POULSBO — The State Route 305 widening project that began nearly two years ago is nearing its last lap. According to project manager Jerry Moore, paving the highway from Bond Road to Hostmark Street is in line to be finished next month, with the entire project wrapping up in October.

But crews aren’t on cruise control just yet. Moore said the project is still prey to the whim of North Kitsap’s fickle weather — which he called “iffy” in a phone conversation Wednesday.

“We’re fighting the weather just a little bit here,” he said, but “we’re still on target for having all the paving done before the end of June.”

Almost all paving is conducted at night, during which detours and two-way road access are maintained. At some point, a section of Hostmark Street will need to be paved during the daytime. One lane will be shutdown while the work is done. Moore said the majority of the paving was scheduled for the night to minimize the project’s impact on drivers.

As crews remain on paving standby mode cleanup work is done throughout the day.

Monday the last stretch of drainage piping will be laid. “We’re definitely getting on the downhill side of things,” Moore said.

Between June and October, when the project is slated to finish, crews will be doing roadside seeding and planting, repairing some damage from last year’s flooding, and various guard rail, lane and crosswalk striping.

Washington State Department of Transportation spokesperson Lisa Murdock said including its supplemental 2008 budget, the project’s price tag as a whole is about $27 million. She said the traffic flow will be improved drastically, and the department is grateful for the public’s patience.

“When it’s done, it will be a quality project,” she said.

Two new traffic lanes were added during the widening, each of which is designated for High Occupancy Vehicles (HOV) during peak commuter hours. Turning lanes were also improved, and space for cyclists was included.

This work is just the first stage of the widening of SR 305; a phase two is expected for the roadway between Hostmark Street and Baywatch Court. Murdock said that section of construction is currently unfunded and not scheduled.

For more information on the project, visit the DOT’s Web site at http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/sr305/poulsbosouthtobondrd/.