The citizens of Montesano won a huge victory when it was announced this past weekend on Montesano City Councilman Dan Wood's Social Media Fan Page that Mayor Vinni Samuel announced that there will be no roundabout in Montesano.  

Announced in the same release was the schedule and plans for current road construction plans as well as revised plans for the westbound State Route 12 Offramp to Main Street Montesano. 

MONTESANO—Nearly a year into development, the City of Montesano and the Department of Transportation are closing in on the mutually agreeable plan for the intersection of Highway 12 and Main Street. The concept plan allows better semi-truck turns by angling the left turn at point of stop and better access to downtown by creating a right-turn-only lane.

"It has been a long process from August 2016, but with a vigorous exploration of options and a lot of work, our traffic engineer, Public Works Director Mike Olden and the Department of Transportation have us on the right track," said Mayor Vini Samuel. "The concept plan fixes a misaligned intersection and helps direct traffic where they want to go, whether they're headed to the downtown core or south toward Raymond."

The concept plan takes into consideration potential future growth at Gateway Park and the Willis development on the south side of the city, incorporating the possibility of bike lanes and sidewalks for pedestrian safety.

"I appreciate how hard everyone has worked on finding a solution," Samuel said. "City council members, Mike Olden, our traffic engineer and the Department of Transportation have all made valuable contributions to bring us to this point, and I think the final product will serve everyone well—motorists, truck drivers, tourists and residents of Montesano."

The traffic revision at the intersection of Hwy 12 west bound off ramp and Main Street is expected to proceed between August and October of this year.

Other major work on city streets, made possible by federal and state grants, will start now that the weather is better, Samuel said.

East Pioneer—Workers will resume construction the week of April 23, with both Phase 1 and Phase 2 now scheduled to happen concurrently. The work stretches from the traffic light on Main Street all the way to Academy Street.

A more in-depth outline of expected activities is presented on the City of Montesano website, cityofmontesano.com. East Pioneer work is expected to run through June 2018 and the work was made possible by roughly $800,000 in funding from the Council of Governments, which handles federal construction funding for projects in Grays Harbor County.

Spruce—The City will continue to work on Spruce Avenue in May and in July to widen the road between Church Street and Spruce Avenue. This continues the 2017 work of the public works crew to start addressing the problem of side streets which do not qualify for federal or state funding.

Marcy Street—Subject to weather and contractor time constraints, Marcy Street will start work in July and go to September. The work on Marcy Street got kick started by a Department of Transportation grant through the Transportation Improvement Board of funds of more than $500,000.

"Thanks to all for their patience this summer as we improve our roads," Samuel said. "Please visit the city website at cityofmontesano.com for information."

Mayor Vini Samuel