The in basket: Greg Tyree has a couple of questions about the road widening project going on in Belfair.
He wonders about the elaborate concrete walls and grading being done next to the Masonic Lodge in town, to serve as its parking lot. He estimates that the work is costing “probably three times the value of the entire property” and wonders why it’s so elaborate.
He also wonders whether the traffic signal in front of Belfair Elementary, removed for the summer while school is out, will be restored and whether an overhead walkway could be built in its place.
The out basket: Claudia Bingham-Baker, spokeswoman for the Olympic Region of state highways, says, “”The widening work required that we either install walls or fill the parcel to accommodate the wider road. Walls were less expensive than filling the parcel, thus the walls were included in the project design.”
I didn’t think there was much likelihood of an overhead walkway being built in front of the school, and that people choosing to climb up to use it when they could just dash across the highway seems just as unlikely. But I asked Claudia about it and she said, “”We will replace the signal at the school on our project. There are no plans or funds to build a pedestrian bridge.”
