Vantage to Pomona FEIS Index 34 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Vantage to Pomona Heights Chapter 3 230 kV Transmission Line Project FEIS Affected Environment PAGE 3-173 SR-243 is a north-south highway of minor regional importance. The highway connects SR-24 at the south terminus and SR-26 at its north terminus, as well as connecting travelers in southern Grant County to I- 90. The route travels through southern Grant County and within proximity of the population centers of Desert Aire, Mattawa, Beverly, Schawana, and Vantage. The highway is two-lanes with a speed limit varying between 35 and 55 mph, depending on proximity to population areas. Roadway shoulders on both sides are typically four to six feet wide and partially paved. The highway is relatively free flowing except in more densely-populated areas with more frequent stops at signalized or stop sign controlled intersections. 3.7.2.2 County Roads County roads are an important part of local travel system. Grant, Kittitas and Yakima Counties use the nine different federal functional classifications (FFCs) – four urban and five rural classifications, as follows: • Urban Principal Arterials (FFC 14): provide a network of streets and highways that can be identified as unusually significant. They are important both because they provide routes for traffic passing through the area and because they provide routes for movements within the urbanized area. Access to these routes is usually limited to intersections. • Urban Minor Arterials (FFC 16): connect with and augment principal arterials, serving trips of moderate length. They place more emphasis on access than principal arterials, but still emphasize mobility over access. These streets provide continuity within communities. • Urban Collector Arterials (FFC 17): provide both access service and traffic circulation within neighborhoods. These streets also collect traffic from local streets in neighborhoods and channel it to arterials. • Urban Local Access (FFC 19): provide direct access to abutting properties and to the higher classification facilities. Service to through traffic is usually discouraged. • Rural Major Arterials (FFC 02): connect rural communities to each other and to urban areas. • Rural Minor Arterials (FFC 06): in conjunction with Rural Major Arterials, the rural minor arterials form a rural network that links cities together with other major traffic generators. Minor arterials should be expected to provide for relatively high overall travel speeds with minimum interference to through movement. • Rural Major Collectors (FFC 07): provide service to larger towns and traffic generators of importance. They link population centers and serve important travel corridors within the County. • Rural Minor Collectors (FFC 08): collect traffic from local access roads and provide access to major collectors. They link smaller communities and locally important traffic generators. • Rural Local Access (FFC 09): provide access to adjacent land. They are used to travel relatively short distances. The Grant County roadway system is comprised of 2,507 miles of roadways. Of the total road miles, 98.5 percent are classified as Rural Roads and the remaining 1.5 percent are classified as Urban Roads. In terms of surface types, 1,277 miles are hard-surfaced with asphalt concrete pavement (ACP), bituminous surface treatment (BST), chip seal, or Portland cement concrete pavement (PCCP). The remaining 1,231 miles are gravel surfaced (Grant County 2006). The Kittitas County roadway system is comprised of 565 miles of roadways. Of the total road miles, all (100 percent) are classified as Rural Roads. In terms of surface types, 512 miles are hard-surfaced with ACP, BST, or chip seal. The remaining 53 miles are gravel surfaced (Kittitas County 2008).