Gig Harbor submits wish list for federal road money, asks residents to help lobby
The City of Gig Harbor has submitted proposals for federal grant money to help fund four city road projects, and is seeking letters of support from citizens and businesses.
The grants would finance work on traffic metering at the Burnham Drive roundabout; bicycle and pedestrian improvements to the Wagner Way/ Wollochet Drive intersection; safety improvements to 38th Avenue, and sidewalks along Burham Drive.
The city is seeking federal funding under the 2022 Community Project Funding Program and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which allows members to “earmark” local projects for funding. The city is asking residents who support the proposals to write to Rep. Derek Kilmer, who represents the 6th District and sits on the committee.
The projects total almost $14 million. Typically, federal grants require local matching funds, usually 10 percent.
During a City Council study session March 4, Public Works Director Jeff Langhelm told the council that the city needed to choose carefully which projects to submit for earmarks, because some federal grants end up cost more than they are worth. Various federal contracting and purchasing requirements can drive the cost to the city higher than if it had done them itself, he said.
The council responded with a resolution that required projects to meet a break-even point for the city.
In an email Friday, the city described the projects:
Burnham Drive Roundabout Metering
Metering of traffic entering the roundabout from the westbound SR-16 offramp will help prevent read-end collisions and smooth traffic flow, easing congestion at what is becoming a major choke-point The project will install an automated but complex traffic management system that the city says has been shown to reduce congestion and improve safety.
Project cost: $3 million
Wagner Way/Wollochet Drive Intersection
The current intersection doesn’t allow for pedestrians or bikers to cross this busy arterial roadway, which provides access to and from SR-16 and downtown Gig Harbor.
This project would install a traffic signal, pedestrian crossing signal, disability improvements, street lighting, stormwater treatment, and detention improvements, and connect the new signals to WSDOT’s signals at the SR16 intersection and the city’s existing signal at the intersection of Wollochet / Hunt.
Final design, permitting, property acquisition, and construction would happen in 2022.
Project cost: $925,000
38th Avenue Improvement, Phase 2
Currently, residents ride bicycles or walk on narrow dirt paths along the busy 38th Avenue arterial. Residents have been asking for decades to improve safety along this corridor by placing bicycle lanes and sidewalks to connect a residential area to the large commercial area to the east and two public schools to the south. The city is currently improving this corridor up to the schools as part of the 38th Avenue Improvement Project, Phase 1A.
Phase 2 would redesign the roadway to add bicycle lanes on both sides, sidewalks on one side, a landscaped buffer next to the sidewalk, curbs, and gutters as necessary, sewer and storm improvements, street illumination, on-street parking where room exists, and turn pockets, as necessary. This is primarily along 56th Street to Hunt Street.
Project cost: $6.95 million
Burnham Drive Improvements
Currently, residents ride bicycles or walk along narrow dirt paths on Burnham Drive, a busy arterial connecting a major residential and commercial district (including a public middle school) to the Cushman Trail and a highway interchange (SR16).
The City is currently in the design and permitting process to add a concrete multi-use path for both pedestrians and bicyclists on one side, a landscaped buffer next to the path, curbs, gutters, sewer and storm improvements, street illumination, on-street parking (where room exists), and turn pockets as necessary -- focused on the portion of the road from North Harborview Drive to Harbor Hill Drive. The project would occur in 2022.
Project cost: $3 million
Letters in support or opposition to the city’s proposals should be addressed to Rep. Derek Kilmer and emailed to communications@gigharborwa.gov by the end of the day Thursday, April 15. Templates for sample letters are available on the mayor’s blog at www.cityofgigharbor.net
This story was originally published April 12, 2021 at 11:49 AM.