Drivers feared this turn onto state Route 16. Did changes make it safer?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- WSDOT installed new signs and stop bars by Haven of Rest in June, costing $14,000.
- Local residents and legislators urged WSDOT action to improve safety at the site.
- Future upgrades such as alternate routes to the cemetery remain unfunded.
New signage and stop bars have been added to improve safety at the entry and exit to Haven of Rest cemetery in Gig Harbor off of state Route 16, but more extensive improvements aren’t on the table yet.
The installations occurred in late June, and include new stop signs and “no left turn,” “right turn only” and “do not enter” signs, Washington State Department of Transportation spokesperson Cara Mitchell wrote in an email Oct. 22. Crews also installed warning signs for the upcoming cemetery in the median and the right shoulder of the highway, and moved a sign warning drivers of an upcoming business park so that motorists see the cemetery signs first. The business park is less than half a mile down the highway from the cemetery.
The work cost $14,000, according to Mitchell.
“There are no funded future improvements at this location,” she wrote.
It was during a visit for the four-year anniversary of her grandson’s passing that Barbara Rogers first noticed the changes. Rogers, a Gig Harbor-area resident in her 80s, spoke to The News Tribune last summer about her concerns entering and exiting the cemetery because of the traffic on the freeway.
The new signs and stop bars feel like “a good step in the right direction,” Rogers said in a voicemail message Oct. 21. She also expressed gratitude for the elected officials who responded after she reached out with her concerns. Still, more needs to be done, she said in a follow-up phone call. Her visits to the cemetery are still limited to Sunday mornings, when she feels traffic is lightest.
“In my dreams, I guess I had solar-powered flashing lights on the cemetery entrance sign, the big one ahead of the cemetery,” she said in her message. “ ... But maybe that’ll be the next step .”
Russ Weeks is president and owner of Weeks’ Funeral Homes, which has multiple locations in western Washington including Haven of Rest. He wrote in an email Oct. 27 that he had noticed a new stop sign and stop bar for drivers exiting the cemetery, but that these changes have done “nothing as everyone stopped when leaving the cemetery anyway.”
He also hasn’t seen improvements from the new warning signs on the highway leading up to Haven of Rest.
“It doesn’t do anything to slow traffic or help cars entering the highway from the cemetery,” Weeks wrote.
State Rep. Michelle Caldier, R-Gig Harbor, said Tuesday that she and her legislative assistant reached out to the state Department of Transportation to ask about possible solutions to the traffic issue earlier this year, after hearing concerns from multiple constituents including Rogers.
“ ... the feedback that I’ve received from the public is that they’re happy with what WSDOT has put in,” she said.
Caldier said legislators will likely have a better idea of what projects make it into the state Department of Transportation’s supplemental transportation budget by June of next year.
Rep. Adison Richards, D-Gig Harbor, also said the cemetery entry and exit issue was on the list of projects he brought to WSDOT after his election. He said he asked them what could be done about making even modest changes to the site, which is something he heard residents wanted.
“I think first and foremost, credit goes to the residents and constituents who spoke up and continue to advocate for themselves and their families and my hope is that we come to an even better long-term solution that really ensures safe entry and exit from the cemetery,” Richards said.
As for creating an alternate entry to the cemetery, which some residents have advocated for, he said his understanding is that those options “are really complicated and expensive projects that are going to require more consensus building.”
Sen. Deb Krishnadasan, D-Gig Harbor, provided comments on the improvements via text Wednesday.
“I am pleased to see improvements made to the entrance of Haven of Rest Funeral Home,” she said. “Continued safety enhancements along Highway 16 remain a priority and I appreciate constituents who reach out to share potential issues.”
She noted that she collaborates with WSDOT regularly while serving on the Senate Transportation Committee. Asked if she has any future plans to stay engaged in the cemetery access issue and seek more extensive solutions, she wrote that she has “not had the opportunity to discuss future plans for Haven of Rest but will advocate for and raise awareness of this and other projects that matter most to our communities here in the 26th.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include comments from the president and owner of Weeks’ Funeral Homes, which has multiple locations including Haven of Rest.
This story was originally published October 23, 2025 at 2:34 PM.
