Guess what’s coming to this Lacey intersection? 160 days of construction
Lacey City Council on Tuesday awarded a construction contract for a new single-lane roundabout at Britton Parkway at Carpenter Road Northeast.
The $2.23 million project begins in March and is expected to last 160 days. The winning bidder, one of 15, was Active Construction of Puyallup. Active has worked with the city before, including widening College Street and constructing a roundabout at 22nd Avenue Southeast.
Public Works Director Scott Egger said 15 bidders is the most he has seen on one project in years.
“Competition is back and that’s a good thing,” he said.
In addition to the roundabout, the city is going to extend sewer and water lines in the area and repave a section of Draham Street Northeast for Thurston County. The county will reimburse the city for the work, Egger told the council.
The city also will repave a section of the westbound lane of Britton Parkway, which is not in good shape, Egger said.
Both Mayor Andy Ryder and Deputy Mayor Malcolm Miller asked why the city decided on a single-lane traffic circle and not one with two lanes.
“This is all we need right now,” said Egger, adding that there is a enough right of way in the area to expand to a second lane.
The advantage of a roundabout? For one, it slows traffic, he said.
“If you’re traveling on Britton Parkway right now, you don’t need to slow down at all,” Egger told the council. “But after the roundabout is constructed, you will have to slow down to 10-15 miles per hour and that is the intent — to slow traffic down.”
