Frequently Asked Questions

The prioritization and scheduling of paving gravel roads is under the direction of the County Road Engineer. Based on selected criteria (not limited to: daily traffic counts, surrounding development and zoning, safety concerns, and available funding; among others) gravel roads are included in the Gravel Priority Array, which is taken into consideration when developing the County's 6-Year Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP). The TIP assists the County in planning and prioritizing County road projects within a financially constrained budget.

Road Improvement Districts (RIDs) are a voluntarily-imposed (voted) taxing authority on selected properties to generate revenue for a specific transportation project. In coordination with the County Road Engineer, an RID is placed on a special ballot for affected property owners to approve an assessment on their property taxes dedicated to funding the road project. Inquiries on creating an RID can be directed to the County Road Engineer at 509-574-2300.

Yakima County maintains nearly 570 miles of gravel roads throughout the County.   In recent years there have been limited or no available funding sources for gravel roads in most situations, which has significantly limited Yakima County's ability to pave gravel roads.  As a result of this, Yakima County must prioritize which roads get paved based on available funding, and has at most been paving a gravel road every other year.  To minimize airborne dust on gravel roadways, the Road Maintenance Department also performs a one-time yearly dust abatement treatment on most gravel roads.

To find out when your gravel road may be dust abated or paved, contact our Road Maintenance Department at 509-574-2300.

To minimize airborne dust on gravel roadways, the Road Maintenance Department performs a one-time yearly dust abatement treatment on over 350 miles of gravel roads. Usually performed during the months of May and June, dust abatement techniques are intended to limit but not eliminate airborne dust. To find out when your gravel road may be dust abated, contact Yakima County Public Services at 509-574-2300 or or view the current year list here.

Each year, we work with the supplier to ensure the bulk pricing we receive for the programs is available to individuals whose roads did not make the cut.  This is only available for Yakima County roads and is not an option for non-county roads, private roads or driveways.  After you have purchased the material from the vendor, we pick it up, prepare your road and apply the material at no additional cost.   If you would like additional information or to make use of this service, please contact the Road Maintenance Supervisor at (509) 574-2396 or fill out an Online Maintenance Request Form. We will meet with you on sight, recommend a treatment area and provide pricing. We will then walk you through the steps to purchase the product directly from the vendor.

Yakima County Road Maintenance conducts a visual survey and assigns a dust sensitive score to road segments every 2 years. This scoring is based on a variety of factors. Number of Homes per mile, within 300 feet of the roadway, Dust sensitive Crops per shoulder mile, within 300 feet of the roadway, Sensitive receptors (schools, gathering places, daycares, etc.) Average Daily Traffic, Posted Speed Limit, Accident Records, and land values. The number of miles we can shoot within a program year is largely dictated by the current material bid price. Material is roughly 80% of the per mile cost. If you did not receive dust abatement it is usually due to the score of your road being below the threshold of accumulative miles, we can treat, under the current year’s budget.

There are 500 plus miles of gravel road within Yakima County.  We understand the impact this scoring has on your road with respect to it receiving treatment or not.  We strive to be as accurate in identifying homes, crops, etc., to fairly score your road.   This does not mean that we are always perfect. Our staff is always willing to discuss your road and provide the survey information to see if we have missed something.  Feel free to call us at (509) 574-2396 or fill out an Online Maintenance Request Form to discuss this with a Road Maintenance Supervisor.

Yakima County does not have a speed bump installation program in place at this point in time.  Yakima County does not install speed bumps, and will not until such a program is put in place.  Some considerations that will go into such a program include:

• Supermajority support from the neighborhood to either install or remove speed bumps
• Road drainage; water must be removed in a safe manner from the roadway so that it does not puddle and damage the existing pavement
• Road grade; steep roads are not great locations for such installations due to the potential for the devices to become aerial ramps
• Existing speed limits, speed of traffic
• Collision rates on the roadway
• Roadway classification

Yakima County does not have an ordinance in place against ordinary (muffled) compression brake use, and therefore such signs are not installed along Yakima County roadways.  Unmuffled compression brakes are already prohibited and penalized by state law, and additional signs are not needed for enforcement.  Details of this are outlined in RCW 46.37.395.  Some points in favor of compression brakes use:

• Compression brakes are a safety feature and we do not wish to limit or regulate a drivers ability to operate their vehicle as legally configured to operate as safely as possible.  Compression brakes can reduce stopping times by up to 30%.
• Medium and Heavy trucks built after 1979 are limited to 83 dBa and after 1988, 80 dBa by Federal regulation. While this isn’t necessarily quiet, it is a reasonable noise level similar to a vacuum cleaner, garbage disposal, or bus. 
• Modern trucks have automatic transmissions and in talking to our County truck drivers we have found they prefer to use compression braking for speed control even more in automatics than when driving a manual transmission truck – especially on a sustained grades.
• Modern trucks have fairly quiet compression brakes. 

