PORT TOWNSEND — The city of Port Townsend will host a groundbreaking ceremony for the Howard Street Extension at the corner of Howard and Sixth streets at 10 a.m. Friday.
The $6.5 million project will connect West Sims Way and Discovery Road by extending Howard Street.
The city’s 1994 arterial plan designated Howard Street as a travel way for “the external traffic heading to Fort Worden and the residential traffic to the industrial park and county destinations.”
The city does not now have a north/south arterial in the western portion of the city. The extension is intended to relieve Sims Way by redistributing traffic to Discovery Road.
Zoning was changed to commercial in the area with the adoption of the city’s 1996 comprehensive plan. A Transportation Improvement Board grant was received in 2012.
The years leading up to now were spent designing the roadway, securing additional funds, going through the right-of-way acquisition process, reviewing land-use codes and environmental permitting, officials said.
