Plans to extend College Street in Lacey are set. Here’s what happens next
Update: The story has been corrected to show that the project has gone out to bid and that bids will be opened Dec. 12.
A plan to extend College Street Northeast north to 15th Avenue Northeast is finally about to be realized, according to city of Lacey information.
In March, city officials said they had secured right of way and easements for nine of 13 properties along the route. Now, all parcels have been acquired, Lacey spokesman Ty Keltner said Thursday.
The project has gone out to bid and bids will be opened Dec. 12. Lacey City Council could award the contract in January, Keltner said.
The project was previously estimated to take 250 working days.
According to Lacey information, the contract “provides for asphalt planing and overlay, reconstruction of College Street Northeast, Sixth Avenue Northeast, and the intersection,” as well as “a new asphalt roadway and concrete sidewalks along College Street Northeast from Sixth Avenue Northeast to 15th Avenue Northeast.”
This project has been a long time coming.
Lacey Mayor Andy Ryder, who recently turned 50, said he could recall seeing a sign announcing the future extension when he was a student at Chinook Middle School, The Olympian reported in March.
For those unfamiliar with the area, College Street now runs north of Martin Way and then heads down a hill and dead-ends at Eighth Avenue Northeast in a residential neighborhood. There’s a barrier and a sign that reads, “Future Street Connection, Minor Arterial.” It’s there that College Street will be extended to 15th Avenue Northeast.
In March, Ryder asked whether fences will be built along the extension. As part of the negotiations over the easement and rights of way, every property owner between Eighth Avenue and 15th Avenue will receive a fence, he was told.
It’s not clear if the project will be welcomed or not — The Olympian reached out to residents, but did not hear back — but, once complete, it’s expected to reduce the number of drivers using Eighth Avenue as a shortcut to 15th.
Area residents previously requested a speed study for Eighth Avenue. Drivers weren’t speeding, the study showed, but the volume of traffic had soared, suggesting it was being used as a shortcut.
Speed humps were placed on the route as a result, but city officials don’t believe they need to be made permanent because of the future College Street extension.
This story was originally published October 13, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
