Date:  Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Contact:
Dave Chesson, WSDOT Communications, 360-757-5970 (Burlington)
Marv Pulst, WSDOT Engineering Services, 360-757-5960 (Burlington)

View plans at upcoming open house

BLAINE – WSDOT and BP are partnering to build a roundabout on State Route 548 at the intersection of Grandview and Blaine roads and will host an open house next week to display plans and answer questions.

Residents and drivers will have an opportunity to view design plans and talk with engineers in an informal setting from 6 to 8 p.m. on March 4, at the Birch Bay Bible Community Church, 7309 Jackson Road, Blaine.

BP will pay for the roundabout, while WSDOT will oversee its design and construction. Construction will begin this summer and should be complete in the fall.

Currently, the intersection is controlled by stop signs and is a bottleneck for drivers, especially during shift changes at the refinery.

“The intersection can get quite congested in the afternoons when our shifts change,” BP project manager Dan Abbey said. “The roundabout should take care of the congestion, and make the intersection safer. It will also make it easier for our large trucks to get in and out of the refinery.”

The proactive approach to reducing congestion at the intersection will also help prevent future serious collisions for the 4,000 drivers that use the intersection daily. From 2004 to 2009, there were eight collisions that resulted in 10 injuries.

For those unable to attend the open house, you can send your questions or concerns to WSDOT at 360-757-5970 or chessod@wsdot.wa.gov.

The meeting site will be accessible to people with disabilities. Individuals requiring reasonable accommodations may request written materials in alternate formats, sign language interpreters, physical accessibility accommodations or other reasonable accommodation by contacting Shawn Murinko, at 360-705-7097. Persons who are deaf or hard of hearing may call the Washington State Telecommunications Relay Service or Tele-Braille at 7-1-1, Voice 1-800-833-6384, and ask to be connected to Shawn Murinko.

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