2012-2017 Transportation Improvement Program

The Board of County Commissioners will hold a public hearing on June 20, 2011 at 11:00 AM at the Jefferson County Courthouse in consideration of the proposed Six-Year Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for 2012-2017.

For details and documents, visit the Public Works TIP page.

Public Works issued a media release on June 8 with information about the process by which the proposed TIP is developed. Read the text after the jump or jump to a PDF of the release.

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MEDIA RELEASE


Date: June 8, 2011

Contact: Josh D. Peters, AICP, Principal Transportation Planner
Jefferson County Department of Public Works
(360) 385-9160 or jpeters@co.jefferson.wa.us

For Immediate Release

County to Adopt Six-Year Transportation Improvement Program

Port Townsend, WA— Each year Jefferson County adopts a Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for the next six-year period. The Board of County Commissioners will hold a public hearing on June 20, 2011 at 11:00 AM in the Commissioners Chambers at the County Courthouse to consider the proposed 2012-2017 TIP developed by the Department of Public Works.

The TIP is a list of potential capital transportation projects that the County may undertake in the next six years, depending upon funding availability. It includes cost estimates and secured or planned revenue sources for each project. The proposed 2012-2017 TIP lists 30 capital projects, including four projects related to past emergency repairs. The total estimated cost to implement the entire program is $18.7 million, with about 88% of the funding to come from State and Federal sources. However, funding for much of the program has not yet been secured. Projects must be on a TIP in order to be eligible for most State and Federal grant programs.

“Historically, projects on Jefferson County’s TIP have averaged about 70% funding from State and Federal sources,” County Engineer Monte Reinders explains. “This means that by investing $1 of Jefferson County’s money in a project, an additional $2 or more can be brought into our community to put people to work to improve our infrastructure. Many non-local transportation revenue sources, however, only fund certain types of improvements on certain types or roads, and the result is that State and Federal priorities strongly influence what actually gets accomplished.”

Public Works proposes projects for the TIP based on an assessment of transportation needs throughout the County system. “The assessment has revealed many more needs than can be funded in the coming six-year and twenty-year timeframes,” says Principal Transportation Planner Josh Peters. “The limited availability of local transportation revenues, the increasing cost of capital improvements and road maintenance, and the impact to transportation programs from State and Federal budget shortages have resulted in a measured approach in this proposed six-year TIP.”

Significant projects currently in the preliminary engineering or construction phase include: completion of the Larry Scott Trail, asphalt overlay and shoulder widening on Paradise Bay Road from Ludlow Creek to Teal Lake Road, low-cost safety improvements on collector roads throughout the system, the Rick Tollefson Trail from HJ Carroll Park to the Bob Bates Fields in Port Hadlock, and in west Jefferson County the painting of the Queets Bridge on Clearwater Road and the replacement of several culverts damaged in winter storms and/or acting as fish-passage barriers. All of these projects are heavily funded through State and Federal grant programs.

For more information about proposed TIP, visit the County website at www.co.jefferson.wa.us or call Public Works at (360) 385-9160.

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