While motorists will see Kitsap County Public Works crews completing few projects in the North End this year, the department will be busy preparing for other major projects in 2007 and beyond.

For actual onsite construction, residents can expect to see crews at these locations this year:

1. Hansville Road/Little Boston Road/Eglon Road intersection — widening and channelization — construction to start April

2. Big Valley Road — culvert replacement (replacing a collapsing 18-inch culvert) —  construction to start June

3. Point No Point Road — reconstructing road with paved shoulders from Hillview Lane to end of street — construction to start July

4. Augusta Avenue — paved shoulders, in coordination with sewer and stormwater maintenance, from Center Street to Geneva Street — construction to start April

As for upcoming projects, traffic engineers and planners will be doing the engineering and obtaining right of ways in 2006, with construction in 2007 or later, for the following:

5. Improvements at Miller Bay Road/West Kingston Road intersection

6. Widening and intersection improvements on Miller Bay Road between Indianola Road and Gunderson Road

7. Safety improvements on Hood Canal Drive, between Hood Canal Place and Ponderosa Drive

8. Construction of a separated bike trail on Miller Bay Road between State Route 104 and Indianola Road

Of the 62 projects slated for completion through 2011 in the report, the North End has 18 total on the books.

The county’s six-year transportation improvement program for 2006-2011 can be found at www.kitsapgov.com/pw/sixyear_tip.htm.

Other local projects include work on the anticipated non-motorized vehicle trail between Eglon and Kingston to start in the spring, said Kitsap County transportation planner Greg Cioc.

The trail will start on the Washington State Department of Natural Resources property at the end of Parcell Road and traverse second growth forest to Eglon Beach on Hoffman Road.

Provisions will be made along Parcell Road for the parking of a limited number of horse trailers, Cioc said, as the area is popular with horse riders.

The county will also be starting its Miller Bay Rural Corridor Planning Study, which will assist the communities of Kingston, Indianola and Suquamish in identifying projects to protect their surrounding rural areas and community centers from the impact of high traffic volumes.

The first stages of the project will include the beginning of the design process and perhaps implement the highest priority project or projects that will result from the planning study, Cioc said.

“There are numerous issues associated with the Miller Bay corridor communities,” Cioc said. “But primarily the citizens are focused on safety, revitalization of community centers and the development of non-motorized facilities.”