Get ready for circles on Boulevard Road

OLYMPIA – Work began Monday on the first of three planned roundabouts to improve traffic flow and safety on Boulevard Road.

Crews for the general contractor, KLB Construction Inc. of Mukilteo, will clear trees and brush before construction begins in earnest at the T intersection of Boulevard and Log Cabin roads in southeast Olympia, said Sheri Zimny, project manager for the city of Olympia.

Crews will build a two-lane roundabout – the first city-funded roundabout in east Olympia – that features sidewalks, bike lanes, landscaping and lighting. Water and sewer lines also will be upgraded, and other utility lines will be buried.

The new roundabout also will feature the most ambitious artwork to grace one of the intersection control devices in the community so far. It consists of a circle of 10 wooden columns, each 8 feet high and carved with Northwest themes. Seattle artist Steve Jensen has characterized the $70,000 work as a “contemporary Northwest Stonehenge.”

Work is scheduled for completion Nov. 25, the day before Thanksgiving.

Crews will construct a temporary two-lane bypass road on vacant property next to Boulevard Road so traffic disruptions are minimal, Zimny said.

The contractor has asked for city approval to close Log Cabin Road for four weeks starting in early August, she said. A decision is expected this week.

Motorists could access neighborhoods along Log Cabin by taking Henderson Boulevard or 22nd Avenue, if the street is closed. The city would require crews to reopen Log Cabin before the start of school, Zimny said.

Crews will raise the intersection 7 feet to improve sight distance and control speeds, she said. “It’s a drastic change,” she said.

The project costs $4.5 million and will be paid for with transportation impact fees – money that developers pay to offset the impact of increased traffic they create by building – and utility fees.

A fourth leg could be added to the roundabout, as a residential development is in the permitting process.

Future single-lane roundabouts are proposed for the intersections of 22nd Avenue and Morse-Merryman Road. Preliminary design work has begun but neither is funded.

A $1 million project to construct sidewalks on the east side of Boulevard from 22nd Avenue to 30th Avenue and on the west side of the thoroughfare from 30th Avenue to Washington Middle School could begin in September. The project is funded with utility taxes voters approved in 2004 and a state grant.

Boulevard Road is the main street for residents in surrounding neighborhoods but also is used by people in the southern parts of the urban area to commute into Olympia.

As many as 11,000 vehicles use Boulevard each year, and traffic volume is projected to increase to 15,000 by 2025, according to a corridor study completed in 2006. Between 2000 and 2004, there were 105 reported collisions at major intersections along the corridor, the study said.

Christian Hill: 360-754-5427

chill@theolympian.com