Date:  Thursday, January 31, 2008

Contact: Todd Harrison, Assistant Regional Administrator, 360-757-5990 (Burlington) 
              Dave Chesson, WSDOT Communications, 360-757-5970 (Burlington)

ANACORTES – A roundabout, with some modifications, will be the safest, most efficient and cost effective solution for the SR 20 Sharpes Corner intersection, according to an independent panel of engineering experts and local officials. The intersection has a history of dangerous collisions and long delays.

The value engineering study team spent countless hours last week reviewing plans and brainstorming ways to improve the Sharpes Corner intersection. After exploring roughly 50 different options, many of which had already been looked at by WSDOT’s design team, they were able to whittle their recommendations down to one; a roundabout.

Not only did they recommend the roundabout, but they also recommended ways to improve the original roundabout design. Suggestions for improvement included: bicycle and pedestrian paths; a roundabout at the Miller Road and Gibraltar Road intersection; and a tunnel under the roundabout for eastbound traffic coming from Anacortes.

“These are only recommendations at this point, and we will need to do a thorough review to confirm the design recommendations and the costs associated with them,” said Assistant Regional Administrator Todd Harrison. “The team was very innovative and came up with some great improvements, while keeping estimated costs within the budget. Now we’ll have to do a cost risk and design analysis to see if we can make their suggestions a reality.”

The biggest difference to the original design was the tunnel recommendation for eastbound drivers. Though it adds costs to the project, it could help the intersection work better for a longer period of time, which increases the rate of return on the investment.

The group also recommended slightly raising, and shifting the roundabout’s location to make way for the eastbound tunnel, as well as reduce construction delays for drivers. They also recommended creating a separated bike and pedestrian trail in front of the golf course, and adding a second roundabout at the Miller Road and Gibraltar Road intersection to address safety concerns of the highway south of Sharpes Corner.

More details from the workshop will be available once a final report is completed in February.

The design team will examine the finer details of the recommendations and begin a cost risk assessment to see if it can be done within the proposed budget. If it can’t, the team has suggested that parts of their proposals could be added later, like the eastbound undercrossing.

“It would be cheaper and easier, on us and drivers, to build it all at once,” said Harrison. “First we need to validate that it can be built and then make it fit within the budget.”

WSDOT says they will accept comments throughout the duration of the project. Visit the project Web page – www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/sr20/sharpescornerinterchange - for more details, results from the value engineering study and contact information.

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