The City of Lakewood is doing road improvements along Angle Lane and Elwood Drive. Improvements include adding sidewalks. Roundabouts will be built at the North Way and Hipkins intersection and the Elwood/Dresden/87th intersection.
Construction Notices
Fort Steilacoom Park temporary access revision coming on May 30. The contractor will be closing off the temporary access to Fort Steilacoom Park on May 30 and opening a new temporary access point off of Elwood Drive. Please see the images below for how to access Fort Steilacoom Park.
A new, temporary entrance was built for vehicles to access Fort Steilacoom Park during construction. The park entrance will reopen for SummerFEST on July 15.
Project details
Improvements
The city is installing sidewalks along the southwest side of Angle Lane, and the west side of Elwood Drive. The chicanes are being removed and roundabouts are being built at the North Way and Hipkins intersection and the Elwood/Dresden/87th intersection.
Construction is anticipated to last until early spring of 2024. During construction, the road will be open to single lane of one-way traffic.
Mailboxes
The U.S. Postmaster now prefers the city to replace mailboxes along the roads where sidewalk improvements are done with cluster type mailboxes. Benefits of cluster mailboxes include:
- More efficient mail delivery
- Secure mail and parcel delivery (minimizing theft)
Purchase and installation of the initial cluster mailboxes will be done as part of the sidewalk improvement project. Once the work is complete, ownership and maintenance will automatically transfer to the individuals assigned to each cluster mailbox per Postal Service requirements. Mail service will not be interrupted during construction.
Landscape
Due to the nature of the development, construction will conflict with existing trees and in some cases private landscape features built in right-of-way. City staff are available to discuss landscaping impacts with residents, but all landscaping in the city right-of-way is subject to removal and trimming.
As part of this project the city identified 36 trees of varying species in the right-of-way that need to be removed. The trees were fir, maple, madrona, oak and cottonwood. Once the work is complete and landscaping begins, the city will plant 62 Garry Oak trees to replace those that were removed and to enhance the tree canopy in the neighborhood.
Project area
The project area includes:
- Angle Lane between Hipkins Road and Elwood Drive
- Elwood Drive from Angle Lane to Steilacoom Boulevard
Announcements
February 2023 Update
The preliminary design is continuing to develop. Lakewood Water District is providing design for the water main. As the design for the road and water main has progressed, the District has included additional water main work on Elwood, Dresden, and 104th.
Tree retention is a significant consideration when designing and constructing projects like this. While we cannot save every tree within the city’s right of way, we do everything possible to save as many as possible, while still adhering to federal standards and guidelines for the improvements. Trees were marked along Elwood where the new alignment will require removal. From Dalton to Dresden, there are eight sizeable fir trees that had a high probability of impact. Four will more than likely remain following construction.
The city received a number of requests/inquiries for what improvements will look like at the entrance to Fort Steilacoom Park at the intersection of 87th and Dresden. The current conceptual drawing is shown below.
March 2023 Update
The project will be split into two phases. The first phase, Angle Lane and Elwood Drive will advertise in mid-April and construction will commence in the next couple of months. The second phase, Hipkins Road will advertise in the fall and construction for that segment will begin in winter 2023/2024.
April 2023 Update
Angle Lane and Elwood Drive project is advertised for bidding on April 11. Bids will be accepted until April 25.
May 2023 Update
Construction along Elwood Drive has begun. The contractor has closed the intersection of Elwood/Dresden/87th. They’re scheduled to reopen the intersection with a new roundabout prior to July 15, 2023.
Design on Hipkins will advance in the coming months from where it sits currently (30%), with a goal of advertising the project for construction in the early fall. Construction would commence during the winter once Angle/Elwood and Washington Blvd are completed.
June 2023 Update
All work within the roundabout at Dresden and 87th has been completed. Paving 87th, Dresden, and the tie in to Elwood will be completed on July 5-6. The road will be reopened once the contractor has completed adjustment of utility castings and has signage installed.