Certainly, there are non-complying vehicles in terms of their noise levels.  These non-complying brakes are loud and disruptive, but enforcement is very difficult, requiring direct observation by an officer and the ability to accurately discern whether or not they are in compliance.  Often non-complying brakes are found on older farm trucks.  WAC 173-62-060 specifies enforcement criteria and states the “Measurements shall be made with a sound level meter meeting Type 1, S1A, 2 or S2A requirements as specified in the American National Standards Specifications for Sound Level Meters S1.4-1971 as required under measurement procedures established in chapter 204-56 WAC, "procedures for measuring motor vehicle sound levels." WAC 204-56 was repealed circa 1997/1998. We believe this WAC was repealed because it presented rigorous methodology that was more appropriate in a controlled setting than actual field conditions, and we are unaware of any replacement WAC.  So in order to enforce, Law Enforcement formerly needed special tools and training and effort.  Currently, we are unaware of specifications for level and how to determine it other than reliance on the Federal regulation - CFR 205.54-1,2 - also very rigorous and specialized in terms of measurement.  This is a difficult predicament for law enforcement  for enforcement which is a significant contributor to why the county does not have an ordinance in place.  

WSDOT South Central Region shares similar sentiments about compression brakes, and does not post signs prohibiting their use on state roads, excepting within city limits where they are prohibited, and even then WSDOT only posts these signs when requested by the local agency.

There is no standard process or petition form available for the adoption of a private road by Yakima County.  Private Roads are only rarely accepted into the Public Road network.

Yakima County maintains a stance that, prior to being considered for adoption, a private road must already meet Yakima County standards.  Specifically, a road must meet modern AASHTO Paved Road standards.  Yakima County is reluctant to adopt substandard roadways into our already existing 500+ miles of gravel roads.  Property owners can express their views during commissioner hearings, but the prerequisite for adoption will remain adherence to Yakima County standards.  This approach is standard throughout many agencies, as the cost of paving a road to bring it up to modern standards is often over $1 million per mile, and road construction funds are finite.

Furthermore, even if a private road is built or improved to meet Yakima County Standards, there is no guarantee of adoption into the public road network.  Meeting Yakima County standards is considered the bare minimum for consideration as a condition of recommendation.  Yakima County's recommendation depends on many factors, including whether or not there would be a benefit granted to the public by adopting the roadway.  The final determination to adopt a roadway or not is made by the Board of County Commissioners.  We recommend you contact us at (509)574-2300 to discuss this further.

Yakima County maintains a list of all paved, public, non-incorporated roads where striping is done or maintained.  This list is called the "longitudinal pavement marking list."  In order for a road to be added to this list, it must meet the Yakima County Roads Policy established for Longitudinal Pavement Markings.  You can read this policy here.  You can contact the Traffic Engineering Department at (509)574-2300 if you believe that your road meets the criteria but is not currently striped.

Yakima County appreciates your concern for the safety and well-being of your neighborhood.  Unfortunately, Yakima County has a limited budget for the installation of new street lights and other safety improvements, totaling $65,000 a year budgeted (as of 2024 6-year TIP).  The cost of installing a new street light is considerable.  The material cost for the steel light standard, luminaire arm, and light fixture alone is around $5000 (2024).  Once the cost of establishing a new service connection and labor (electricians, traffic control, staff time) is factored in, the total cost for a new light ranges between $7,000 and $10,0000.  Because the cost is so high, when it comes to new street lights, Yakima County prioritizes areas where there is a higher frequency of nighttime collisions.  This ensures that Yakima County's resources are allocated to areas where they are able to have the most significant impact on public safety.  

Additionally, while we understand that street lighting can enhance security, Yakima County's primary goal for new street light installations is to improve the safety for road users such cars, bicyclists, and pedestrians.  Because our funds are limited, we do not typically install street lights solely for security purposes.

If you believe that your area warrants street lights, please do not hesitate to reach out to the Traffic Department at (509)574-2300 to discuss your neighborhood specifically.

Yakima County performs a semi-annual review of county road speed zones and traffic stops. Depending on changes in traffic flow, safety impacts, and other factors, changes will be presented to the County Commissioners through the public hearing process to approve/deny proposed changes.

Suggestions/requests for changes to speed zones or traffic stop signage may be sent to the attention of the Transportation Engineering Manager, Yakima County Public Services. For more information, please call 509-574-2300.

Yes.  A permit is required for the movement of all the following, on Yakima County Roads:

• Manufactured Home – for manufactured homes
• Equipment Moving – for heavy equipment/loads such as dozers, large tractors, etc.
• Structures – for large objects house moves, large sheds etc.
• Military – for all military moves

Please review the Special Motor Vehicle Checklist for all requirements. To request a permit, please call Yakima County Public Services 509-574-2300.  

Please submit the completed application to Keila Mendoza, fax 509-574-2301, direct line 509-574-2302

Current Yakima County development standards, road standards, codes, and ordinances can be found in Chapter 19.23 of Yakima County Ordinances and on the

If you find a signal light, luminaire, or other electrical traffic device inoperative, please contact the Traffic Engineering division at 509-574-2300.

Please have the available when you call:

• Your name, address, and phone number so that we can reach out to you if we need more information or to follow up and tell you what we have done
• The location of the malfunctioning signal, street light, or other device
• A description of the issue.  Some examples of issues based on real Yakima County observations are as follows: Is the signal phasing weirdly?  Does the signal have a burnt out bulb?  Is the street light flickering at night as if trying to communicate in Morse code to you?  Does the message board say that there are winter conditions and to drive safely, even though it is summer and you just saw somebody using the road as a green energy cooking utensil?  If you see something that you think is unusual or not quite right, we would like to hear about it.
• Other important information, such as time of day that you observed, what the weather was like, etc.  

This information helps our staff diagnose and repair the issues in a timely manner at the lowest cost to taxpayers so that Yakima County drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists are able to use our road systems optimally.