Tremont Street in South Kitsap will be widened between Highway 16
and Port Orchard Boulevard to include four lanes of traffic with
bike lanes and sidewalks on either side. The city will need to
acquire right-of-way from some residents living along the route. A
meeting to review the process will take place at at 6:30 p.m. Nov.
8 at City Hall, 216 Prospect St. Port Orchard.
Click here for a larger version of the map to see if your property may be affected.
PORT ORCHARD
The City of Port Orchard is moving into the next phase of its Tremont Street widening project, meaning city officials will need to negotiate right-of-way acquisition with some residents who live along the project route.
A public open house to provide information on the process has been scheduled for 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday at City Hall, 219 Prospect St.
Construction will begin in the fall of 2008 on the $7.5 million project, which is designed to relieve traffic congestion between Highway 16 and Port Orchard Boulevard.
Plans call for turning the present two-lane road into four lanes, plus a center turn lane, bike lane, sidewalks and, in two locations, roundabout traffic circles.
The city has hired Universal Field Services Inc. of Edmonds to negotiate right-of-way acquisition. A representative of the company will be at the meeting to answer general questions about the process.
Homeowners will receive monetary compensation based on fair market value for land the city has determined it needs to complete the project.
Individual homeowners were not notified about the meeting, because the city is still working on plans to determine where acquisitions will need to be made and how much property they will involve.
“With the roadway alignment being finalized, the design challenges are becoming clearer,” said City Engineer Maher Abed in a press release.
“Challenges” include how and where to provide utility service to individual properties, median placement and vehicular access for properties, where to construct retaining walls, how to phase in construction and what detours may be necessary.
“In addition, the right-of-way needs are becoming more apparent,” said Abed, who said the city is seeking input from the public on all issues.
The project will be paid for primarily with state and federal transportation funds. The Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council has helped the city secure a grant for federal matching funds.
For more information, contact Maher Abed at (360) 876-4991.
I wonder when that aerial photo was taken. I believe there is a recently completed building on the southeast corner of the Tremont and Pottery intersection — at 1501 Pottery Ave. The photo shows nothing but trees.
Maybe that’s what is meant by this statement:
“In addition, the right-of-way needs are becoming more apparent,” said Abed, who said the city is seeking input from the public on all issues.
I’ve wondered since seeing that building under construction how the planned widening of Tremont would be done after the building was finished. Now I see they also want a “roundabout” at that intersection.
Oh, well, maybe there’s more room between that new building and the planned road than looks to be the case.
Reviewing the planned / proposed changes to Tremont street, I see that roundabouts are being proposed for the future at the OFF/ON ramps from Hyw 16. While this may be the eventual answer to a serious safety problem it may be too far in the future. The on ramp to Hyw 16 north needs a left turn lane from Old Clifton /Tremont now. Currently left turn traffic has to stop and wait whenever Tremont traffic is comming down through the intersection. Drivers continuing through from Old Clifton or the Hyw 16 OFF ramp do not always pay attention to vehicles stopped waiting to turn left. I was rear ended there last summer and had another near miss the other day when a driver started to change lanes early and finaly noticed I was stopped waiting on traffic in order to turn left. I would highly recommend that these proposed changes be speeded up to be included in the inital improvements or a dedicated left turn lane be established in the interim to prevent future accidents.