Silverdale’s newest road will bear the namesake of one of the area’s oldest families.

NW Greaves Way was selected by the Kitsap County Commissioners Monday as the winning entry in the Name the Road contest for the Waaga Way Extension currently under construction.

“My forebears would be honored and humbled,” said Lawrence Greaves, addressing the commissioners during their regular meeting Monday.

The new extension is expected to be completed by the end of the year and will connect Clear Creek and Old Frontier roads. It will feature four 12-foot lanes, a 14-foot median, 5-foot bike lanes and 6-foot sidewalks.

“I’m just anxious to see the 450-or-so-acre development take shape,” Greaves said. “It’s such a huge honor to have this main thoroughfare named for the family.”

A call to the community was put out in April by the Central Kitsap Community Council and the Central Kitsap Reporter for entries for the new road. Of the nearly 60 names, contest judges selected the top three in order of preference with Hank Mann Sykes Way and Trailside Boulevard also selected for consideration.

“I’m delighted with the community and the way they have responded,” said Natalie Bryson, CKCC member and one of the contest judges. “There were so many lovely entries.”

Greaves family roots run deep through Silverdale, having been of the area’s early pioneers. Lawrence Greaves’ great-grandparents, Charles E. and Edith, bought 50 acres in 1894 and converted it to farmland.

“There were at least three generations of Greaves living on the farm,” Lawrence said with a smile. “There was a whole nest of us down there.”

In 1983, the property was sold to Winmar developers and is now where the Kitsap Mall is located. The long-standing house was moved to Olympic View Road where Lawrence’s father, Lawrence Greaves Sr., could often be seen walking along the roadside.

Although his name was not selected for the new extension road, Mann-Sykes said he is honored to be nominated alongside the Greaves family.

“The family has earned it with all the hard work and years they’ve put into the community,” Mann-Sykes said. “This will memorialize their name.”

While Lawrence is honored his family’s heritage will live on through the new road, it was actually another longtime Silverdale resident who told him about the road contest.

“Harold Dahl was the one who tipped me off,” he said. “I need to thank Harold and Marylou for their campaign efforts.”

Lawrence said his dad was the one who gave Harold his first job weighing bags of potatoes.

“I have to give credit to the (Dahl) living legacy,” he added.

As winner of the road contest, Lawrence will be given $50 gift cards each to the Yacht Club Broiler and Best Buy.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new road name is expected in the fall, according to Central Kitsap Commissioner Josh Brown. He too was pleased with the community’s response to the contest.

“I can’t remember the last time the county had a road naming effort, if ever,” he said. “This is an opportunity that doesn’t come along very often.”