$9.5 million Thurston Co. road project that was decades in the making is ready
The long-awaited and long-planned extension of College Street Northeast in Lacey is finally complete, according to a check of the property and a city official at the scene.
How long has the city been working toward this goal? Lacey Mayor Andy Ryder has previously put it this way: Ryder, who is in his 50s, recalled seeing a sign announcing the planned extension when he was a student at Chinook Middle School, which is near the extended road.
What took so long? One element of a major road extension through a residential neighborhood is the need for a city to acquire right-of-way for the project from property owners.
The city had to acquire right of way or negotiate construction easements for 13 properties, The Olympian previously reported. Nine of those were secured by March 2024 with four more to go, city officials said at the time.
The city finally awarded a $9.48 million construction contract in January 2025 that called for 250 days of work.
In addition to the extension to 15th Avenue Northeast, the intersection at Sixth Avenue Northeast and College Street was rebuilt, and an older section of College Street was reduced to three lanes (two lanes in either direction with a center turn lane) from four lanes.
The Olympian visited with residents in the area to get their reaction to the completed project.
Richard Hubbard, who said he’s lived in the area about three years, praised the extension, saying it provides better access than before when there was previously no direct route through the area.
“It looks good,” he said. “They did a good job.”
The lack of a direct route meant that residents on 15th Avenue either drove to Sleater Kinney Road or Carpenter Road to head north or south, or cut through a neighborhood to get to Sixth Avenue.
Drivers cutting through neighborhoods created some friction for area residents.
Some drivers who headed north on College Street used to take an 8th Avenue shortcut to get to 15th Avenue. The additional traffic became troublesome to the point that residents petitioned the city for speed bumps. Rubber speed bumps remain in place in the area.
Gavin Ahrens, who has lived in the area five years, said the city has inadvertently created a racetrack, calling it “freeway-ish.”
“This is the straightest road I’ve seen around here,” he said, adding that although the speed limit is 35 miles per hour, drivers are already exceeding it, creating noise and safety concerns.
He acknowledged the city built a long fence along the extended road.
Still, Ahrens would like to see the speed reduced to 25 miles per hour to match the 25 mile per hour speed limit for residential areas. He, too, would like to see those rubber speed bumps become more permanent.
Longtime resident Michael Bates was waiting for his child to get off the school bus at College Street and 15th Avenue. He welcomed the improved access, but also was concerned about speeding drivers, saying 30 miles per hour seemed like the appropriate speed.
Also in the area was city of Lacey project inspector Kevin Inman, who said the extension was largely complete two weeks ago, save for a “punch list” of items that the city will ask the contractor to address.
“That’s what I’m doing, looking at the items on the punch list so we can give them to the contractor to complete,” he said.
Have concerns about the extended street? Lacey spokeswoman Donna Feliciano said residents can share those comments with Lacey Public Works on the LaceyWorks website.
