SEQUIM — In late April, crews will begin a pavement overlay along a portion of West Washington Street that Sequim city staff say is in the worst shape of any part of the street.
Contracted companies will work up to four weeks starting April 25 to rehabilitate portions of the thoroughfare from the River Road roundabout to the Ninth Avenue roundabout, according to city staff.
Construction includes placement of hot mix asphalt, milling, construction of ramps compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), road striping and traffic signal video detection installation, city staff said.
Companies contracted for the approximate $742,000 project include Lakeside Industries, PR Systems, G & G Inc, Interwest Construction and Olympic Concrete Cutting.
Depending on weather, they’ll work from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday (except for 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. May 2 to May 5).
Delays, localized closures and detours are anticipated during these hours with local residents provided access to their roads, city staff report.
They ask residents to heed flaggers, cones, construction signage, equipment and vehicles.
Sequim Project Engineer Katie Cole said there will be alternating traffic with one lane always open. Crews plan to start the night work near residential areas and will work away from them to limit disruptions, she said.
In April 2021, the city received a Surface Transportation Block Grant worth $633,180 from Clallam County’s 2021 Regional Federal Fiscal Year fund for the project. The city will use the remainder of the costs for the project from the city’s Real Estate Excise Tax funds, staff report.
Public Works Director Sarah VanAusdle said the project was advertised for bid on Oct. 4, 2021, and awarded to Lakeside Industries on Nov. 24, 2021.
She said the project was delayed due to a federal prohibition of paving allowed from Oct. 1 through March 31. However, the bid packet provided for construction this spring, VanAusdle said.
Last April, former public works director Matt Klontz said this stretch of West Washington Street from River Road to Ninth Avenue was last paved in 2002.
He added that its pavement condition index (PCI), a national rating engineers use to estimate a road’s condition based on various factors, is 56, and the lowest of Washington Street compared to its eastern portions (rated 71).
Previous city staff estimates bring the total to pave all of Washington Street to about $6 million with no estimate given for curb ramp and sidewalk improvements.
VanAusdle said overlaying Washington Street is a progressive annual project set with the concept that it all needs rehabilitation.
“Staff continues to provide budget authority annually depending on available grant funding and progress with rehabilitation until the entire corridor is complete,” she said.
“It is possible that a budget amendment (for the project) might be needed for 2022.”
For more information on the project, call Sequim Public Works at 360-683-4908.
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Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. Reach him at mnash@sequimgazette.com.
