higher speed that at least 85% of drivers feel safe and comfortable with.
Adna School Road, which turns off to Adna High and Middle School, will keep its 20 mile per hour speed limit.
Soderquist also spoke of the requests from the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office to raise the speed limit. He said that the department reports getting many calls reporting speeding on that stretch of road that they are unable to enforce due to staffing issues and despite the area remaining quite safe.
“When we have it posted artificially low, all you're doing is creating more violators for something that doesn't otherwise warrant the need,” Soderquist said.
The county will hold the hearing on the raising of the speed limit in the area at the end of its 10 a.m. Tuesday morning business meeting on March 17.
Ceres Hill Road
According to Soderquist, the county is seeking to close Ceres Hill Road, with local access open up to a short distance before the bridge. The resolution passed on Tuesday states the bridge will be closed starting March 23 and will be reopened no later than Aug. 15.
The Ceres Hill Road Bridge is just a local example of the condition of many of Washington state’s bridges, many of which are in disrepair or nearing the end of their lifetimes. The Ceres Hill Road Bridge has been cause for concern for many years.
According to previous reporting by The Chronicle, cracks in the bridge were first noticed during a routine inspection in 2022. Federal funding will pay for the repairs, which will fill cracks and wrap parts of the bridge with polymer sheets and epoxy to improve stability.
The bridge has been weight restricted since structural issues were discovered roughly four years ago, and no vehicle weighing more than 15 tons is permitted to cross. That prevents large semi-trucks and many emergency responder vehicles from crossing and forces them to take longer detours.
Those looking to access portions of Ceres Hill Road after the short length from state Route 6 to the bridge will be forced to take the highway to the unincorporated community of Meskill and use Meskill and Aust roads to access the other side of Ceres Hill Road.
For previous reporting by The Chronicle on the state of the Ceres Hill Road Bridge, visit https://tinyurl.com/t5sen6ds.
