The in basket: Orville and Bette Lund of Allyn send an e-mail
recently saying that on March 1 “we drove Highway 3 to Belfair at
about 4:30 p.m. As we started down the hill toward Highway
106, we were amazed to see a long line of cars on 106 waiting to
enter Highway 3.
“A traffic light would be a God-send.”
The in basket: Orville and Bette Lund of Allyn send an e-mail
recently saying that on March 1 “we drove Highway 3 to Belfair at
about 4:30 p.m. As we started down the hill toward Highway
106, we were amazed to see a long line of cars on 106 waiting to
enter Highway 3.
“Can’t imagine the poor people trying to maneuver this situation
once summer tourism and summer home residents get into full gear,”
the e-mail said. “A traffic light would be a God-send. DOT
tried something last year that did not work. Don’t know how much
their study plus work cost. It was a complete waste. A
light is needed.”
The out basket: According to the state Department of Transportation
Web site’s projects list, the intersection will have a traffic
signal before the summer tourism and summer home residents increase
the traffic, by Memorial Day. The Web site
(www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR3/SR106BelfairSignal) provides a lot
of details, including the rather remarkable cost of $1.02 million
dollars. That’s all the more remarkable because the site also says
the project “can be constructed within the footprint of the
existing roadway, eliminating wetland impacts and the need for
additional right of way and relocation of existing utilities.”
There will be left and right turn pockets in all directions. The
existing angled right turn from Highway 3 to 106 will be replaced
by a 90-degree turn at the intersection. For some reason, the
state’s engineers don’t like such angled right turns. They did away
with the one on Highway 303 at Brownsville Highway north of
Bremerton a couple of year ago.
