Leaders Merge On Gorst Traffic Fix: 'We Can't Afford To Wait Any Longer'
BREMERTON — You've heard this one before: there's an effort to solve traffic gridlock in Gorst.
But this time, vows a widening coalition of area politicians and leaders, they mean it.
It's a megaproject by Kitsap County standards that will cost around a half-billion dollars. That heavy lift is bringing together local mayors, county and port commissioners, state and federal lawmakers, and business leaders to amplify their voices in the push for funding.
"We're hoping by doing this, we're creating a sense of urgency," said Axel Strakeljahn, a Port of Bremerton commissioner and a co-chair of what's being called the Gorst Coalition. "We would like to be well-positioned for funding."
Each interested party among the growing coalition is asked to contribute financially, which right now helps hire a consultant to lobby for funding.
More:A coalition to solve the Gorst corridor's problem
The coalition, which has been meeting monthly since early in the pandemic, includes U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor. Kilmer noted that President Joe Biden has prioritized infrastructure and he's hopeful the project could find a significant chunk of funding from Congress.
"The boat moves faster when the oars are in the water moving in the same direction," Kilmer said.
The proposal was last pushed for in a bill in the Legislature in 2019 that would've raised the gas tax to fund a $335 million fix through the confluence of highways 3 and 16. But it was the latest failed effort to bring home the money necessary to complete a mammoth project in the area.
For years, state lawmakers pushed a bridge over Sinclair Inlet as a solution for the traffic woes. But improving the intersection of highways 3 and 16 has emerged as the clear choice among the coalition because of fears Gorst is increasingly vulnerable in catastrophes and because of the rising economic importance of the area around Bremerton National Airport.
It calls for using a state Department of Transportation plan to elevate the highway through Gorst, making the corridor durable against storms, flooding and climate change, as well as earthquakes and tsunamis. A railroad trestle, long used by the Navy, could also be replaced and additional lane capacity added to alleviate traffic.
The rock cliffs at Windy Point and the railroad tracks northward make a tight squeeze north of Gorst. But that could also be helped by the project's additional lane if the funding is there.
Kilmer pointed out that he's been fighting for a congressional fund that serves transportation projects around military installations, and he sees promise in the Puget Sound Industrial Center and other burgeoning businesses near the Bremerton National Airport. Amazon, for instance, added a last-mile delivery center in the area this past year.
The Gorst coalition has brought on a number of area politicians with disparate backgrounds who all agree it's time for something to be done. State Sen. Emily Randall, D-Bremerton, a member of the Senate Transportation committee, as well as Rep. Drew MacEwen, R-Union, are pushing for state funding to get the project done.
"With lives and livelihoods at stake, we can't afford to wait any longer for these investments to be made," MacEwen said.
It affects an area greater than just Bremerton or Port Orchard at this point.
"For all of the people that live here, this bottleneck has been a real problem for many years," said Poulsbo Mayor Becky Erickson, who has joined in on the coalition's meetings. "I don't care if you live in Hansville or Gig Harbor. We need to address it."
The coalition includes leaders of the Suquamish Tribe, Naval Base Kitsap, area chambers of commerce and private interests, including David Overton, a large property owner near the Bremerton National Airport. The coalition effort here mirrors a coalescing similar to successful transportation projects in Pierce County like the expansion of I-5 near Lakewood, which is also close to a military installation — in that case, Joint Base Lewis McChord.
"It is a long-overdue and much-needed upgrade," Strakeljahn said. "Although it's been discussed at great lengths over the past 10 to 15 years, nothing substantial has occurred in the corridor."
The project could also improve salmon and environmental habitat in the Sinclair Inlet estuary and Gorst Creek.
It's also a matter of national security, as noted by the Navy presence in the coalition. Federal emergency management officials plan to bring food and resources to Bremerton National Airport in a catastrophe. But, if the Gorst corridor was somehow impacted — an earthquake and subsequent tsunami that knocked out access, for example — how would emergency supplies get north of Sinclair Inlet?
"We wouldn't be able to get them on the peninsula without a resilient corridor," points out Bremerton Mayor Greg Wheeler, an early proponent of the coalition whose city will serve as the bookkeeper for the coalition's finances.
By: Josh Farley
Source: Kitsap Sun