Hood Canal Bridge roundabout plan

Public meeting Aug. 29

Posted

Washington State transportation planners propose to solve traffic problems at the west end of the Hood Canal Bridge with a $4.6 million roundabout and another $4.2million in improvements to the intersection of state Routes 104 and 19.

At the intersections of state Route 104, Paradise Bay Road and Shine Road, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) expects a roundabout will calm traffic.

WSDOT is inviting the public to attend an open house where staff will present a roundabout design, and discuss what they’ve determined to be the benefits, from 6-8 p.m. on Aug. 29 at 7360 Center Road in Quilcene.

Tina Werner, with WSDOT Olympic Region Communications, and Planning and Program Manager Joseph Perez explained that the event is slated to include a brief presentation, including trending questions from the community, coupled with a video of the proposed safety improvements.

WSDOT also plans to share its efforts to improve safety at the intersection of state routes 104 and 19.

Both of those projects are expected to begin construction on or after the winter of 2021, with a goal of opening both roundabouts to the public by the fall of 2022.

Werner encouraged attendees to submit their questions in advance online — to surveymonkey.com/r/HPHFGJV — so they can be addressed during the panel discussion, featuring representatives from not only WSDOT, but also Jefferson County and the Washington State Patrol.

Werner elaborated that, over the past year, WSDOT conducted a formal analysis called an Intersection Control Evaluation, on the intersection of Shine Road, Paradise Bay and SR 104, whose results were published this February.

“The recently completed analysis considered safety needs, operational efficiencies and area traffic volumes, with the goal of identifying improvements for the traveling public,” Werner stated. “The study recommendation was to build a single-lane, metered roundabout at the intersection,” to promote “a continuous flow of traffic.”

With nearly 17,000 vehicles a day driving on SR 104, including oversize loads, WSDOT expressed concerns over its history of serious-injury collisions.

“We don’t believe restricting access from Paradise Bay and Shine Roads on SR 104 is the right solution,” Werner said. “Doing this would increase backups on other routes, potentially affecting smaller communities in a negative manner.”

WSDOT sees a metered roundabout as a means of controlling highway traffic, when necessary, to allow traffic on the side streets to more safely enter the roundabout.

To take oversize loads and semis into account, the final design recommendations include splitter islands and truck aprons with rolled curbing, to help large loads maneuver through the roundabout, similar to the industrial designs WSDOT constructed last summer at SR 20 and Sharpes Corner in Anacortes.

According to WSDOT, it considered traffic counts during bridge openings, given that drawspan openings are followed by vehicle backups for miles on both sides of the SR 104 Hood Canal Bridge. With a signal, the line of the worst leg of the intersection — which was found to be on the bridge itself — was determined to be 227 feet, but with a roundabout, the line was instead determined to be 183 feet long, which is part of why a signal was ruled out.

WSDOT acknowledged that several members of the public have suggested a “smart” signal, such as the one already in place at the east end of the SR 104 Hood Canal Bridge, at the intersection of state routes 104 and 3, but the traffic there already exceeds the signal’s capacity during peak periods.

WSDOT has $4.6 million budgeted for a safety improvement project at the intersection of SR 104, Shine Road and Paradise Bay, with an additional $4.2 million budgeted for safety improvements to the SR 104 and 19 intersection.

“Ideas such has an overpass, or other highway capacity improvements, would be substantially more expensive and have a greater environmental footprint,” Werner stated.