Key Peninsula transportation projects: roundabouts, bridge study and 100 lane‑mile chip‑seal plan

County and state transportation officials briefed the Pierce County Council in District 7 on a slate of projects aimed at improving safety and maintaining the road network on the Key Peninsula.

Josh Diekmann, director of Pierce County Planning and Public Works, said the county’s six‑year transportation improvement program includes more than 100 projects and noted a fully funded roundabout had been selected after multiple alternatives for the Lackey‑Jackson intersection. He told the meeting the county anticipates beginning construction next summer on some projects and plans roughly 100 lane miles of chip seal in District 7 this year.

“Chip seal extends the life of those roadways between eight and 15 years,” Diekmann said, describing it as a cost‑effective near‑term maintenance approach and noting the county typically performs that work from June through August.

On larger capital work, Diekmann said the Fox Island Bridge (a 1954 structure) is under study and that the county expects to spend about $18 million on operation and maintenance over the next six years while it completes a type, size and location study and environmental analysis of three alternatives for a replacement structure.

Steve Burke, Olympic region administrator for the Washington State Department of Transportation, said a WSDOT roundabout project at 100th and 118th is fully funded and in design, with construction slated for 2027. He also noted a 16‑day detour for a nearby fish‑barrier project (mid‑June tentative) that will route commercial traffic differently during the closure and said Purdy Spit improvements and the Purdy Bridge will require additional funding sources.

Residents at the public forum raised concerns about traffic, emergency access and the cumulative impact of new housing on narrow Peninsula roads; public safety and evacuation constraints were a recurring theme during public comment.