Scope:
U.S. 395 is a major arterial and north/south international freight corridor, which follows Main Street through Colville. In partnership with the City of Colville, WSDOT coordinated the design and funding of its programmed U.S. 395 improvements including upgraded signals, widening, and paving with the Colville 2000 revitalization strategy for Main Street. Revitalization elements on Main Street included pedestrian sidewalk and safety improvements, enhanced historic-style illumination, and city center landscaping.
By combining funding resources and inter-related construction scope items, within a single design bid package, the partnership between the City, WSDOT, and the project design team achieved major Main Street improvements, on time, and on budget. The construction management process emphasized close coordination and communication with downtown businesses including weekly project notifications delivered door-to-door, weekly press releases, and monthly newsletters.
A traffic signal was removed from Main Street / US 395 at Hawthorne Road and replaced with a unique oval shaped Roundabout. The Colville Roundabout will benefit users by decreasing motorist delay, increasing local traffic mobility, and by providing safe pedestrian movements.
Background:
A highly successful public and private partnership in Colville, Washington has undertaken a multi-phase strategic downtown revitalization program called Colville 2000. The Colville 2000 project is proving to be the single most important economic development and transportation enhancement project in this region over the past decade.
Challenges:
Educate the community on the operational characteristics of a roundabout solution.
Ensure that emergency and large trucks (WB-67) could maneuver through all movements in and out of the roundabout.
How to build the improvement on the only entrance street into town (US 395), and not totally shut down the traffic flow?
Resolve conflicting vehicle movements across US 395 traffic lanes, particularly the left turns south to east onto East Hawthorne Avenue. Also reduce the cut-through traffic in this same area of the intersection across the Exxon station lot caused by the delay in the left turn movement.
Provide improved access to businesses and side streets.
Collaborate with adjacent landowners on right of way purchase terms.
Solutions:
Extensive public involvement, ongoing input from the Colville 2000 committee, extensive input and guidance from WSDOT traffic, design, and Local Programs sections, articles in the news paper, city and consultant staff meetings with public service groups, the circulation of roundabout brochures though city utility billings and other various high traffic locations, used roundabout video (driving modern roundabouts) to educate folks at city county meetings and reduce the fear of the unknown, etc.
The roundabout was designed and constructed to accommodate a WB-67 through a full 360-degree movement without encroaching on sidewalks.
Construct in phases and maintain one lane of traffic in each direction. The phasing also provided another benefit by allowing the community to drive various portions of the partially completed roundabout prior to its ultimate full oval configuration.
Construct a roundabout, thereby improving traffic flow on all movements, including the problematic southbound to eastbound East Hawthorne Avenue movement.
Provide a unique oval shaped roundabout to accommodate both business approaches and side streets. This included creating a new street - West Hawthorne Avenue to Wynne Street - , and providing a dedicated commercial approach off the southbound side of the roundabout, which gave the community excellent access to the South Town Shopping Mall from Wynne Street and SR 395. Improved business access was also achieved by eliminating a non std approach into the Exxon Station lot (NE Quadrant) and replacing it with a single combined commercial approach off the northbound side of the roundabout.
City officials worked collaboratively with landowners through face-to-face, and public meetings to come to terms with property purchases. Landowners also communicated with one another over their land acquisitions issues.
The Colville 2000 strategy combines economic development goals with major improvements to regional and local transportation systems. Transportation enhancements are woven into economic development so that the two disciplines support each other in a comprehensive partnership. This strategy may become a prototype for cooperative efforts elsewhere in Washington where major arterial highway systems and Main Streets co-exist to define rural downtowns.
The Colville Downtown Revitalization project incorporates three sets of enhancement actions:
1. Commercial/industrial economic development
2. Transportation management
3. Physical improvements in the cityﾒs downtown
Each set of actions complements and depends upon the others. All are fundamental steps in the systematic implementation of a community-based plan, which has been broadly supported by Colvilleﾒs government, business, and local citizens.
Extensive community involvement and support for the project has resulted in the City Councilﾒs unanimous approval of a $650,000 Local Improvement District, $350,000 Councilmatic Bond, plus allocation of $850,000 in city utility improvement funds. These local cash contributions equal $1.85 million. In addition, Colville 2000 has secured over $12 million in other state and federal funding which has been leveraged for this project, resulting in $14.1 million of total funding in place for the project.
The scope of work contained in the four phase ﾓColville 2000 Strategic Planﾔ helps focus future economic and industrial development inside the downtown, with an emphasis on greater commercial density within existing developed areas rather than sprawl, while also providing for future regional transportation capacity and mobility. These goals are being accomplished through a four-phase implementation plan.
Phase 1 - Wynne Street Improvements (Completed November 2000)
Phase 2A (2002) - Main Street (U.S. 395) Improvements (Completed November 2002)
Phase 2B (2003) - Enhancements to First Street and Southdown Roundabout on U.S. 395 (2003)
Phase 3 - Alternate Truck Route (Schedule Dependent on Funding)
This partnership of integrating transportation improvements with local economic development under a multi-phased implementation plan, has already shown positive results to the transportation and economic condition of Colville after completion of the Phase 1 Wynne Street improvements in November 2000, and Phase 2A on Main Street in 2002.
Colville Roundabout
