For retailers fighting to keep profits up in a down economy, the closure of a central thoroughfare holds the potential to deliver a significant blow to business.

However, a recent WSDOT project funded with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) dollars, which closed SR 103 on the Long Beach Peninsula, left the local business community thrilled.

The improvements made to the Long Beach Peninsula were part of the US 101/SR 103 Fort Columbia to Long Beach paving project. The $2.5 million project resurfaced nearly 10 miles of highway on SR 103 and US 101, and improved Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) facilities along SR 103 in Long Beach.

While paving through the city of Long Beach, WSDOT completely closed SR 103 through the city’s downtown district for

more than three days, but arranged a detour and kept sidewalks open along the route.

Thanks to advanced planning and coordination between WSDOT, the contractor (Knife River of Tangent, Oregon), city of Long Beach officials, and local merchants, “it seemed like business as usual for local shops [throughout the closure],” observed WSDOT Chief Project Inspector Ty Hillebrand.

Contractor crews, WSDOT engineers, and inspectors contributed to the area’s economy by supporting local hotels and restaurants during their around-the-clock operation. City officials expect the SR 103 improvements to positively impact local business long after the departure of project workers.

Una Boyle, Executive Director of the