West Port Madison proposed roundabout-SR 305 (WSDOT photo)

A long-awaited safety improvement project has begun just south of the Agate Pass Bridge on Bainbridge Island.

Contractor crews working for the Washington State Department of Transportation started the construction project on Oct. 23, in which two modern roundabouts on State Route 305 will be built.

The new roundabouts are located at the intersections of Northeast West Port Madison Road and Northeast Adas Will Lane. Other safety improvements include creating a right in/right out intersection at Agatewood Road Northeast, to reduce the potential of collisions by eliminating left turns in front of oncoming traffic.

The project will be built in several phases. All lanes of SR 305 will remain open during most of the project.

The project process initially began with an effort by the West Sound Alliance, which produced a report on Strategic Corridor Investments. Following the report, the Washington State Legislature funded the SR 305/ Winslow Ferry to Hostmark St. — Safety Improvements project. The 2015 Connecting Washington transportation package included $36.8 million for investments in the corridor. Kitsap Transit working with community partners followed by a study that has established a vision and goals for this corridor:

• WSDOT proposed a single-lane modern roundabout at Northeast Adas Will Lane. The three-legged roundabout will serve both directions of SR 305 and Northeast Adas Will Lane;
• WSDOT proposed a single-lane modern roundabout at Northeast West Port Madison Road. The four-legged roundabout will serve both directions of SR 305, Northwest West Port Madison Road and Northeast Seabold Road;
• The improvements include a feature at the intersection of Agatewood Road Northeast which will become a right in/right out intersection. A right in/right out — typically built with raised concrete islands - limits access to right turns off SR 305 and right turns onto SR 305. This feature reduces the potential for collisions as a right in/right out eliminates left turns in front of oncoming traffic.
• Users of the Agatewood Road — who have told WSDOT is very difficult to turn left onto SR 305 — would instead turn right onto the highway and then return via the roundabout at Northeast Adas Will Lane.

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