On June 19th, the Griffin Neighborhood Association hosted a Town Hall on roadway safety in the Steamboat Peninsula/Griffin area. We want to begin our wrapup of that meeting by thanking Scott Davis, of Thurston County Public Works, for his great presentation on roadside safety, and for all of the Public Works Departments’ good work in keeping our roadways well maintained and safe to drive!

During the Town Hall, Scott Davis provided a great deal of information including the chip seal schedule for local road maintenance and information on other current Thurston County roadway projects.

Mr. Davis also suggested ways the public can report any suggestions or complaints directly to Thurston County Public Works. Thurston County does not monitor Nextdoor or other social media. But you can report issues and also transmit ‘thank you’s’ and other notes of appreciation, as well, online at https://www.co.thurston.wa.us/publicworks/onlinerequest.html or by phone at (360) 867-2300. Normal office hours are 8 AM to 5 PM Monday through Friday. 

“Because of the need for fast response, we ask that you do not report missing or downed stop signs using the online form. Instead, please call us directly at (360) 867-2300 during business hours. After hours you can report missing or downed stop signs using the Thurston County Sheriff’s Non-Emergency line at (360) 704-2740.”

During regular business hours, you may report road blocking hazards (for example, large tree limbs or flooding) either online or at (360) 867-2300. After hours, reports of blocking hazards should be made to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Non-Emergency line at (360) 704-2740.

We learned that Public Works crews do not respond to calls to remove deceased domestic animals or small wildlife from the right of way. For that, contact Animal Services at (360) 352-2510.

2019 Chip Seal Information

Chip sealing is a process where roads are coated with a thin layer of liquid asphalt and gravel chips. When complete, treated roads become skid resistant and more resistant to water penetration. According to Thurston County’s web site, the life span of a road with chip seal treatment increases by about eight years when compared to roads without it. The work is usually performed on roads in good condition, in order to keep them from falling into costly disrepair.

In 2019, Thurston County will be focusing on chipsealing roads in the Northwestern portion of Thurston County including areas of Steamboat Island, Summit Lake, Cooper Point and parts of Delphi Rd. A downloadable map of roads to be chip sealed is available here. For our area, “The current plan is to start at the north end of Steamboat Island Rd, do the main road, and then the side roads on the list.”

Please remember to be kind and patient to roadside workers as they make improvements to our neighborhood roads this summer. A small note of gratitude goes a long way.

Doolittle Construction was low bidder for chip sealing, at $1,937,993.

Click here to see more information about the County’s chip seal program, including updates and lists of roads that are to be chip sealed. And click here to learn more about travel impacts as the project proceeds. 

Regional Traffic Studies

Thurston County, Olympia, and the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) are studying traffic and planning improvements which will impact residents in the Griffin area. Among these are projects that will improve access to West Olympia and install the state’s first “diverging diamond interchange” at Marvin Road and I-5. Traffic along I-5 is also being studied and information regarding the regional transportation plan is available online.