PORT ANGELES — The state Department of Transportation is slated to complete a project on the Hood Canal Bridge this spring.
“It will be our last year working on the center locks on this project,” WSDOT Olympic Region Administrator Steve Roark said Monday morning during the Clallam County commissioners’ work session. “The center locks are clasps that hold the bridge draw spans closed and they release to allow bridge openings to occur.”
Roark told commissioners the final stage is expected to take place over two to three weeks, probably in May, with sporadic overnight closures. The project is expected to be completed by June.
FIFA World Cup
During his presentation, Roark briefly addressed a request the state has made regarding bridge openings which would occur during the FIFA World Cup, for which Seattle is a host city.
“I just wanted to mention here that we are evaluating that,” he said. “WSDOT is obligated under federal regulations to prioritize marine traffic, to open the bridge when mariners request it. So we will need to work closely with the Coast Guard to see if we can get any relief there, but I think we don’t know yet whether that’s going to get any traction, so more to come on that.”
Roark also addressed WSDOT’s project on state Highway 112.
“We started work in August but weren’t able to get all the work done and that was understood going in, so we’re going to wrap up this project next summer and, due to some of the environmental restrictions, particularly nesting eagles, we won’t be able to start work till August of next year,” he said. “But the work will wrap up next fall, and that project is about a $9 million investment there.”
On U.S. Highway 101, WSDOT has a lot of work planned between Port Angeles and Sequim, primarily a paving project, but that work includes a lot of the complete street elements the department has talked to the community about, Roark said.
The Highway 101 work also will include two roundabouts, one at Taylor Cut-Off and one at Mill Road, as well as some sidewalk improvements east of Port Angeles in the Kolonels Way area.
In response to questions from Commissioner Mark Ozias, Roark said WSDOT is not concerned about the roundabouts being so close together and that there are other similarly close roundabouts in the state.
“The modeling shows they’re going to operate very well,” Roark said. “These are two-lane roundabouts as well, so just for reference there. We haven’t got far enough in our design to know what the sequencing is.”
Regarding fish barriers, Roark said the department has removed more than 146 barriers and restored about 570 miles of habitat. A major fish barrier correction is coming which involves 12 sites on Highway 112.
“That work is going to be getting underway, at least from a design standpoint, fairly soon,” he said. “We expect this to be a design-build job. We want to go out with requests for proposals late next year and so that would translate into construction of those 12 sites starting in probably 2028.”
Roark estimated that project’s cost to be more than $100 million and said he expects it to take at least three years to correct all 12 of those sites.
ReCompete metrics
During Monday’s session, commissioners also heard an update regarding the North Olympic Peninsula ReCompete Coalition. The metrics are highlights from the coalition’s first year, from Oct. 1, 2024, through Sept. 30.
For the first year, the goal was to have 75 individuals enrolled in programs, but the coalition surpassed that by enrolling 208 people. Of those, 77 are in workforce programs while 131 are receiving wraparound services, according to the presentation.
In workforce training programs, 77 people were enrolled in workforce training while 21 were placed into a job after training. The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe had the highest number of participants with 31 while the Northwest School of Wooden Boat Building had 28, Peninsula College had 17 and the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe had one.
While 131 people are enrolled in wraparound services, 67 were connected to those services which include housing, healthcare, life skills/financial literacy, transportation, financial supports, childcare, job navigation and transportation.
The coalition is working with 105 engaged employers, which the presentation defined as “a business or organization that has actively participated in ReCompete-related activities.” Those include any employers that have taken concrete actions in support of the coalition such has participating in hiring events, job fairs or employer roundtables, hosting or providing apprenticeships, internships or on-the-job training, offering employment to coalition participants, serving in advisory or planning roles related to ReCompete implementation or making formal commitments.
The coalition also has surpassed its year-one goal for small business support. The goal was to provide support to 65 small businesses, but 75 small businesses are receiving support, according to the presentation.
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Reporter Emily Hanson can be reached by email at emily.hanson@peninsuladailynews.com.
