KINGSTON — It was a day of closure for the Turner family, nearly a year after Arlone Elaine Turner died in a car accident at the intersection of Bond and Gunderson roads.

With the support of the North End community, state legislators and law enforcement officials behind them, Suquamish resident Jim Turner, granddaughter Dominique Turner-Herrin and daughter Karyn Roznos collectively turned on the new traffic signal at the intersection Monday morning.

Following that, with tears in his eyes, Washington Secretary of Transportation Doug MacDonald asked, in the spirit of the book “The Little Engine That Could,” that everyone hold hands and repeat three times, “I knew we could, I knew we could, I knew we could.”

Prior to the light being turned on, Turner-Herrin had spoken of the children’s book that was read to her by her grandmother Arlone, noting that the famous line, “I know I can,” was oft-repeated in Turner-Herrin’s mind as the family pushed a community grassroots effort the past year to get the light installed. From gathering 1,497 signatures in support of installing a light at the intersection to testifying in Olympia before the Washington State Senate Transportation Committee in April, the Turner family worked tirelessly to make sure Monday’s event took place.

“I’ve heard her tell me ‘I know you can,’” Turner-Herrin said. “She’s looking down on us saying, ‘I knew you could.’”

“It is also a blessing that now no more lives will be lost to the game of Russian Roulette at this intersection,” Jim Turner told the crowd that had gathered to witness the occasion. “Now, my family and I can go to sleep at night with the knowledge that my wife, Arlone Elaine Turner, did not die in vain.”

Besides the Turner family, it was a day of relief for others as well. Kingston resident Mary Camp was involved in a serious accident at the intersection in May 2004. She was driving her son and mother-in-law to pick up her daughter when a driver cut across Bond, causing a collision in the northbound lane.

“When I saw the first set of (signal light) bars up, I got tears in my eyes,” Camp said.

“A sense of peace,” said her husband Brad Camp about seeing the light turned on. “Knowing the light will allow people to have more time to decide what they are going to do at the intersection.”

For Andrea Rudman, the addition of the light will hopefully mean less of the “crunch-screech” sounds she and her co-workers at Bird Electric on the southeast corner of the intersection have been hearing the past few years.

“We’ve all gotten jumpy over here,” she said. “We don’t even have to look out the window, we just call 911.”

But with the light, hopefully, they won’t hear that noise ever again.

Aside from the Turner family, state Rep. Beverly Woods (R-Kingston) was vocal in pushing the Washington State Department of Transportation to get the light installed as soon as possible.

WSDOT identified the intersection as one of its top safety priorities and requested funding in the 2005 transportation budget to install a traffic signal. Following Turner’s death, community members and legislators strongly encouraged the state to expedite the signal’s installation. WSDOT officials took several steps to speed up the project’s delivery schedule, including pre-ordering the signal equipment.

In September, WSDOT awarded a nearly $120,000 construction contract to Valley Electric of Mount Vernon to complete the signal project, including having two crews at a time on the site, working to have it ready for Monday.

Washington State Trooper Captain Mark Thomas emphasized the promise that the state patrol will continue to do what it can to help make Bond Road as safe as possible, even if it means to continue to ticket speeders. In October, troopers made 442 stops on Bond Road for speeding, which is a major factor in causing a fatal collision, he said.

“We want to send a clear message to citizens, motorists we’re going to be out here working hard,” he said. “I also pray this is going to make a huge difference.”

WSDOT traffic designer Steve Haapala said while there have been traffic counts on the intersection, it will take time to make the changes and adjust the timing of the light to make it work for the motorists, such as wait times.

“But you just don’t know until it opens up,” he said.