North Shore, Belfair-Tahuya closures getting same priority
August 22nd, 2008 by travis bakerThe in basket: John Whalen of the North Shore Road in Mason County writes, “Why is priority given to the repair of the North Shore Road and not the repair of the Tahuya River Bridge on the Belfair-Tahuya Road? I am certain a traffic study would show that the Tahuya River Bridge gets a substantially higher number of vehicles on it than the North Shore Road (at the closure site). I feel that priority should be given to the Tahuya River Bridge and all the residents of Collins Lake, Haven Lake, Wooten Lake, Tee Lake, Maggie Lake, Dewatto and Tahuya.
The out basket: Bill Tabor, the Mason County engineer, who will be retiring at the end of the month, says the two projects are being given equal priority.
The recent closure of North Shore Road wasn’t done so that it can be worked on first, though permit issues may bring about that result, Bill said.
The North Shore repair, which will require a tall wall to retain the roadway, is awaiting approval from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, he said.
No work is going on now to repair the Dec. 3 washout. The closure, he said, was prompted by widespread disregard for the county’s efforts to get drivers to voluntarily use other roads to keep more of North Shore Road from dropping away.
“When we first closed it, it was a one-lane road and we hoped to maintain that. Then we started getting logging trucks through there, so we restricted that and no one paid any attention. It made the situation worse to the point I felt there were some real safety concerns, not only to traffic but to people living below.”
Even closing it wasn’t fully effective. They used a chain across the road in addition to the upright barricades with ‘Road Closed” on them, Bill said. Two days later, someone cut the cable and moved the barricades, presumably to get through, he said.
He called it “a total disregard for the safety issues involved in that site.”
They hope to get the FEMA approval (so federal money can be used) in time to get the repair made before the winter rains, he said.
It will take six weeks or so to bid the project and select a contractor once the approval is obtained, he said. Design of the wall by a consultant is 90 percent complete.
Meanwhile, the county has a different set of problems at the temporary bridge across Tahuya River. That’s the subject of the next Road Warrior.
Tags: North Mason, storm damage, washouts
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August 27th, 2008 at 7:09 am
Regarding the Tahuya River Bridge/North Shore Road issue, one thing that has puzzled me all summer is the one lane road with only a caution sign (as opposed to a stop sign) at approximately milepost 11500 on North Shore Road. This is not the washout that is barricaded off but further up North Shore Road toward Tahuya. This particular washout has only a sign stating “Caution, One Lane Road, 10 MPH” or something to that effect. However, there is limited sight distance in either direction at this particular part of the road. I am not aware of any accidents at this area and locals and tourists alike seem to have amicably worked out who goes first and how many go at one time. If Mason County deems this method to be acceptable on this part of North Shore Road, EVEN with limited sight distance for oncoming vehicles in either direction, WHY THEN can they not do the same at the Tahuya River bridge? Oncoming cars are very visible from both directions and motorists traversing the bridge seem to be working out how many vehicles can efficiently cross at one time, provided law enforcement is not around to muddy things up.
This past Friday I was headed to my home in Tahuya from Bremerton and reached the bridge at 4 p.m. I was car #8 in the westbound lane and there were about 5-6 cars waiting to cross eastbound. A Mason Co. Sheriff car was parked off to the side of the road on the east side of the bridge blocked partially out of sight by some bushes, particularly for eastbound traffic. When I pulled up the deputy was just finishing issuing a citation to an eastbound driver (I do not think it was simply a warning from the amount of time he spent with the driver). As I sat waiting my turn to cross, one vehicle at a time (as vehicle #8, I sat there for 8-1/2 minutes), I counted 15 cars in the westbound lane by the time my turn came to cross and about a dozen cars waiting in the eastbound lane. I could only think to myself that sheriff could have really helped speed things up had he gotten out of his patrol car and directed traffic! I am sure the sheriff’s office will have all sorts of reasons why this could not have happened and I won’t go into the subject of the Mason County Sheriff’s office in this note. When it came time for me to cross, the poor soul waiting behind me, towing a tent trailer and presumably looking forward to a nice weekend, decided to follow me across the bridge and you guessed it, the sheriff immediately pulled him over. Generating revenue for Mason County, I guess.
The whole Tahuya River bridge issue is completely ridiculous and flys in the face of common sense. I think Mason County is simply being stubborn and unwilling to admit they have made a mistake in the way they are handling the crossing situation. Motorists would be better served if the stop signs were removed and the crossing treated as the second washout is being treated on North Shore Road. If they insist on leaving the stop signs in place, they could AT LEAST put up a sign advising motorists that multiple vehicles (I think somewhere around 3-5 is appropriate) may cross at a time.