In case you can’t tell, we’re really excited about our new roundabout on SR 203

By David Rasbach

Our new compact roundabout along State Route 203 at the intersection with High Rock Road and 203rd Street Southeast south of Monroe is unique, to say the least. With a long, skinny island separated from a circular island by a pass-through lane, even our designers don’t know of any similar roundabouts this small.

From above, it looks like an exclamation point, but we hope people who travel through will come to think of the roundabout as more of comma – a place to slow, take a pause when needed and then proceed on your travels.

A new roundabout opened along SR 203 in late June south of Monroe at the intersection with High Rock Road and 203rd Street Southeast.

Think of it as two roundabouts nested together, and the rules are the same as any other roundabout we’ve built:

• Slow to 15 to 20 mph as you approach.
• Move counterclockwise around the roundabout.
• Yield to vehicles approaching from your left already in the roundabout.
• Larger vehicles may drive over the center islands for tight turns.

Drivers going northbound on SR 203 traffic may need to yield twice – once when entering the roundabout and again if traffic is passing between the two islands. If you think about it, that’s just following the same rules a second time.

If you travel through the area, you may want to check out our video about driving this roundabout.

The SR 203 roundabout slows vehicles that used to approach the High Rock Road intersection at 55 mph.

Roundabouts calm traffic, improve flow and reduce the chances of serious T-bone and head-on crashes. These effects all apply to this stretch of SR 203.

Making a roundabout for everyone

OK, so why does it look so different from any other roundabout?

The design accommodates large vehicles and farm equipment making left turns, fits the existing space and avoids the nearby hill and protected wetlands.

Our engineering team found the unique design was needed to accommodate all the different vehicles that travel through this intersection.

When we began planning, our designers considered a roundabout shaped like a dog bone – long and skinny with “knots” on the ends. They quickly realized that wasn’t going to work.

A lot of large vehicles and farm equipment make left turns from 203rd Street Southeast to northbound SR 203. With a dog bone design, the turn at the southern end would be too tight for these vehicles to make.

Unlike most compact roundabouts, the new roundabout along SR 203 features two center islands with a lane passing between them.

Fitting a roundabout in a tight space

Why not build the center island bigger to create better turning angles for those larger vehicles?

In a word – geography. The new roundabout needed to be built in the same space as the old intersection.

To the east is a steep hill. To the southwest there are protected wetlands. There wasn’t space or budget to mitigate the potential impact in either direction.

With a hill to the eastside of the intersection and protected wetlands just to the southwest, engineers came up with a unique design to help improve safety and traffic flow at the SR 203 intersection at High Rock Road and 203rd Street Southeast.

Making SR 203 safer

We hope people traveling through the new roundabout will adapt quickly to the unique design and follow the same rules they should use at every roundabout. The new intersection is already performing its No. 1 goal of reducing chances of crashes that can lead to serious injuries or worse.

Before construction started, cars flew along this busy rural section of SR 203 between Monroe and Duvall at 55 mph. The intersection is on a curve, adding to the risk people turning from High Rock Road or 203rd Street Southeast could have been hit. SR 203 drivers turning left also faced challenges judging oncoming traffic speed.

National studies have shown that roundabouts create a 37% decrease in overall collisions, while reducing injury crashes by 75% and fatal incidents by 90%.

Despite its unique design, drivers using the new SR 203 roundabout at High Rock Road should follow the same rules in place at any roundabout.

We always monitor and evaluate all changes we make. This new roundabout is no exception, so we’ll be sure it’s working as designed.

Yes, we know – not everybody loves roundabouts. This one requires adjustment, just like any change. But please give this unique little roundabout a chance. Slow down and follow roundabout rules and signs on the road. Make sure you stay distraction free as you drive through the area (and everywhere). And please have patience with others still learning.

We believe you’ll soon enjoy improved safety and traffic flow in the area.

Updates on the new US 2 Trestle PEL study

By: Jennifer Rash

Last summer, we launched a study about the US 2 trestle. We’ve studied this trestle in the past, but this study is different because we’re looking at connections from the trestle to other highways, like I-5. The study will also consider how to improve bike, transit and freight trips around and across the trestle.

Expanded study area that includes the US 2 trestle and other connecting highways, including I-5.

This kind of study is called a PEL—that stands for Planning and Environmental Linkages. One of the most important benefits of this type of study is early input from agencies, tribes, and community members so we can get thoughts on issues and priorities before we develop plans. In fact, we recently collected input from the public and others just to write the study Purpose and Need statement.

What is a Purpose and Need statement?

This statement does two things. First, it explains why we are studying improvements at this specific location. That’s the “purpose” part. Second, it explains the issues that need to be fixed. That’s the “need” part. A bonus benefit is that this Purpose and Need statement can be re-used for the environmental review. That review starts right after the PEL is complete, and having the Purpose and Need statement pre-approved by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) can speed things up.

Public input informed the final Purpose and Need statements

This spring, we hosted an online open house and survey to gather feedback on the draft Purpose and Need statements. Through survey responses and comments, we learned more about how the community travels on or near the trestle.

Over 10,000 people visited the online open house website, and the survey received nearly 4,000 responses. The following graphs and statistics represent a small sample of the data collected. The full online open house and survey summary is available in the study document library.

Most people (around 70%) in the survey said they live on the east side of the trestle.

Most people said they use the trestle to access essential services like grocery shopping and medical visits. Commuting to work was the fourth most popular type of trip.

We wanted to learn about the biggest challenges to traveling on or around the trestle. Traffic back-ups and unreliable travel times were the biggest issues. Lack of detour options and safety were also common answers.

We then asked folks to review the draft Purpose and Need statements. Over 70% of people supported the statements as written. Some people gave us feedback that led to edits. For example, some people were confused about how we used the word equity. People also wanted to include more eastbound trestle concerns. We revised these statements before sending them to FHWA for approval, acknowledging that public input influenced these revisions.

You can view the draft and final Purpose and Need statements in the study document library.

Feelings about tolling

One of our big takeaways was community opposition to tolling, with 75% of survey takers against it. Many were concerned that tolling could negatively affect the cost of living in communities on the east side of the trestle. Around 15% of survey takers supported tolling the trestle, with some saying it could encourage transit use and others that users should pay for improvements to the trestle—as long as the toll is reasonable.

We will consider tolling as a way to address study needs, though we don’t know yet what types of tolling or the potential toll rates we’ll study.

In general, WSDOT is involved in planning, construction, and operations of tolling projects. The Washington State Legislature authorizes toll facilities and determines how to spend toll revenue. The Washington State Transportation Commission sets toll rates and exemptions with an extensive public input process.

What’s next?

We will work with FHWA and our PEL Study advisory groups to develop a list of possible improvements. We’ll start with a lot of ideas and whittle them down to a few concepts to study in the environmental review. The concepts are first evaluated at Level 1. If they meet the Purpose and Need criteria, as well as more detailed criteria, then they are evaluated in Level 2. We plan to share concepts between Level 1 and Level 2 for public comment in early 2025.

To follow along with the study, consider signing up for the WSDOT Snohomish County Newsletter email updates. We also regularly update our study web page and document library. Thank you again to everyone who participated in our online open house and shared their thoughts with us!