East Aberdeen traffic study finally under way

Nearly a year after the funding was initially approved, a traffic improvement study for East Aberdeen is finally under way.

The project will evaluate alternatives for easing congestion along Highway 12 between Morrison Riverfront Park and the Wishkah River Bridge. It’s an area that can be a headache for motorists, particularly when trains are passing through. Cummings said the project also aims to improve access to local businesses and improve pedestrian and bicycle safety.

Last August, the Grays Harbor Council of Governments obtained a $600,000 Federal Highway Administration grant for the East Aberdeen Mobility Project, with $108,642 in matching funds from the Port of Grays Harbor. The federal money is administered through the Washington State Department of Transportation.

The project hit a snag earlier this year because of a paperwork issue. The project proposal outlined initial research to identify a “best use alternative,” cost estimates, planning specifications and environmental plans leading up to construction. COG Executive Director Vicki Cummings said state DOT officials told them after the project information was submitted the project would need to be divided into two distinct phases: analysis and engineering.

“We’re finally there,” Cummings said Thursday. “We’re past all that, we’ve fulfilled all the state and federal processes for that and now everything has been approved and signed on the dotted line.”

Berglund Schmidt & Associates of Hoquiam has been hired for surveying, and project staff will be working around the area over the next two weeks, precisely locating things such as utilities and right-of-way boundaries.

“That data will be used when we take a look at siting alternatives and some of the roadway adjustments that will be recommended,” Cummings said.

Most of the work at this point will take place outside the roadway and shouldn’t cause any traffic delays.

The Council of Governments — an organization funded by local governments to facilitate issues involving more multiple government jurisdictions — may identify traffic mitigation options only involving the highway, or it may recommend an alternative involving changes to the rail infrastructure between the mall and the state highway.

The federal money can be used to study any alternative, but because it’s highway money, it can’t be used to actually engineer anything but highway alternatives.

“We can look at anything that affects access to and from … the state highway,” Cummings said in February. If an alternative involving rail is selected, the project would need a separate funding source.

Depending on the scale of the project recommended, it may need additional funding in any case. There may be smaller changes recommended in the interim, such as changes to area traffic signals or a reader board advising drivers a train is coming.

Despite the months-long delay, Cummings said COG is still aiming to finish the first phase by the end of the year.

“We’re really condensing our timeline,” she explained. “We’re fast-tracking it. We’re so excited about this project, we really just need to see some improvements happen in that region.”

Cummings said she expects to hold public meetings to present the alternatives in the fall.