PORT ANGELES — The city of Port Angeles has 10 transportation, street and sidewalk improvement projects in progress, planned or already completed.
The projects are funded through a combination of grants and city funding.
Mike Healy, the city’s public works and utilities director, said he is privileged to work with staff that “build so many consequential improvements that will be enjoyed by residents and visitors alike today and for generations to come.”
In progress
Four projects currently are in progress: signal controller upgrades, the east city hall parking lot retrofit, downtown tree and city sidewalk replacements and Race Street phase one.
The signal controller upgrade project began in April and will go through December. It will update 13 intersections along First and Front streets. Seven intersections currently are under construction at different completion levels.
The project is focused on pedestrian safety improvements including countdown signal heads, ADA-compliant crosswalk indicators, more than 50 curb ramps, vehicle detection and more.
“This project represents an important coordinated step forward in pedestrian accessibility and responsive traffic flow improvements along this critical transportation corridor,” city engineer Jonathan Boehme said in a press release April 18.
The project, at $5.65 million, was funded by the state Department of Transportation’s highway safety improvement program and contracted with TITAN Earthwork LLC.
The east city hall parking lot low-impact development (LID) retrofit project is scheduled to be completed in August.
The project will use LID techniques to manage stormwater onsite and provide restoration to the parking lot’s surface. It was funded by grants in the amount of $1,609,518.12 and is contracted with Bruch and Bruch Construction.
The downtown tree and sidewalk replacement project phase three began in April and is suspended until tree planting can be completed this fall.
The project is eliminating trip hazards, beautifying the downtown area, improving sidewalks and installing ADA ramps along Front Street, Oak Street, Laurel Street and Railroad Avenue.
The project is funded through the capital facilities plan in the amount of $500,000 and was contracted to Interwest Construction, Inc.
The Race Street phase one project is currently in the closeout phase.
It was the first of three phases to improve the Race Street corridor, connecting the Olympic Discovery Trail and Port Angeles’ waterfront to the Olympic National Park Visitor Center.
Construction occurred from the intersection of Race and East Eighth streets to Olympus Avenue and included new landscaping features, water line replacement, 35 ADA sidewalk ramp installations and more.
It also installed a 10-foot-wide shared-use trail for pedestrians and other non-motorists from Eighth Street to the turn at Hurricane Ridge Road.
The project was funded through a combination of grants and was contracted to Interwest Construction, Inc.
Additional Race Street phases will be brought to the city council in August, Healy said.
Planned projects
Three projects are in the pre-construction phase: Eighth Street paving, pavement repair across the city and electric vehicle (EV) charging station installation.
The Eighth Street paving project will develop improvements for the Eighth Street corridor from Lincoln to A streets.
It will remove and replace existing asphalt and add two bike lanes to connect the Lincoln Street safety project and the current bike lanes on the Eighth Street bridges. It also will replace existing sidewalk curb ramps to meet ADA standards.
The state Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) awarded the city a grant for the project in the amount of $1,464,365.
Bids were put out in the spring, but those received exceeded the engineers’ estimate by more than 32 percent. The bids were rejected by the city council on June 4, and the project is currently waiting for a rebid.
The pavement repair project will restore pavement, replace ADA ramps, restore power trenches, repair asphalt and patch trenches in multiple locations throughout the city.
In July, the city awarded a bid for the project to Lakeside Industries for $430,919. Funding came through the city’s capital facilities plan.
Healy said the city hopes to have a pre-construction meeting with Lakeside Industries and get a project construction timeline sometime this week.
The EV charging station installation project will put in more than 50 charging stations on city-owned property.
The city was awarded two grants for the project for a combined amount of $2,126,111.20. Grant negotiations are underway and include planning the locations of the charging stations. Healy said the city hopes to wrap up negotiations within the next week.
Completed projects
Three projects already have been completed this year: Francis Street ADA improvement, city pier sidewalk replacement and Marine Drive pavement.
The Francis Street ADA improvement project was completed in February. The project replaced or installed 49 ADA-compliant ramps on Francis Street between Caroline and Eighth streets.
The project was funded by a state Transportation Board Complete Street Grant in recognition of the city’s adoption of a Complete Streets ordinance.
The project was contracted with Simmons and Sons Contracting and cost $370,327.
The city pier sidewalk replacement project was finished in May. It repaired the long-damaged sidewalk west of the City Pier parking lot. A new storm drain pipeline also was installed during construction.
The project was paid for with capital facilities plan funds and was contracted through Nordland Construction NW Inc. It cost $234,160.
The Marine Drive project was completed in July. The project paved the road with asphalt from Tumwater Truck Route to Hill Street and installed four ADA curb ramps.
The project was funded through a TIB grant and was contracted with Lakeside Industries of Port Angeles. The project cost $740,149.
Healy said he was thankful for Port Angeles residents who may have been “inconvenienced with traffic delays and the like during construction.”
“They have been very understanding and mindful of the long-term benefits of our activities,” he said.
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Reporter Emma Maple can be reached by email at emma.maple@peninsuladailynews.com.
