Get updated, leave comments at Aberdeen rail separation project online open house

August 18, 2020 3:30 pm
COURTESY IMAGE The most current design for the Aberdeen US12 Rail Separation Project, going into the design phase later this year. The project is intended to lessen the traffic congestion in east Aberdeen by elevating the highway above the level of the train tracks.
COURTESY IMAGE The most current design for the Aberdeen US12 Rail Separation Project, going into the design phase later this year. The project is intended to lessen the traffic congestion in east Aberdeen by elevating the highway above the level of the train tracks.

An online open house about the Aberdeen Highway 12 Rail Separation Project has been created by the City of Aberdeen to update residents on the project’s current path and provide an opportunity to comment and ask questions.

The project is an effort to create traffic and rail revisions to eliminate the problems near the Olympic Gateway Plaza at the east entrance to Aberdeen.

The virtual open house can be accessed at https://us12highwayrailseparation.participate.online/.

The site includes a look at the current project concept, which took elements from the 2014 version, and includes an overpass and a roundabout at Newell Street.

According to the site, initial planning for the project began in 2006 when the Grays Harbor Council of Governments secured funding to study access improvements to the commercial areas south of the highway, including Walmart and the businesses in the Olympic Gateway Plaza.

The current preferred option includes the overpass into the commercial area at Chehalis Street, replacing the current signalized crossing, and the Newell Street roundabout. Pedestrian and bike lanes will be added and track-level crossings will remain at the east end of the Heron Street Bridge and at Newell Street, allowing alternate access when trains are not present.

The website includes photos of the existing conditions and the new project concept, plus videos that give viewers an idea of what it will look like to drive the new roundabout and overpass. It also shows 11 businesses that would be impacted by the latest design, most on Newell Street, but including the Mobil Gas Station and the old Market Place location at 822 E. Wishkah.

The current schedule for the project has preliminary design through 2021, and environmental documentation from mid-2021 through 2022. Those elements of the project have been funded.

So far unfunded are the next steps of the project: Right of way planning and acquisition, and final design, through the fall of 2024. Construction would begin after those items are funded and completed, and construction funds are secured.

At the bottom of the web page, there is place to leave a question or comment. Fill out the online form with your name — the only required personal information field — and add your comment or question. You can also sign up for project update emails.