PORT ANGELES — A crumbling section of West 10th Street is getting a makeover.
The city of the Port Angeles has received a $1.15 million grant to reconstruct a 0.6-mile stretch of the artery between South N and I streets on the city’s west side.
“We’d love to have this started [by the] end of the summer, but that’s all dependent on permits coming through,” Port Angeles Public Works Director Craig Fulton told the City Council last week.
Fulton in a Thursday interview said the goal is to begin construction in August and complete the project by December, weather permitting.
Council members voted Feb. 6 to accept the state Transportation Improvement Board grant.
The city will match the grant with $504,999 in transportation benefit district funding and $145,000 in real estate excise taxes, according to a staff memo.
Voters last August approved a 0.2 percent sales tax increase to fund the transportation benefit district.
“When we went forward with a sales tax, we said 10th Street was going to be our priority project for the transportation benefit district,” Fulton told the council.
“And we’re keeping our promise to the public that it is the No. 1 project we’re going to push forward, with the state grant the first step in that process.”
The $1.8 million 10th Street project involves a complete rebuild of the failing road between N and M streets.
It includes the installation of a curb, gutter, storm pipe, bicycle lanes and a sidewalk on the north
side of the street for
people walking to and from Hamilton Elementary School.
“As someone who walks to a different school with minimal sidewalks, I’m really pleased to see the beginning of improvements in the city for safe walkability to school,” said Councilwoman Kate Dexter, a substitute teacher.
The wider section of 10th Street between M and I streets will get an asphalt overlay.
Both sections will have new bike lanes on both sides of the road.
“It is a very exciting project,” Councilman Mike French said.
“The thing that excites me most is seeing in that design a complete street where we show the community that our streets are going to have room for bikes and room for pedestrians and room for cars.
“The voters put a lot of trust into us through this transportation benefit district,” French added, “so now it’s really incumbent on us to deliver on these projects, to make sure that they’re done right, done well and done within budget.”
Fulton said the 10th Street project has been on the city’s books since the 1990s.
Last winter, the City Council approved emergency funding for 10th Street because the road surface “just exploded” and “fell apart,” Fulton said.
“It’s one of the complaints I get all the time,” he added.
City staff divided the 10th Street project into two parts — N to M and M to I — and submitted a grant application in hopes of getting funding for one, Fulton said.
Both segments were funded by the state grant.
“A lot of things came together over the last 12 months to make this happen,” Fulton told the council.
Future transportation benefit district projects will improve walkability on city streets around schools, Fulton said Thursday.
“Our streets were in dire need of repair and we’re all pitching in,” Councilwoman Cherie Kidd said at the meeting.
“So thank you to the people of Port Angeles. We’re starting to really see progress.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
