PRESS RELEASE - City of Port Townsend Starting Discovery Road Bikeway, Roadway, and Sidewalk Project

PORT TOWNSEND - The City of Port Townsend is entering its most visible phase of construction for the Discovery Road Bikeway, Roadway, and Sidewalk Project. The Discovery Road Project will be constructed between the Rainier Street roundabout and Salish Coast Elementary School. Its length is approximately three quarters of a mile. Construction on the project started on October 30 and is progressing on schedule. In order to safely complete work on the south side of Discovery Road, the eastbound lane will be closed between 14th Street and McClellan Street from November 15, 2023 to March 21, 2024. The project is dynamic and these dates for the lane closure are subject to change.

Planning for the Discovery Road Project started in 2018 and is funded by grants from many different state and federal agencies. A project of this scale requires many years of planning and a combination of federal, state, and local dollars. This project’s grant funding is from the Transportation Improvement Board (TIB), Washington State’s Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Program, and the Regional Surface Transportation Program (STP). The City went through a rigorous grant application process and can only use the awarded funding for the Discovery Road Project.

Discovery Road Bikeway, Roadway, and Sidewalk Project will provide:

• A new bikeway and new sidewalks
• Enhanced pedestrian crossings
• New connections with existing bike and pedestrian routes
• Tie into the existing sidewalk and bikeway by Salish Coast Elementary School
• Tie into the existing sidewalk and bikeway by the Rainier Street roundabout
• Low-maintenance landscaping
• Street lighting
• Water/Sewer upgrades
• Stormwater Management - the project will use drainage swales and other low-impact development strategies to manage stormwater
• Enhancements to the wetland on the north side of Discovery Road (across from Howard & Eddy Streets)

This long-anticipated work between Rainier Street and McClellan will include repaving the road and constructing sidewalks on both sides of the street. Additionally, a two-way bikeway will be constructed to connect the bike facilities on Rainier Street with the bike facilities in front of the elementary school. The project will include new streetlights and enhanced crossing for pedestrians as well.

The construction contract has a duration of 140 working days. Depending on weather and other unforeseen conditions, the project will likely be finished in late May of 2024, when the sidewalks, road, and crossings will re-open for all users.

School access is a critical component of the project. During the construction phase, students and employees will have normal access to Salish Coast Elementary School, and school buses will continue to pick up and drop off students at the usual locations. Anyone using the single lane along Discovery Road is asked to plan for 20-minute delays, but longer delays are possible during high traffic times of day. All adjacent residents will have access to their driveways, as will any neighbors who live on side streets connected to Discovery Road. There will be message boards, signs, and flaggers that will help direct traffic. Impacts to bus or transit routes/stops have been coordinated with those agencies with advance notice. The City asks that all motorists drive slowly near the work zone and in the surrounding area as a courtesy to the school, neighborhoods, and for safety.

Stay Connected:
You are encouraged to keep up to date about the Discovery Road Project through the City website, email updates, utility newsletters, project newsletters, and social media. A project newsletter is sent out every two months to adjacent property owners and others who request it. If you have questions about the project, please contact the City’s Discovery Road Project Manager, Laura Parsons, P.E. at lparsons@cityofpt.us or 360-774-3017.

• Email Updates:  City staff will send out periodic email messages about the Discovery Road Project. If you would like to be added to the email list, please sign up at: https://cityofpt.us/newsletter/subscriptions
• Website:  Review past newsletters and background information about the project by visiting the City’s website at: https://cityofpt.us/publicworks/project/discovery-road-bikeway-and-sidew...

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Attachments: Lane closure and detour graphic, and conceptual images for the future of Discovery Road