By Kirk Boxleitner

Construction on Discovery Road has recently reached some minor milestones, as the project continues with a scheduled June 15 ribbon-cutting, and most of the major work anticipated to wrap up in May.

Not only is the sidewalk construction still slated to run through mid-May, but the street paving and installation of striping and signs are also expected to be completed by mid-May, with construction tentatively expected to conclude by late May.

However, January has already seen the majority of installation work on the underground utilities finished, while February marks the permanent closure of the 14th Street intersection.

“The installation work that’s left mostly involves making sure the access points to the utilities are flush with the sidewalks,” said Laura Parsons, project manager for the city. “With weather and other factors, almost all of these dates are subject to some changes.”

With work such as bikeway paving and construction in front of Salish Coast Elementary anticipated within a window extending from March through April, one of the big dates on the project calendar remains March 21, by which time the current closure of the eastbound lane of Discovery Road, going into town, is expected to conclude so that the scheduled closure of the westbound lane of Discovery Road, on the north side of the street, can start.

The lane closures are designed to allow the city’s contractor, Lakeside, to work safely on each side of the road in turn, and as has been the case during the eastbound lane closure, all adjacent property owners will still have access to their driveways during the westbound lane closure, as will any neighbors who live on side streets connected to Discovery Road.

Until March 21, traffic coming into town on Discovery Road still needs to detour at either the roundabout toward Upper Sims Way, or head east on 14th Street. Until that time, traffic will remain westbound only on Discovery Road between 14th and McClellan streets going out of town, and motorists are asked to drive slowly and carefully through the project zone.

“We want to thank the community for their patience during these disruptions to their routines,” Parsons said. “The adjacent property owners have been very accommodating.”

Under city code, construction noise is allowed weekdays from 7 a.m. to  6 p.m., and if construction work needs to happen outside these hours, the contractor will apply for a noise variance with the city.

While construction is underway, the public trails that intersect with Discovery Road will be kept open as much as possible, but there may be temporary closures while heavy equipment is working at those locations.

Signs will be placed when trails are not available, but the public is asked to use caution whenever using trails through the area.

“And if you’re walking through an area in the project zone after construction has ended for that day, please watch your step,” Parsons said. “Those walking surfaces might not be completely even just yet, since the work on them is still ongoing.”

There are points along the project corridor, called “mixing zones,” where travel paths for bicyclists and pedestrians will intersect, so cyclists are asked to move slowly, and pedestrians are asked to be aware bicycles could be present.

Mixing zones will have distinct surface patterns, with pigmented borders, but the mixing zone in front of Salish Coast Elementary will not have the surface patterns or pigmented borders of the rest. This mixing zone is being left for a potential street art project in collaboration with the school in which student-produced artwork would identify it as a mixing zone.

To be added to the email update list for the Discovery Road project, sign up at cityofpt.us/newsletter/subscriptions online. Newsletters and background information about the project are available at the city’s website, and Parsons may be contacted at lparsons@cityofpt.us.