Anacortes council approves $1.17 million contract to build 16th Street and D Avenue improvements

The Anacortes City Council on Feb. 10 authorized the mayor to sign a $1,170,236.25 contract with Fisher Construction Group to build the 16th Street and D Avenue improvement project.

The vote was 6-0 (Young, Walters, Cleland McGrath, Moulton, Hubig, Fantini voting yes; McDougall excused). Councilmember Young moved approval and Councilmember Fantini seconded.

The project extends 16th Street to D Avenue, adds sidewalks on both sides of the new extension, installs sidewalks on D Avenue from 15th to 17th streets, provides new crossings (including rapid-flashing beacons), constructs a raised crosswalk/speed-table at the 16th crossing and includes stormwater improvements. The city is administering the construction while the Samish Indian Nation is providing funding for the portion they sponsored.

Council and staff debated several design details before the vote. Several council members requested maps in the meeting packet; staff provided a vicinity plan during discussion. Councilmember Young called the work “looking wonderful” when viewing the under-construction segment, and others emphasized safety gains from the crosswalks and improved pedestrian access to the nearby early learning center.

Councilmembers also noted one segment of sidewalk shown in earlier conceptual sketches — a block of sidewalk between 17th and 18th streets on D Avenue — was removed from the current contract because it would have been city‑funded rather than part of the Federally‑funded partnership portion. Multiple council members said they would like the remaining sidewalk gaps logged for future funding.

Traffic-calming was discussed at length. The approved plan uses a raised crosswalk/speed table at the 16th Street crossing (described in the meeting as about 10 feet wide and 6–8 inches high, with a gradual slope) rather than a small circular island at the mid-block location discussed earlier in committee. Staff described parking as a mix of perpendicular (head‑in) spaces near the early learning center and parallel parking along 16th between C and D.

The packet and contract before council contained the bid and plan set the contractors used to price the work. Several council members stressed the need for clear plan sets in the packet for future public‑works contract approvals; staff agreed to provide final plan sets to councilors.

The motion approved was: “Authorize the mayor to sign contract 22-213-TRN-003 with Fisher Construction Group Inc. in the amount of $1,170,236.25 to perform 16th Street and D Avenue improvements.”

The project schedule and next steps were not changed at the meeting; staff said construction and staging would proceed under the contract documents and that the city would coordinate with the Samish Indian Nation on funding and oversight.

Notes: The contract figure was presented consistently in the staff presentation as $1,170,236.25; at one point in discussion a different number was read aloud ($1,178,236.25) and staff later confirmed the correct contract amount is $1,170,236.25.