This Week's Summary

From the project coordinator:

Two houses have been demolished. 

Clearing of trees and vegetation continues.

Anticipated that water pipe installation beginning at Henderson Blvd. will begin next week

Currently, two lanes of traffic open each direction; however, the left turn lanes in some areas are closed.

WORK HAS BEGUN!!

Work on the project was officially started on June 15th.
Some of the first work being done is the falling of trees and clearing of vegetation along the roadway.  Safety rules dictate that traffic must be stopped while trees are being cut down if there is a chance of them landing in the roadway. This has resulted in single lane closures and significant traffic delays.  The travelling public is encouraged to find different routes to their destination, or plan for 30+ minute delays.

Water pipe has been delivered and soon the contractor will begin installing it starting at Henderson Blvd.

Demolition of three houses will also begin soon, along with clearing of the adjacent property.

Once again, traffic impact will be significant. Please allow additional travel time or look for a different way to get where you are going.  Consider using Intercity Transit.  Route 68 runs through the project area. The 10 existing bus stops in the project area will continue to be served as best as possible but are being made into ‘temporary stops’ that can be moved by the contractor as construction could disrupt or impact any given area and a stop moved to safer location.

This week's update is courtesy of the Project Coordinator:

Miles Resources, LLC dba: Woodworth and Company (Woodworth) were awarded the project on May 18 by the Board of County Commissioners.  We are in the paperwork processing phase where Woodworth is signing the contract, getting their bonds and insurance, putting together a schedule, clarifying materials to be ordered, etc.

There will be a pre-construction meeting on June 14th, with a Notice to Proceed effective June 15th.  This does not mean equipment will appear and start work that day, it may take a week or more to get mobilized, set up job shacks, get material delivered, and other related start up work.  Woodworth has 360 working days to do the job, and they need to coordinate with utilities.  Qwest and Puget Sound Energy (PSE) in particular have some underground work to do on the west end of the project.

PSE's subcontractor, Potelco, has moved all the electric to the new poles, and Comcast is  working on moving their lines over to the new poles.  There is a WSDOT information line on the east end of the project that needs to also be moved over to the new poles.  Once all have moved to the new poles, Potelco will come in and remove the old poles.

 Photo: Early 1900's Woodworth project. 11th Ave E in Tacoma. Company history at http://www.djc.com/special/century/wood.html

Memorial Day Weekend

Thurston County Public Works encourages you to enjoy the Memorial Day Weekend and to please drive safely in your travels.

We join you in remembering those who lost their lives in the wars of our Country's past and present.

Work will be starting soon on our project. Stay tuned in to our blog and Twitter feeds for current information.

Gettysburg Army Memorial, Gettysburg,PA, (ooops)
Photo courtesy of Kathryn Brenner ©2009
all rights reserved

Weekly Update- May 17th - 21st

Construction Season 2010  is starting in Thurston County. In addition to Yelm Highway, we will have projects on Old 99, Vail Road, Delphi Road, and Littlerock Road, in addition to the ChipSeal and resurfacing projects and regular maintenance. 

Please remember to drive responsibly through the work zones and follow the flagger's directions and obey the warning signs. 

Keep an eye on our website at Thurston County Public Works for up to date project information, and follow our blogs and twitter feeds for the various projects.

The Yelm Highway project is slated to start next month.  Utility operations are continuing in preparation for the start of the main work.

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How are we doing? If you have comments on how you think we are doing with getting the information to you regarding the Yelm Highway project, please drop us an email at -Comments- 

Weekly Update- May 10th - 14th

Most of the work going on this week is behind the scenes.  

From the Project Coordinator: "The apparent low bidder, Miles Resources LLC, dba:  Woodworth and Company, is scheduled to be awarded the project on May 18, 2010.  It will take several weeks to execute all required documents, with anticipated beginning of construction around the second week of June.  Comcast is working on their overhead cut-over.  Not much other activity until the Contractor starts work."

Please support local businesses during the construction. Every effort will be made to keep access open to all businesses and residences during the 2 year project. Remember to allow extra time for your travels if you use Yelm Highway as part of your route.

Follow us on Twitter for up to the minute information about conditions along the project. We will try to post lane closures and other important information using  Twitter and our blog.

Thurston County Public works will also be utilizing blogs and Twitter to keep the public informed about our other road projects and construction, including a major project on Vail Rd and the 2010 Chipseal and Resurfacing programs.

For more information on any of our projects, telephone us at 360-754-4580 or email at Thurston County Public Works

Yelm Highway Widening Project Officially Opened

The sun broke through the grey clouds on Thursday, May 6th, as Thurston County Public Information Officer Keith Eisner officially opened the groundbreaking ceremony for the largest project in Thurston County's history.


Close to 50 people attended the festivities that took place at Olympia City Parks property at Brassfield Street and Yelm Highway. Attendees included officials from Olympia, Thurston County, Tumwater, Intercity Transit,the State Transportation Improvement Board, and local residents.


A 78 year old resident said that she was extremely excited for the project to begin. "I wondered if I would live long enough to see it happen!", she chuckled, "Now, I'm going shopping!".

One resident, Mr. Sanders, agreed to move from his home, and two other vacant homes will be demolished for the project.

The County Commissioners offered their thanks to all of the residents that deeded property in order to make the project possible.

Want to see more pictures of the Groundbreaking? Click HERE