PORT ANGELES — The Towne Road project in Sequim could go out to bid as soon as March 26, the Clallam County commissioners were told.
“It seems like it’s a long ways away but there’s a lot of steps that have to happen before then. That is what we are shooting for,” Joe Dosini, Clallam County assistant engineer, told commissioners Monday.
The plan is for commissioners to receive an update at their March 4 work session, review proposed changes at their March 25 work session, then have the formal call for bids at their regular meeting at 10 a.m. March 26 in the commissioners meeting room in the Clallam County Courthouse, 223 E. Fourth St.
Project updates can be viewed at https://www.clallam countywa.gov/1764/Dungeness Towne-Rd-Levee-Updates.
According to the online project update, the “narrow” portion will consist of about 350 feet (about 9 percent) of the 3,700-foot project, including a 14-foot-wide northbound lane, a 10-foot-wide southbound lane and a six- to eight-foot-wide trail surface.
An intermediate portion will consist of about 850 feet with a 14-foot-wide northbound lane, a 12-foot-wide southbound lane, and an eight- to ten-foot-wide trail surface, the update stated.
The majority of the project (68 percent) will have two 14-foot-wide travel lanes and a 10- to 12-foot-plus-wide trail surface. The trail surface will provide a nexus between the North Levee and the River’s Edge Levee to the south.
There’s just a couple hundred feet of the 4,000-foot levee section that is going to be tight, Donisi said.
“One of the things that was in play was a 35 mph design speed and we’ve changed that to a 25 mph design speed. The other issue is the guardrail taking up too much space,” he added.
“So what we would propose is a six-inch-high vertical curb between the shoulder and the road and trail instead of a guardrail that’s taking up space,” he said.
Donisi said the engineers think with the reduced speed limit and more space available on top of the levee, it should be pretty nice to get across.
Commissioner Mike French said that where the trail goes from eight-feet-wide to six-feet-wide, the road goes from 12-feet-wide to 10-feet-wide.
“So there is some traffic calming there. With the 25 mph speed and the narrower road, that will encourage drivers to go slower because they will feel like they have to go slower. I think that’s a really important part of this, from a safety perspective,” he said.
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Reporter Brian Gawley can be reached at brian.gawley@peninsuladailynews.com.
