POULSBO — More than $21 million will be spent on State Route 305 in the next two years as road work commences in May.
In addition to widening the road from Bond Road to the south city limits of Poulsbo, the Washington State Department of Transportation is also repaving it from Hostmark Street to the Bainbridge Island ferry terminal.
WSDOT officials announced the selection of Ace Paving Co. of Bremerton as the contractor for the $3.6 million project.
“We have in it the contract to start no later than May 30, weather permitting,†said WSDOT field inspector Pete Townsend.
The work, which will be done from 7:30 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, will begin at Hostmark Street and continue on to the ferry terminal, Townsend said.
That decision was based on a WSDOT traffic study, which showed a substantial reduction in traffic during those hours. It is expected to be completed in October.
“Hopefully, it won’t be too inconvenient and we worked on Madison Avenue, so we know what to expect,†he said in reference to the traffic light that was recently installed at the SR 305/Madison Avenue intersection on Bainbridge Island.
Even though the SR 305 widening project is also scheduled to begin this summer, Townsend said he is optimistic that the two projects will progress smoothly.
“We have a communication plan in effect when we are working in the area, and we’ll be talking daily when we’re within two miles of each other,†he said.
If both contractors are within that two-mile zone, traffic control measures will be combined to minimize the impacts on motorists, Townsend said.
Poulsbo City Engineer Andrzej Kasiniak said he was notified Tuesday that the widening project is ready to go out for bid.
“I’m really happy because it took us 10 years of effort and the state identified it in 1996,†Kasiniak said.
The next important milestone for the project is May 31 when the bids are opened and the exact cost of the estimated $17.5 million project will be known, he said.
Once the bids are opened, Kasiniak said he expects work to begin some time in June.
“I anticipate the first thing will be installing the culverts and the second will be the retaining wall on the west side (of SR 305),†he said.
Actual paving work in Poulsbo isn’t expected begin until the summer of 2007.
While he was unaware of the paving project until recently, Kasiniak said he believes things will work out fine.
“I think we’ll be good because they’ll be working at night,†he said.