KINGSTON — Drivers who frequent the Miller Bay Road and State Route 104 intersection may have noticed traffic is heavier than usual lately — something that has provided travelers a chance to check out the addition of yellow tape and orange barrels that line the two roads.

But not to worry, the vehicle congestion will only hinder traffic through mid-August. After that, the intersection should be much easier to navigate.

As part of an effort to improve traffic flow onto SR 104, the Washington State Department of Transportation is funding safety improvement work on Miller Bay Road.

The $250,000 project includes the widening of Miller Bay for a left-turn lane from Miller Bay onto westbound SR 104 as well as a left-turn traffic signal.

“It’s to provide some capacity increase, but essentially, it’s a safety project,” said WSDOT project manager John McNutt.

The primary problem with the intersection is traffic on Miller Bay, McNutt said. Drivers who want to turn right onto SR 104 or go straight to Hansville Road are held up because drivers turning left onto SR 104 yield to oncoming traffic.

Crews from Stan Palmer Construction have already removed the existing road surface on the westside of Miller Bay, which will be paved and striped. Curbs and sidewalks will also be installed at the southwest corner of the intersection.

“The reason we’re putting in curbs and sidewalks is because it adds to pedestrian safety and it also prevents the shoulder from developing into a right-turn lane,” McNutt said about SR 104’s eastbound approach to Miller Bay. “It’s one way to help with safety.”

Work hours at the site are from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. From 3-6 p.m., lane restrictions will not be allowed.

McNutt said crews will continue to try and keep delays to less than 15 minutes.

Although Miller Bay is included in the Kitsap County road system, the WSDOT is heading up the project because it affects state highway traffic.

“It’s not necessarily uncommon to improve the operation on a state highway (by making) improvements on side roads,” McNutt explained. “In fact, any intersection that warrants a signal on a state highway usually entails improvement to the county road feeding into it. That’s fairly typical.”

McNutt advises drivers to allow extra travel time if they need to go through the intersection or find alternative routes. To go south from Hansville, drivers could take 288th to SR 104 to Striebels’ Corner. To get in and out of Kingston, drivers could use West Kingston Road.

Businesses irked

by construction

Even though work is just getting underway, #Kountry Korner complex business owners are already feeling the impact of the construction. Several of them said access to the complex was restricted completely when construction started July 13.

“I tried to come into work that morning and they didn’t want to let me in,” said Florene Wynn of Cut and Dried Flowers Shop of Kingston.

Crews eventually created an entrance/exit for employees and customers, but it seems as though they are being asked two to three times a day to keep that access open, added Kountry Korner Deli and Grocery owner Brian Kong.

“I was told minimal impact and (crews were) going to do it half and half on (the) Miller Bay side,” Kong said.

Stan Palmer Vice President John Zaratian said he never promised Kong anything and was only following the state’s designs and plans — even if that meant access to the complex access had to blocked off for a few hours last week.

“He seemed to think I promised him the moon,” Zaratian commented. “I don’t make the rules — it’s a state project.”

The crews can only work on one section at a time and there was always access, he said.

“I apologize if it’s not as much as he wanted,” Zaratian added.

Smitters Jitters Espresso manager Gloria Lucas said she was taking it all in stride, even though her business has been cut by a one-third since last week.

“They are only doing their job,” she said, noting that she did not receive any formal notice from the state or Stan Palmer about the project.

However, Lucas said she believes that the headache now will pay off in the end.

“I think it will help traffic flow, I really think it will,” she said. “It gets backed up when there is no construction.”