PORT ANGELES — County officials have proposed a plan to widen a 1-mile stretch of Old Olympic Highway between Spring and Gunn roads in Agnew.

The plan shifts the center line of the east-west thoroughfare about 12 feet to the south.

The county prefers the southern shift because relocating transmission poles on the north side of the road would add about $400,000 to a tab estimated to be $1.3 million.

Clallam County engineer Ross Tyler presented the proposal to Commissioners Mike Doherty and Mike Chapman in a Monday work session at the courthouse.

Commissioner Steve Tharinger was not present because he had another meeting. Tharinger is expected to attend today’s board meeting, administrative assistant Tammy Sullenger said.

Construction, expected to last about two months, will likely start next spring, Tyler said.

The section between Spring and Gunn roads is eligible for state funds from the Rural Arterial Program. These funds come from a return from the gas tax, Tyler said.

Relocation is just the latest phase in a series of improvements on Old Olympic Highway that began in the mid-1980s.

No vote on the road alignment is scheduled for today’s 10 a.m. meeting.

“We can make this work, and I think we can make it work for the people that are going to be impacted the most,” Tyler told the board.

Public comment can be forwarded through the county’s Web site, www.clallam.net or e-mailed directly to Tyler at rtyler@co. clallam.wa.gov.

The commissioners on Monday also discussed the lower Dungeness dike setback project.

Two commissioners on Feb. 17 voted to amend agreements with the state Recreation and Conservation office to allow the county to purchase two parcels on the lower Dungeness floodplain.

Tharinger recused himself because he is one of the property owners.

Transfer of funds

The county transferred $380,000 from its capital projects fund to purchase the land on the east side of the river. The cost will be reimbursed through state grants, county officials said.

Moving the dikes will help restore habitat for salmon and other wildlife and alleviate flood risk on the lower river, natural resource planner Hannah Merrill said.

Doherty and Chapman will vote today on warrant deeds to purchase the land from Tharinger and Jeffrey Howat, both of whom live on Towne Road.

The Army Corps of Engineers in 1963 built a dike on the east side of the river before a private owner built the west dike in response to flooding.

As a result, the river bed is higher than the floodplain that surrounds it.

Merrill gave a slide presentation on the project in Monday’s meeting. In it, a satellite image shows the two properties surrounded by large parcels of state Department of Fish and Wildlife land.

“They’re the last two private properties on this side of the river that will allow the movement of the dike back and allow the river to expand into a significantly large section of public ownership,” County Administrator Jim Jones said.

“It should be beneficial to everybody.”

In last week’s board meeting, a resident raised concerns about a conflict of interest because Tharinger owns one the properties. The woman also said the appraisals were done before the downturn in the housing market and urged the commissioners to get another appraisal.

“We’ve double checked all of our data — this has been very carefully monitored all the way through because we do have a commissioner involved,” Jones said in Monday’s meeting.

________

Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.