City of Sequim staff announced they anticipate construction starting Monday, Oct. 30 to install new sidewalks, bike lanes and a left-hand turn lane along North Sequim Avenue.
Crews with Interwest Construction Inc. of Burlington and various subcontractors will rehabilitate the roadway from just south of Deytona Street to the Old Olympic Highway roundabout.
Work will take place from 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday through June 2024 along North Sequim Avenue and on Sequim-Dungeness Way, Port Williams Road, and Old Olympic Highway. Scheduling is weather-dependant.
Project Engineer Katie Cole said crews will retrofit the existing roundabout, install a sidewalk on the west side of the road, curbs and gutters, curb ramps, rectangular rapid-flashing beacons, landscaping, fire hydrants, utilities, and more.
Paving and striping will occur in the spring, she said.
Sidewalks and curb ramps will be Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant, city staff said.
Residents can expect delays, localized closures, and detours during work hours with resident access provided. Residents are asked to heed flaggers, cones, construction signage, and large construction equipment and trucks .
City staff said the project follows the Complete Streets model and provides paved northbound and southbound lanes for vehicles and bike lanes for cyclists, plus two-way left hand turn lanes along North Sequim Avenue.
Costs for all phases of the project come to just under $4.1 million for engineering, right-of-way purchases, and construction.
City staff report grants from the Safe Routes to School for about $1.1 million, and $1.07 million from the Transportation Improvement Board grant (TIB) paid for a portion of project and the remainder is budgeted through City Transportation Benefit District funds, Real Estate Excise Tax funds, and Transportation Impact Fee funds.
Cole said the city has not received any further grants for the project but city staff are actively pursuing all eligible funding.
The project originated at a series of 2018-19 neighborhood meetings where residents asked the city to provide a safe walking route to Sequim schools as the sidewalks are incomplete.
On hold
Lakeside Industries was anticipated to begin on Sept. 20 repaving an approximate half-mile of North Sequim Avenue from the Sequim Avenue/Washington Street intersection to about 250 feet south of West Deytona Street.
However, Cole said the project ran out of time for the year due to federal grant funding requirements and the paving window closing on Oct. 15.
“Lakeside still fully intends to complete the project when the paving window opens back up in April,” Cole said.
Work on that project is expected to take three to four weeks, city staff said. Lakeside won the bid for the project at $496,978 with a 10 percent contingency; about $163,464 less than the city engineer’s estimate for this project, according to city documents.
It will be funded at 86.5% with Surface Transportation Block Grant funds, and 13.5% from the city funds.
For more information on these projects, contact Sequim’s Department of Public Works at (360) 683-5062.
