By Nancy Conard
Coupeville Mayor
Coupeville residents will see some road work in the next few weeks. We have been very fortunate in securing grants to pay the majority of the costs for the following projects:
• Parker Road: one-half mile of Parker will be resurfaced, starting about 300 feet east of Moore Place and going east to the town limits. The budget for this project is $174,700 of which $106,700 is federal grant money.
• North Main Street will be resurfaced from 150 feet north of Highway 20 to Third Street. This section of Main was not redone when South and North Main were previously reconstructed. The budget for this project is $150,400 of which $119,400 is federal grant funds.
• Coveland/Madrona: About one-third mile will be resurfaced, beginning west of Main Street, along Coveland, to Broadway. The project is budgeted at $137,300 and $113,300 is federal grant funds.
• Seventhth Street NW to Alexander (on the side of the Methodist Church and around the corner past the library) will also be resurfaced. This project is eligible for state funds from the Transportation Improvement Board. A total of $35,280 of the $42,000 budget will be funded by the state.
In total, $504,400 of projects are scheduled, with almost 75 percent of the funding coming from federal and state grants. The town budget was able to cover $129,720. Our local funds are being well leveraged to complete much more work than we could have managed on our own. Town Engineer Greg Cane was instrumental in obtaining the grant funds for these projects.
As we have done in the past, Coupeville’s projects were bid through Island County. Combining our projects with planned county projects means that we receive the benefit of lower prices bid on higher quantities. You will soon see preparation work occurring on these streets, to repair weak areas in the road base, before the new asphalt is applied.
Planned water and sewer improvements along Madrona Way are expected to be bid on this in the next year. Following replacement of the water line and installation of a sewer lift station, the road surface will be reconstructed, widened and repaved. Included in this project is a paved walkway along one side of the road and stormwater management. The roadway portion of the project is budgeted at $402,100 and we have been approved for another federal grant for $347,806 toward that project.
The Island Regional Transportation Policy Organization, of which I am a member, is responsible for distribution of certain federal road funds through a competitive application process. For this fiscal year, we emphasized road maintenance projects, rather than new construction, in recognition of the limited funds available on a local level for road improvements. The RTPO is expecting to have additional funds available and Coupeville is preparing to apply for additional funding during the next allocation cycle.
