Bicycle lane extension will be completed in August

Construction began this month on a project that will improve safety for bicyclists traveling along portions of upper Lake Road.

The new one-half mile bike lane will complete the only missing 1,100-foot section of the westbound bicycle lane on Northwest Lake Road, from state Route 500 to Southeast 192nd Avenue. Improvements include widening the road on a hillside, installing storm catch basins, storm mains and laterals, manholes, and street resurfacing. Nine LED illumination street lamps will also be installed.

“It’s really going to improve safety going up that road for bicyclists,” said City Engineer Jim Hodges. “That is the main thrust of the project, and the intent.”

The bike lane is situated on an incline that leads to Camas’ high-tech industrial area, where residential neighborhoods share the landscape with business including Underwriters Laboratories and WaferTech.

“This project will provide the first and only continuous east/west bike lane connection from SR-500 to 192nd Avenue,” stated the city’s application for the Urban Vitality grant. “Completion of this project allows bicyclists to have a designated lane from the Camas core to an employment area with upwards of 1,500 existing jobs within one mile of this project. This link will eliminate the conflict of a shared lane between bicyclists and motorists.”

The $400,000 endeavor is being funded with City of Camas monies, as well as a $240,000 Washington State Public Works Board Urban Vitality Grant. Colf Landscape Construction, Inc., of Vancouver, was awarded the contract by the city to complete the project.

Hodges said traffic delays should be expected throughout the duration of the project, which is expected to wrap up in late August.