A ceremony celebrating the opening of new passing lines on State Route 26 was held Wednesday.

WSU interim Chancellor Dave Cillay and ASWSU Safety Officer Mauro Ramirez spoke at the ceremony.

The ceremony was delayed two weeks due to scheduling conflicts, according to Washington State Department of Transportation Project Engineer Alex Proszek.

The newest lane opened on Oct. 11 and adds a fourth passing lane to SR 26. The other lanes opened at the end of Sept. 2023.

Construction for the lanes was divided into two projects due to inflation, according to Communications Manager Ryan Overton.

The lanes run for roughly a mile and a half between Colfax and Dusty with two passing lanes on each side of the road.

The two state-funded projects costed $13.39 million total and construction lasted two years, according to the WSDOT. The project’s objectives are to improve driving conditions and lessen traffic.

The first project began in June 2022 with work on two east bound lanes and a west bound lane. Construction was halted in Nov. 2022 due to weather and resumed in May 2023. The fourth lane started construction in June 2024.

Before 2022, there were no passing lanes on SR 26.