PORT TOWNSEND — A project to extend Howard Street received a boost last week with the awarding of funding that will support a stormwater system and the construction of a new roundabout on Discovery Road.
Port Townsend city officials learned Thursday that the state Community Economic Revitalization Board had approved a $1.2 million loan and a $300,000 grant that is expected to turn 82 acres of vacant and underutilized land into shovel-ready industrial property.
The $6.5 million project will connect West Sims Way and Discovery Road by extending Howard Street, providing additional traffic options for motorists and constructing a roundabout that it is intended to aid the traffic flow.
City Engineer David Peterson and Assistant City Engineer Samantha Trone will present an update on the project at a special joint meeting of the City Council and city Planning Commission at 7 p.m. Monday in council chambers at historic City Hall, 540 Water St.
Plans are for the new road to not only expand traffic options but provide a location for business/industrial applications that include local manufacturing and retail.
Mt. Townsend Creamery at 338 Sherman St. has announced plans to build a new 16,000-square-foot structure, with completion plans for the first part of 2016.
Much of the land in the area is currently for sale and zoned for light industrial in an effort to attract new business.
“We are providing the water and sewer so they can just connect up to that,” Peterson said.
Aside from the grant and loan, the project is funded with a $2.3 million grant from the state Transportation Improvement Board, $1 million from the state Department of Transportation and $1.7 million of water and sewer utility funds from the city.
Howard Street currently ends about 800 feet off Sims Way.
The extension would be built on about 600 feet of what is now trail and open land, taking a jog around existing homes.
Peterson said the city hopes to put the road and roundabout project out for bid in May, with targeted completion in March 2016.
“It will provide an alternate route into town and provide a place for new businesses to locate,” Peterson said.
Construction of the extension itself would not affect traffic flow, while the roundabout construction could disrupt traffic for about three months, he said.
Aside from the road extension, the project includes the installation of a stormwater runoff infrastructure that will channel water from the building site to a pair of drainage ponds east of Sims Way.
“This system will allow us to develop those commercial properties,” Peterson said.
“It’s very hard land that is difficult to drain, so the runoff will allow businesses to build on the property much less expensively than if we had to take a portion of the land for stormwater treatment.”
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
