PORT ANGELES — Clallam County has granted a request from the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe to close Old Blyn Highway for up to 15 days later this summer for traffic safety improvements at the tribe’s Blyn complex.
If needed, the closure would take place on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. between Aug. 27 and Sept. 21.
The dates of the closure will not necessarily be consecutive.
“They don’t know whether they’ll need to close it at all,” County Engineer Ross Tyler told commissioners Monday.
Nevertheless, the county needs to post public notices regarding the closure, Tyler said.
“They [the tribe] will provide the signage, detour routes, that kind of stuff, if they need to close it,” Tyler said.
Jamestown S’Klallam Chief Operations Officer Annette Nesse and engineering consultant Happy Longfellow of Parametrix briefed the three commissioners June 26 on the “traffic calming” project for the 25 mph-speed-limit road.
The tribe will install new crosswalks with pedestrian-activated flashing lights near the community center and administration building.
The project includes new lighting and landscaping to funnel people to the designated crosswalks.
“Looks like a good package of safety improvements in that area,” Commissioner Mike Chapman said.
“Exactly,” added Commissioner Jim McEntire, whose’s district covers Blyn and the eastern third of the county.
Installation of a crowned asphalt surface to eliminate puddles on the road will come later, Nesse has said.
The tribe has secured the $300,000 needed for the traffic-calming and asphalt overlay projects.
Nesse was not immediately available for comment Monday.
The Jamestown S’Klallam complex east of 7 Cedars Casino is shared by tribal members, tribal staff, the general community and tourists.
It includes a library, art gallery, dental clinic and the House of Myths totem-pole-carving shed.
The traffic calming project is one element of a broader plan to improve the flow of traffic in and around Blyn.
The tribe still plans to realign the U.S. Highway 101 intersections with Chicken Coop and Zaccardo roads.
The two existing intersections will become one intersection with a right-turn acceleration lane and a left-turn median.
A short tie road will connect the tribe’s southern complex to the new intersection.
Nesse has said the intersection project is “probably several years out” because it is not yet funded.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345 ext. 5072 or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
