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SELAH -- Residents will have a chance to discuss two major road projects during an open house today.

The event is at the Selah Civic Center from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m., and is open to the public.

The two projects -- both aimed at relieving traffic congestion in downtown Selah -- are the work of the state Department of Transportation and the city of Selah.

The Transportation Department will detail its plans to re-route State Route 823, and the city will detail its plans to improve East Fremont Avenue. Engineers and other experts will be present to answer questions about the projects, which are separate except that they intersect. Both projects will result in new traffic lights, sidewalks and wider traffic lanes.

Combined, they are expected to reduce downtown traffic by 535 vehicles during evening commute hours, according to Meagan McFadden, communications manager for Transportation Department.

The state will build a new road between First Street and North Wenas Road to re-route SR 823.

The 2005 Transportation Partnership Account, which was approved by the governor and Legislature as part of a 9.5 cent gas tax increase, will fund the $8.6 million project for SR 823, McFadden said. The re-alignment is expected to improve business in downtown Selah by increasing freight mobility and efficiency.

The $410,000 East Fremont Avenue improvements will be funded mostly by the city's Transportation Improving Board, as well as some contributions from the Selah School District and Graf Investments, a commercial and residential rental company.

Construction is expected to start next year.

Construction for the re-routing won't start until 2010. Andrew Byrd, the assistant project engineer, said they're just finishing up determining the impact of their designs and the value of property they need to purchase.

"It's usually a pretty involved process - it takes a lot of time to make sure people get compensated," he said.