POULSBO — The State Route 305 Force Main installation has slowed traffic recently, but it hadn’t resulted in any road closures until this week.
The intersection of SR 305 and Liberty Road was closed Wednesday and Thursday night to traffic attempting to cross the highway as crews from Stan Palmer Construction of Port Orchard installed the sewer line through the intersection.
“It went pretty well,†said Senior Field Inspector Mike Lund Thursday, noting work there would be done that night.
Traffic appeared to flow smoothly and a Poulsbo police officer was at the scene to handle any backups, Lund said.
Two more road closures are upcoming as the work progresses to its end point at Tolefson Road, he said.
Iverson Street will be closed from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. July 12 and 13 from 8th Avenue to SR 305 as crews install the force main across that intersection, he said.
Travel on SR 305 should be unaffected by the closure, but drivers coming from the east on Lincoln will be forced to turn right or left onto the highway, he said.
Work on the Hostmark Street/SR 305 intersection is expected to begin the week of July 17, but it could be the week of July 24, depending how quickly crews are able to complete the force main installation between Lincoln and Hostmark, he said.
“There’s a lot of businesses in that area, so they’re going to have to maintain access to them, which could slow them down a little,†Lund said.
Once the actual dates of the night closure are finalized, the city will make an official announcement, he said.
The remainder of the work on the force main will be done during the day, and there won’t be any more road closures, Lund said.
Poulsbo Police Sgt. Bill Playter said the department has officers on call as needed, but the sewerline installation hasn’t created any major problems.
However, once the actual SR 305 widening project begins, Playter said the department will probably utilize more officers for traffic control, but it is waiting on the Washington state Department of Transportation for more information.
City Engineer Andrzej Kasiniak said he is unsure when the force main installation will be completed because Stan Palmer Construction is also doing the highway widening project.
“They asked us if they could skip a couple of sections where they will be installing culverts and we said, ‘OK,’†Kasiniak said, noting that until the Bond Road Pump Station is finished there is no immediate need for the force main installation to be completed.
