Solutions for Olympic Gateway Mall access six to seven years away

A solution to traffic problems near Aberdeen’s Olympic Gateway Mall could be six or seven years away — and wouldn’t include any changes to the Puget Sound & Pacific rail line, reported Grays Harbor Council of Governments Director Vicki Cummings.

Cummings presented an update on the East Aberdeen Mobility Project to Port of Grays Harbor commissioners and staff at a Tuesday morning meeting, explaining that the biggest challenge for the Council of Governments and hired consultant David Evans and Associates will be increasing traffic flow from State Route 12 into the area without hampering business.

“It’s no small task we’re trying to accomplish,” Cummings said.

The main issue is the traffic jams on Highway 12 every time a train moves through the area, she said.

‘It’s not OK for a state highway to become a parking lot,” Cummings said. “And that’s what (SR) 12 is a lot of the time.”

The project has been in the works for about a year, with the Council of Governments receiving a $600,000 Federal Highway Administration grant last August and $108,642 in matching funds from the Port of Grays Harbor. The first phase, the analysis phase, will use $250,000 of the federal grant and $39,017 in port funding. The remainder of the money will be used to carry out the plan.

Cummings explained that the East Aberdeen Mobility Project is a “road-based study,” meaning that any solutions would need to be built around the existing railroad tracks.

“Unless there’s a huge cost benefit, they’re not going to change,” Cummings said.

“We’re not touching the tracks,” she added.

Council of Governments staff and the consultant came up with a list of 10 possible solutions, and narrowed the list down to seven alternatives based on cost and impacts to local businesses, Cummings said. Later this month, the group will meet to weed out even more solutions with the goal of narrowing the list to three possibilities.

The Council of Governments will present the short list of alternatives to the public in October at a public meeting, and then use the input to draft a final plan. That plan will be presented to the public during another meeting in December.

They’re also seeking input from the Olympic Gateway Mall business community, and have already started meeting with the businesses.

“(What they’re saying is) nothing new, they’re very frustrated about the issue,” Cummings said. “They’re very excited to find a solution.”

Funding for the final project is still up in the air, as costs will likely be more than the money already allocated by the Port and federal government, Cummings said. She has been talking with local members of the Legislature and Congress.

And in the mean time, the Council of Governments hopes to find a short-term solution — one that can be carried out within one to two years, Cummings said.

“We need a couple of (short-term solutions) that are inexpensive but lead up to that final build,” Cummings said.