Correction: The Courier-Herald misreported the roundabout project cost $2 million. It’s closer to $10 million. The article has been updated.
After six months of construction, Roberts Drive in Black Diamond has reopened.
The well-traveled road was reconnected to state Route 169 on Monday, Oct. 21.
However, construction on the two roundabouts on this stretch of the highway, which caused Roberts Drive to close, is expected to continue for another half a year, resulting in lane alterations and, possibly, slight travel delays.
At this time, the west side of the roundabout to the south end of Black Diamond-Ravensdale Road is complete, and the east side is now being built.
Next will be the realigning of the Black Diamond-Ravensdale Road to the highway, and finally, the second roundabout to the north of the aforementioned street.
“Please note this will be a active site, please be cautious while driving through this section for the safety of the work crews,” a city press release noted. “The city thanks you for your patience during this traffic improvement project.”
PROJECT OVERVIEW
The construction of two roundabouts on SR 169 has been long in the works and is a direct result of housing developer Oakpointe’s Ten Trails Neighborhood; when the city of Black Diamond signed the final development agreement with Oakpointe, the developer was required to build various amenities or make certain upgrades or repairs around the city as the Ten Trail’s neighborhood grew.
The $10 million roundabout project is one of those benchmarks. Construction began in October 2023.
Once complete, there will be two one-lane roundabouts (though they will be built to be able to expand to two-lane roundabouts if necessary) on the highway.
The first is located at the SR 169 and Roberts Drive intersection; the second at the Pipeline Road intersection.
Additionally, the Black Diamond-Ravensdale Road intersection will become right-in, right-out. This means drivers going south need to use the Roberts Drive roundabout to access the road.
Similarly, drivers coming off Black Diamond-Ravensdale Road wanting to go south will have to use the Pipeline Road roundabout to do so.
Residents have complained about this design and asked why a Roberts Drive and Black Diamond-Ravensdale Road weren’t realigned and a single roundabout built.
According to the city, that is because…
FISH CULVERT CONSTRUCTION
… there are two fish culverts running underneath Black Diamond-Ravensdale Road (Grinder Creek) that the state of Washington is looking to repair.
And there’s another three to the south (Jones Lake) of the city that are a part of this project.
The budget for the project was set at $69 million, but contractor Kiewit Infrastructure West, Inc. — selected to design and construct the new culverts, though a contract has not been signed — bid for $49 million.
While these may seem like arbitrary projects for the Washington State Department of Transportation, the department is actually under a 2013 U.S. District Court injunction to honor treaties signed with Washington Indigenous tribes to protect fish runs.
Once the two roundabouts are completed by contractor, construction on the Black Diamond-Ravensdale Grinder Creek culvert project can begin; it’s estimated that design work on the project will begin in later this month.
If it is finished on time, construction on the Jones Lake culverts can begin as early as March 2025; the contract restricts potential contractors from beginning work on Grinder Creek before May 2026.
