New roundabout on Bay St. opens to traffic through downtown Port Orchard
PORT ORCHARD — Drivers going through downtown Port Orchard no longer wait in line to pass the temporary traffic signals, as a new roundabout at the Bethel Avenue, Bay Street and Maple Avenue intersection has opened.
After months of construction, the new roundabout that is built to replace an aging traffic signal at the intersection on Bay Street opened to traffic on Wednesday, the Washington State Department Of Transportation announced in a statement.
This means most of the work for the roundabout project is completed and contract workers will return to finish the rest of the construction next spring when the temperature is warmer. The remaining work includes installing the final layer of asphalt and lane striping, according to the state agency.
Crews have removed the temporary traffic signals as they are no longer needed, and any additional work in spring will be done using flaggers, according to WSDOT spokesperson Doug Adamson.
"While the schedule is weather-dependent, there will be several weeks of work for paving and installation of final striping," Adamson said in an email.
For pedestrians, a detour will continue to let people walk through the intersection until the new bike lanes at the roundabout are open in the spring. Trucks will continue to detour around the intersection as well, WSDOT said.
More: New roundabout on Bay Street aimed for completion at the end of this year
This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: New roundabout on Bay St. opens to traffic in Port Orchard
