The in basket: I must have stayed away from Bethel Road in Port Orchard for a while because I was surprised to see that a major dig-out and patching operation had been completed, providing stretches of new asphalt where the roadway had been rough and cracking.
Some patches stretched across the entire roadway and it continued on down to the roundabout at Highway 166. It’s a much smoother drive now.
I asked Port Orchard public works how that all meshes with the overall plans for the Bethel Corridor since the city annexed it. Though the plans didn’t extend past Lincoln Road when it was the county’s project. it’s all inside the city now. On the other end, the work stops just past Fred Meyer, which was its terminus under the county plan.
The out basket: Public Works Director Mark Dorsey says, “Upon annexation, getting the Bethel Road Corridor (SR 166 to just south of Fred Meyer) ‘drivable’ for the next 20 years was a city priority….split into 2 years.
“Last year we did (some) grind-out/repairs, plus a full overlay at Bethel/Lund (since this area does not change in the future.) This year we are finishing up the program with remaining grind-out/repairs.”
A city redesign of the overall corridor improvements is now scheduled for 2017-18, but enough money has been garnered finally to move ahead with the long-planned Tremont Avenue widening, which may absorb the city’s attention for a while.
“The actual Bethel Corridor reconstruction project is scheduled to commence right-of-way acquisition in 2025 and construction in 2027 (subject to change),” Mark said. “We have a draft conceptual Corridor Plan prepared….but it has not been vetted.”
The Tremont project, the latest grant for which has just been approved in the amount of $1.7 million, is to be done by 2018. It will create roundabouts on Tremont at Pottery Avenue and South Kitsap Boulevard in place of traffic signals, widen Tremont to four lanes to Highway 16, and add underground utilities, pedestrian and bicycle accommodations, street lighting and landscaping.
Initially it was very smooth in the repaved parts. Now, of course, the manholes and water line access plates have to be dug up and patched. I hope they make them smoother than the last time.