SR 16 drivers: Traffic relief is coming. This busy area is getting new turn lanes
New state funding is meant to relieve traffic for Gig Harbor drivers along Wollochet Drive at the state Route 16 interchange.
The city expects to get $1.7 million to add two right turn lanes on state Route 16, in locations that have been identified as problem areas. This is part of the $13.4 billion transportation budget headed to Governor Inslee’s office for final approval.
If Inslee approves the transportation budget, the city of Gig Harbor will get two out of the three transportation projects they presented to lawmakers.
In January, the Gig Harbor City Council met with the lawmakers for the 26th Legislative District — Sen. Emily Randall and state representatives Michelle Caldier and Spencer Hutchins — to outline what they wanted to see in Olympia.
Council members told the state lawmakers they’d like to see funding for transportation projects to help with traffic congestion in the Gig Harbor area.
A 2017 Washington State Department of Transportation congestion relief study helped the city identify projects along SR 16. The city asked the state to invest in three projects this legislative session.
The city is getting funding for a right-hand turn along eastbound Wollochet Drive leaving SR 16 and for a right-hand turn along eastbound Wollochet getting onto SR 16.
On April 24 the city announced Randall, Caldier and Hutchins helped them secure just under $1.7 million for that work.
Since their January meeting the cost estimated for the two Wollochet projects was updated and the cost for both is north of $2 million, Katrina Knutson, city administrator for Gig Harbor, told the Gateway Saturday.
The city is funding the permitting and design of the projects with local funds, the rest will be state funded.
The city did not get funding for a $500,000 roundabout meter at Burnham Drive. A roundabout meter is a traffic signal designed to help cars enter the roundabout one at a time to prevent backups.
Hutchins, who was elected in November to represent the 26th District, was part of the Transportation Committee this session.
His goal was “to get what is possible and reasonable,” he told the Gateway in January.
Congestion on state Route 16 is a safety issue, he said.
“It’s a safety concern and it’s a traffic issue,” Hutchins said in January. “It comes down to the health and well-being of our local economy. It’s an important thing for us to do everything we can to accomplish the transportation projects.”
‘Serious accidents and lengthy traffic back-ups’
“The city has advocated for improvements to Wollochet Drive from the Washington State Department of Transportation for at least the last 10 years, requesting improvements at that site which has been notorious for serious accidents and lengthy traffic back-ups,” a city news release said.
The money will be used to add the two right turn lanes and signal upgrades for them.
One will be a right-turn lane to the eastbound state Route 16 off-ramp to Wollochet. Currently drivers turning right at this location use the shoulder to get around other drivers.
The other right turn lane will be added to the westbound on-ramp of Wollochet.
Adding a turn lane here will help drivers getting on the westbound on-ramp to state Route 16. They will be able to pass the other drivers going straight to Pioneer or turning left onto Stinson Avenue.
“Traffic backups along the SR 16 corridor result in collisions that can stretch to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge,” the press release said. “This leads to emergency service delays and other safety issues. During the past five years, the interchange has seen an average of 61 vehicle collisions per year within the half-mile of the interchange, with nearly 10 percent resulting in injuries.”
The design process is underway and work is expected to begin in 2024.
Work could take up to a year, according to the press release.
Once complete, it will provide traffic relief to state Route 16 by “increasing driving capacity and safety,” the news release said.
