The in basket: Rob Shafer of Port Orchard says in an e-mail, “In the past six months there have been three serious accidents, with at least one fatality, on Southworth Drive between Locker Road and Banner Road southeast of Port Orchard.
“There is a slight turn to the left as you approach Curley Creek after Locker Road that all three drivers involved in the accidents missed,” he said. “At this point in the road there is very little shoulder and a BIG hole that either stops the car very quickly, or launches it back onto the road.
“Are there any plans to make this turn safer both for careless drivers and oncoming traffic?” he asked. “Add a guardrail? Fill the hole? Widen the shoulder? Add rumble strips?”
The out basket: It looked to me that just filling the hole would correct whatever hazard exists. But the county plans more.
Jeff Shea, county transportation engineer, says, “A guard rail in itself can be an obstacle near the roadway and is usually a last resort used to protect motorists from other roadside obstacles.
“In this case the hole is located where a drainage pipe crosses under the road. Our surface and storm water utility is putting catch basins and pipe in the holes then will fill the holes to create a more shallow ditch line. That should address the concerns there.”
That’s not the only work planned there, incidentally. The county has plans for a $2.1 million replacement of the bridge over Curley Creek just a few feet east of there next year, though the work isn’t likely to reach to the spot Ron mentions.
