POULSBO — The kids are gone and the school buses that usually rumble down Caldart Avenue have taken the summer off.
But activity along the stretch will continue during the break.
Monday is the intended start date for the Caldart Avenue reconstruction project. Stretching the 1,800 feet of Caldart between Hostmark Street and Lincoln Road, the plan will widen the road, add sidewalks and crosswalks and create better stormwater drainage.
Port Orchard’s Stan Palmer Construction received the $924,658 contract for the project June 9.
The road project’s total $1.07 million price tag is planned to be paid for by $855,627 in bonds, a $150,000 grant from the Washington State Department of Transportation pedestrians near schools safety program, $86,720 from the North Kitsap School District and $8,000 from St. Olaf’s Catholic Church.
The funding source for an additional $99,029 in water lines to be replaced, will likely be an interfund loan, Finance Director Nanci Lien said Wednesday. The item was to be paid out of the Public Works Water Reserves Fund, however, that account has no money in it. Lien said the fund that will loan the money to the water reserves for the project will be determined later. “There are several we could use,” Lien told Finance/ Administration Committee members this week.
Interim Public Works Director John Stephenson said next week’s project start will include surveying work and also clearing and grubbing the area in preparation for fill that will need to be added on west side of the road.
Once work on the actual road surface begins, Stan Palmer crews will be allowed to close off one lane between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. but must keep traffic moving in both directions at all times. Driveways along the route, including St. Olaf’s Church and North Kitsap High School, will always be accessible, although sometimes through a detour.
“Because it’s more of a minor street, I don’t think people will notice much disruption,” Stephenson said.
Stephenson added that despite the low traffic impact expected from this project, he did want to urge drivers to avoid the route if possible.
“I’d hope they’d just go around,” he said.
The contract is 60 working days, or about three months. One day of closures is planned sometime in September when the road is paved.