Design on Hipkins is progressing. Advertising for construction is still anticipated to occur in early fall.
Common Questions
- What traffic calming measures has the design group investigated for incorporation on Hipkins, Angle, and Elwood?
- The City will utilize a mixed bag of traffic calming strategies based on the location of the street and its traffic volume. For Hipkins, a roundabout at North Way (halfway between Steilacoom and 104th) is planned. For Angle and Elwood, raised crosswalks are planned.
During the initial design stage, concepts such as additional roundabouts, raised crosswalk speed tables, and sharper chicanes were discussed and heavily considered. Additional roundabouts would require significant right-of-way acquisition and potential condemnation of a single-family residence at each location. We chose North Way because it is a cross intersection and we use the right of way from the existing cross street to our benefit. North Way will still require corner property acquisitions which are currently in progress.
The City has never purchased a home for the construction of a roadway. It’s not an easy process, extremely expensive, and would delay the project years. Raised crosswalks (speed bumps for roadways, as we can’t install speed bumps like they have in parking lots) are not typically installed and per FHWA guidance should not be installed on arterial streets, particularly with the volume of Hipkins. Additionally, sharper chicanes would have a slowing effect, but if they are installed to the degree to have success, conflicting movements in opposing directions with larger vehicles will occur. While they have been endorsed by the design guidelines, they are not popular and with the radii required to remove conflicting movements, they aren’t terribly effective as evidenced by what exists out there today.
- The City will utilize a mixed bag of traffic calming strategies based on the location of the street and its traffic volume. For Hipkins, a roundabout at North Way (halfway between Steilacoom and 104th) is planned. For Angle and Elwood, raised crosswalks are planned.
- Am I getting a cluster mailbox?
- Section 12.19 of the Lakewood Municipal Code requires cluster mailboxes be installed where existing mailboxes are required to be removed and replaced on Public Works projects. For this project, the only mailboxes that are being relocated are along Hipkins Road. 53 parcels will be switched to cluster mailboxes. If you live on Hipkins Road and are curious if you are within the switch limits, please contact the project manager Troy Pokswinski (253 983-7729) to discuss.
- How did the city plan for this and other road projects?
- In an ideal world, we would be constructing a new road where vehicles weren’t already traveling, funding would already be in the bank, all property required to construct the improvements already acquired, permits approved, utilities would be relocated, and designs and specifications complete and ready for bid. If one of the dream scenarios above boxes isn’t resolved, construction cannot proceed.
When preliminary design initiates, an estimated schedule is developed to establish the construction window for each project. This is done so that utility companies can schedule their work associated with the project and so that we can coordinate traffic control impacts internally and externally. For this project, the City is developing staging plans, detour routes, and traffic control measures that are compatible with projects currently under construction (Washington Blvd.), as well as projects in the vicinity that will be under construction within the next year (Steilacoom Blvd. – 87th to Weller and the improvements inside Ft. Steilacoom Park).
Events like traffic accidents, water main breaks, or trees falling on utility lines on our detour routes happen. The City does have a plan for contingent cases on our detour routes in the event of these emergencies. While traffic impacts from construction on Hipkins (currently carrying 10,000 vehicles per day), Steilacoom (up to 40,000) and Washington (25,000) will be felt, the City’s strategy to keep traffic moving through the corridors while upgrading these roads keeps the day to day commute above undesired levels of service. That strategy starts with completing Washington Blvd before starting construction on Hipkins. Your continued patience is appreciated.
- In an ideal world, we would be constructing a new road where vehicles weren’t already traveling, funding would already be in the bank, all property required to construct the improvements already acquired, permits approved, utilities would be relocated, and designs and specifications complete and ready for bid. If one of the dream scenarios above boxes isn’t resolved, construction cannot proceed.
Documents
Appendix A Water District Special Provisions (PDF)
Appendix B Prevailing Wage (PDF)
Appendix C Standard Plans (PDF)