If you have a specific question about your property and how this project may impact it, email staff engineer Lawrence Dillin.
For all other questions, email public information officer Jill FitzSimmons.
You can also sign up for project updates that will be included at times in our county e-newsletter. Or call us at 509-667-6415.
Totem Pole Road
Project News
Posted April 16, 2025: Exhibits from a January 2025 open house included the project's Proposed Work Limits, Detour Route during construction and photos of the project area. Phase 1 construction is scheduled to begin in spring 2026 and take about five months.
Project Description
This road project ranks as the top capital improvement priority for Chelan County Public Works, aside from its bridge reconstruction projects, as listed in the 2017 Chelan County Transportation Element.
The project has been divided into two phases. Phase I will include improving the existing drainage and making new safety improvements on the lower section of the project.
Phase I construction is scheduled to begin in spring 2026. The drainage network will be reconstructed from Lake Chelan (near Pedoi Street) and north up Harris Avenue. Totem Pole Road will also be widened from Main Street to Furey Street, to include wider shoulders and sidewalks. The roadway will be widened from 18 feet to 28 feet in width.
Phase II of the project is dependant on the securing of funds; Phase II is a priority project that is included in the County’s Six Year Transportation Program (TIP). It will include further road safety improvements north of Furey Street and connect to the Mason School District. This second phase is currently unfunded, but some preliminary design work has been initiated. The county plans on doing a more in-depth study of traffic circulation to best meet the needs of road users. Additional public input will be incorporated before moving forward.
Construction Schedule
In early November 2022, Chelan County commissioners awarded a $435,515 contract for engineering and design work on the project to Perteet of Everett. Perteet will provide design plans and an updated project cost estimate.
Phase I construction is scheduled to begin in spring 2026 and take about five months. We will post a construction schedule and traffic impacts when they are available.
Funding
The total project will cost about $8 million. Funding for Phase I, which will cost about $4.5 million, has been secured.
Total secured funding at this time includes:
State funding: $1,830,000
Federal funding: $2,000,000
Washington Department of Ecology (stormwater improvements): $168,750
Project Benefits
The existing Totem Pole Road varies in width from 18 feet to 28 feet and has grades of up to 10 percent. Shoulder widenings are sporadic, and pedestrians or bicyclists, should they attempt to walk/ride along the road, face many obstacles, including vegetation, ditches, retaining walls, mailboxes, power poles and non-traversable slopes, forcing them onto the roadway.
When completed, the improvement project will provide the community – school children, residents and tourists – an improved roadway section, including adequate travel lane widths and safe walking and biking options. It will include new marked pedestrian crossings with new ADA compliant ramps at the intersections along Totem Pole Road and a new mid-block school crossing with warning signs and pavement markings enhanced by a pedestrian-activated, solar-powered crossing system.
In addition, thunderstorms often overwhelm Manson’s open ditch system and its culverts. With the road improvements, the poor drainage system will be vastly improved, reducing current flooding, erosion and the untreated stormwater runoff into Lake Chelan, the backbone of the area’s tourism industry.
While the project’s top priority is increasing vehicular, bicyclist and pedestrian safety, the project also benefits the business district of Manson. Totem Pole Road begins at the start of the downtown area on Wapato Way, which caters to the already established and growing tourism economy of Manson. Sidewalks and wider shoulders on Totem Pole Road grow the connectivity and walkability of downtown while easing congestion.
Project History
Manson had been a rural, unincorporated town for many years; however, in the last 20 years the area has seen a significant population increase. Unfortunately, the roads and services endure rural characteristics, including narrow, winding roads with steep grades and little-to-no shoulders.
Totem Pole Road is one of these roads. Totem Pole Road begins at Manson’s thriving downtown, cuts through a dense residential area leading to its area schools, and then continues on to recreational and agricultural lands. Among the issues impacting this roadway:
From spring through fall, Manson is inundated with tourists and recreationalists, increasing the traffic in the area transportation systems.
From fall to summer, students travel by bus or car to the Manson schools. School children are discouraged from walking or biking along Totem Pole Road; students are bussed even as short a distance as a quarter mile from the schools.
Orchard truck and tractor operations also find other ways around the area because Totem Pole Road is difficult to navigate and steep with limited sight distance; trucks are restricted from using the lower portion of the roadway.
Given the proximity of the elementary, middle and high schools in Manson, the lack of non-motorized connectivity creates an unhealthy and stoic community that should be a hive of activity.
Posted: 03/25/2022 10:26 AM
Last Updated: 04/16/2025 10:12 AM
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Chelan County makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information provided on its web site. However, due to the possibility of transmission errors, HTML browser capabilities, changes made since the last update to the site, etc., neither Chelan County, nor any agency, officer or employee of Chelan County warrants the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of any information published by this system and shall not be held liable for any losses caused by reliance on the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of such information. Portions of such information may be incorrect or not current. Any person or entity that relies on any information obtained from this system does so at his or her own risk.
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The information contained on this site is provided as a courtesy of the Chelan County. Where it exists, the "Index.txt" will contain a brief explanation of files contained in this folder
Chelan County makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information provided on its web site. However, due to the possibility of transmission errors, HTML browser capabilities, changes made since the last update to the site, etc., neither Chelan County, nor any agency, officer or employee of Chelan County warrants the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of any information published by this system and shall not be held liable for any losses caused by reliance on the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of such information. Portions of such information may be incorrect or not current. Any person or entity that relies on any information obtained from this system does so at his or her own risk.
By clicking continue, you confirm that you have read, understood and agreed to this disclaimer.
The information contained on this site is provided as a courtesy of the Chelan County. Where it exists, the "Index.txt" will contain a brief explanation of files contained in this folder
Chelan County makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information provided on its web site. However, due to the possibility of transmission errors, HTML browser capabilities, changes made since the last update to the site, etc., neither Chelan County, nor any agency, officer or employee of Chelan County warrants the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of any information published by this system and shall not be held liable for any losses caused by reliance on the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of such information. Portions of such information may be incorrect or not current. Any person or entity that relies on any information obtained from this system does so at his or her own risk.
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