Public Works
Totem Pole Road
Project News
Posted June 12, 2024: The project will be completed in two phases. Phase I includes about 200 feet north of Green Avenue south to Manson Boulevard and continuing from Manson Boulevard down Harris Avenue to Lake Chelan. Chelan County Public Works has determined Phase I does not have a probable significant adverse impact on the environment. Read the Determination of Non-Significance and the SEPA Environmental Checklist for details about the first phase. Comments are due by July 2, 2024.
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.
For these reasons, the 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.
CDTC 2021 Project Presentation
Completed Project Typical Sections
Project Description & 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.
The safety improvements will encourage more people to bike and walk on Totem Pole Road, relieving congestion in the downtown area and promoting a healthy lifestyle for school children. Because of these safety improvements, the project is highly supported by both the Manson School District and the Manson Parks and Recreation District.
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. Chelan County has been awarded funding from the Washington State Department of Ecology to assist with stormwater improvements.
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. An improved roadway also will be conducive to the future establishment of a truck route that bypasses the busy downtown area.
Project Outcomes
- Creates direct connection between schools and the surrounding dense residential area.
- Builds upon the town’s “walking community,” impacting both residents and tourists.
- Accommodates multimodal transportation, including ag- and tourist-related motorists.
- Improves connections between downtown Manson and destinations above Wapato Way.
- Paves the way for an alternate truck route, removing trucks from the downtown core.
- Keeps sediment and uncontrolled stormwater runoff from entering Lake Chelan.
Construction Schedule
In early November 2022, Chelan County commissioners awarded a $435,515 contract for engineering and design work on the Totem Pole Road Improvement Project to Perteet of Everett. Perteet will provide design plans and an updated project cost estimate.
The project will go under construction when the grant funding is secured. We will post a construction schedule when it is available.
Funding
The project will cost about $8 million. The project has been awarded $295,481 in STBG funding. It also has garnered $168,750 in state funding for stormwater improvements from the Department of Ecology. Chelan County Public Works continues to apply for grants to help fund this important project.
Receive Project Updates
As we get closer to construction, we will send updates out on the county's e-newsletter.
Questions?
Email us at public.works@co.chelan.wa.us, or call Chelan County Public Works at 667-6415.
Posted: 03/25/2022 10:26 AM
Last Updated: 06/12/2024 03:59 PM