POULSBO — The construction project that has been underway since August at the State Route 305 and George Lane/Agate Pass Business Park intersection is expected to make entering and exiting the highway safer in a few weeks.
At least, that’s what Indianola resident Earl Miller wants to make sure happens.
Miller, a local “mom n’ pop contractor” who owns the business park, wanted to make the intersection safer for drivers as he developed his latest facility.
“It’s really a dangerous situation,” Miller said, noting he had heard stories about people being killed at the intersection. “The lanes were made a lot bigger than we anticipated because of the safety. Just think, if you save one person’s life, that’s a neat thing.”
One of the conditions Kitsap County required before it approved Miller’s business park was that he incorporate a left-turn lane for the park, he explained.
“I was in compete agreement with that because it was a dangerous intersection,” Miller said.
To accomplish this, he paired up with Whiteley Engineering to design an intersection that was safer for business park tenants, the residents of George Lane and motorists as well.
The project includes two major components:
• A 1,000-foot two-way left-turn lane, allowing drivers to turn left from either direction, with an additional 350-foot tapered section at each end of the lane
• A 300-foot eastbound deceleration lane, allowing drivers to turn right into the park and onto George Lane
“It doesn’t slow traffic down,” Bill Whiteley of Whiteley Engineering said about the deceleration lane. “They can get into this pocket before they drop down from 55 (miles per hour).”
The final step is paving the new road sections, which Ace Paving started Thursday, followed by striping and installation of guardrails and signs before it will be ready for drivers. Miller hopes this will all be completed within the next three weeks. The road construction project cost Miller more than $350,000.
:It benefits not only (Miller), but all the businesses along here got a good freebie,” Whiteley said.
The 6.5-acre business park, while it currently only has two buildings in it, is big enough for nine, totalling to 90,000-square feet. Seven businesses already lease space within the facilities.
