By Anne Radford

The Courier-Herald

DOT hoping to

make roadway

much safer

A heavily-traveled stretch of state Route 164, including the busy intersection at 244th Avenue Southeast, are do for improvement this summer.

The Washington State Department of Transportation will soon be accepting bids from contractors and the work could begin late this month, according to a DOT spokesman.

The project will include repaving the highway from High Point Street to 196th Avenue Southeast. Also, improvements to the intersection at 244th will include adding left-turn lanes and lowering the hill on the north side of the highway to improve visibility, said Derek Case, design engineer for the project.

The project also will include lowering the roadway on the north side of 164th to improve sight distance when approaching the intersection.

Left turn lanes will also be added to the intersection at 228th Avenue Southeast and the hill will be lowered west of the intersection to improve visibility, Case said.

Guardrails will be added at various locations along the highway from 228th to 196th to protect drivers from roadside ditches, he added.

The intersection at 196th will be realigned to improve the angle of the intersection and promote safety, Case said.

"This project is for safety improvements up and down the corridor, particularly at intersections," Case said. "The new roadway surface and added guardrails are to protect the traveling public."

Bids will be opened July 29, Case said. DOT estimates the construction cost will be from $2.5 to $3 million.

The project will begin in late July at the earliest and the start date will be finalized once a contractor is selected, Case said. DOT has allowed 21 weeks to complete the project,

DOT plans to allow single lane closures from either 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. or 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. once construction begins. There will also be weekend closures at the intersections where construction is being done to lower the roadways. A detour will be set up during these weekends, and closures will run from 10 p.m. Fridays to 5 a.m. Mondays. Dates for weekend closures have not been determined yet.

More information about lane closures and traffic delays will be finalized once the contractors have been selected, Case said.

Anne Radford can be reached at aradford@courierherald.com.