• The western portion of NE 88th Street, from Highway 99 to NE 25th Avenue, has reopened to through traffic.

  Project number: 330222
• Project limits: Highway 99 east to NE St. Johns Road
• Current status: Construction expected to begin in mid-June 2012
• Project type: Widen and improve existing two-lane road

Description

NE 88th Street, from Highway 99 east to NE St. Johns Road, is a narrow, busy road that provides a major east-west route in the Hazel Dell area.

Project update - Oct. 18, 2012
NE 88th Street reopened to through traffic today between Highway 99 and NE 25th Avenue.

Rotschy Inc., Clark County’s general contractor on the NE 88th Street project, started construction in early July. An important milestone was achieved last week when a paving subcontractor put down a final layer of asphalt.

The area will remain a construction zone, and Rotschy will continue to do minor work in the coming weeks and months. The Clark County-based contractor will resume major construction in spring 2013 and shift its efforts to the eastern portion of the corridor, from NE 25th Avenue to NE St. Johns Road.

Utility work also will continue on the eastern portion in the coming months so Rotschy can resume major construction in earnest next spring.

Project elements
• Improve and widen 1.7 miles of NE 88th Street from Highway 99 to NE St. Johns Road, with one travel lane in each direction and a continuous left-turn lane.
• Add bicycle lanes, planter strips, sidewalks, curbs and gutters on both sides of the road.
• Install new utility lines.
• Build stormwater improvements to collect and treat polluted storm runoff from the roadway.
• Construct retaining walls and other features where needed.

Construction schedule and phasing
Construction is expected to begin in mid-June and continue for two seasons. Construction is scheduled to be complete in October 2013, although weather and other complications could cause work to stretch into 2014.

The project likely will be built in three phases:
• NE Highway 99 to NE 25th Avenue
• NE 25th Avenue to NE 34th Avenue
• NE 34th Avenue to NE St. Johns Road

Closed for road work
The western half of NE 88th Street will be closed to all traffic except for emergency vehicles, school buses and private vehicles for those who have no other way to reach homes or businesses along or near the road.

Drivers who must use NE 88th Street should expect delays and must follow the directions of flaggers at all times. All other traffic should detour to NE 78th Street. NE 25th Avenue will remain open over the duration of the project.

Minimizing impacts
Clark County will do everything it can to make this project as smooth as possible, including:
• Prohibiting the contractor from working after 7 p.m.
• Requiring the contractor to have plans for controlling dust and providing residential access.
• Requiring the contractor to have a community liaison to respond to questions, concerns and complaints.

Safety First
With construction taking place almost entirely in a residential area, there is heightened concern for safety.

Pedestrians always should remain on a designated walkway through the construction zone and stay at least 100 feet from moving equipment.

A construction zone can be a temptation for children looking for a place to play. Parents should take extra care to keep their children safe and out of the construction zone.

School buses
Clark County Public Works will work closely with Vancouver and Battle Ground school districts to ease delays for school buses.

At this point, neither school district expects to change bus routes. Vancouver Public Schools will notify parents if it decides to change where buses pick up and drop off students.

For more information on school buses, contact:
• Vancouver Public Schools, Transportation Office, (360) 313-4800.
• Battle Ground Public Schools, Petermann NW (school bus contractor), (360) 687-7137 ext. 32.

C-Tran
Construction has required C-Tran to detour Route 25 Fruit Valley/St. Johns. Starting on May 13, 2012, NE 88th Street and a portion of Highway 99 have not had C-Tran service. Route 25 has detoured detour north to NE 99th Street to directly serve the 99th Street Transit Center. C-Tran riders can catch either Route 25 along NE 99th Street or Route 78 on NE 78th Street.
Trip planning assistance and detour information are available at: www.c-tran.com

More information
Don Andrews, Project Manager         
Clark County Public Works               
(360) 397-6118 ext. 4362               
Don.Andrews@clark.wa.gov 

Bart Arthur, Construction Engineer
Clark County Public Works
(360) 397-6118 ext. 4948
Bart.Arthur@clark.wa.gov

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