FAQs
The City promised this would be done before Costco opened. Now it won't be. What happened?
The improvements will be completed by the originally anticipated opening for the Ridgefield Costco Warehouse.
Over the past few months, Costco has moved up their proposed opening timeline from the turn of the year to the end of August. The Pioneer Widening and 50th Place Roundabout project is a large capital project, with many moving parts to put in place before construction can begin, and speeding up the timeline by four months at this stage in the project is simply not possible. However, the City has phased the project based on the new Costco timeline in order to deliver better access and throughput during construction.
During the Pioneer Widening project, there will always be a minimum of two access points between Pioneer Street and Costco, distributing shopper traffic and alleviating congestion for all travel in the area.
I drive on Pioneer Street to get to work every day. How am I going to get through that area during construction with Costco increasing traffic??
There will inevitably be some delays traveling through the area as we work through Phase 2 through 4 of the Pioneer Widening and Discovery Drive Roundabout project. Our goal is to minimize these delays as much as possible and clearly communicate with our residents what to expect during various stages of the project.
When a closure of Pioneer Street is necessary, it will be planned for evening and weekend work whenever possible to minimize disruptions and we will provide notice at least two weeks in advance.
During these closures, there will always be multiple access points to Costco to distribute congestion and keep traffic flowing for Ridgefield residents. For example, during Phase 2 when a complete closure of Pioneer Street is necessary at 53rd Place, drivers will still be able to travel along Discovery Drive and 56th Place.
We understand that this work is likely to impact your travel to work, school and services, but the improvements are necessary. We appreciate your patience and cooperation as we work to create a safer, more efficient transportation network for everyone.
You can sign up to receive traffic alert emails on our website at https://ridgefieldwa.us/220/Road-Construction-Traffic-Impacts
Why didn’t you do this work before the development came?
That question is sort of like asking why you didn’t buy a bigger house before you got a raise.
The funding for the City’s Pioneer Widening and 50th Place Roundabout project is coming from the development in progress through the Tax Increment Area designated in November 2023. In addition, the developer at Union Ridge Town Center is completing large portions of the necessary infrastructure as part of their project, on their dime. Without a developer actively bringing new businesses, the City would not have the funding and would be paying to build more of the roads. We had planned to have it completed before Costco opened, however Costco moved up their timeline earlier this year and we are not able to speed up his work to meet the new opening date.
It is not that we didn’t see the need coming. We began early planning for these improvements as far back as 2019 and had it on the radar for several years before that. These projects are complex and take time to work through design, land acquisition, permitting, re-design, and construction. The timing of this project ensures the best investment of City dollars for an improved transportation system that will benefit our residents for many years to come.
This won’t be enough. Costco and In-N-Out will make that area impossible to travel through to get in or out of Ridgefield.
These improvements are designed to spread out traffic to accommodate the anticipated increase in volume with the opening of new businesses in the area. There will definitely be an adjustment period with some congestion when these high-volume businesses first open, but in the long run we expect the road alignment to accommodate the anticipated volume.
As part of their development contracts, the City required both Costco and In-N-Out to complete traffic management plans for their first 1, 3 and 12 months of operation. Through these plans and careful consideration and coordination, we are confident we can keep traffic moving through the area.
Is the segment of Pioneer Canyon Drive in this project going to connect to the one in the Pioneer Canyon neighborhood?
The City's project will provide a western "stub" for a couple of hundred feet past 50th Place. There is a large amount of land between 50th Place and Royle Road that, when they come in for development, the developer will be required to extend Pioneer Canyon Drive to Royle Road, roughly in the alignment shown below. There may be some minor changes in the alignment due to terrain and to fit their development proposal, but the long-term plan is to extend Pioneer Canyon Drive to Royle to be built by development.
Why won't this align with the current Pioneer Canyon Drive in the neighborhood?
There are terrain/topography issues as well as impacts to a potential fish bearing stream which make this connection at Royle Road challenging and expensive. However, whoever develops the land where this leg of Pioneer Canyon Drive would be built would need to verify this direct connection is infeasible before proceeding on the offset alignment.
Why isn't the city building this piece now?
It may be a surprise that much of the City's transportation, water and stormwater infrastructure has been built by developers as part of their respective developments. This connection is not a high enough priority for the City to build it with public funds at this time. However, transportation priorities are reviewed on an annual basis with the Transportation Improvement Program - Learn more.
Tell me about this temporary traffic signal at 53rd.
As of November 11, the temporary signal has been removed.
Why is this signal there?
Extended permit timelines caused a change in schedule for the construction of Phase 1 to connect with Costco from the west. In response, we are going to temporarily signalize the 53rd Place/Pioneer intersection to allow both left and right-turns leaving Costco on 53rd Place. This will provide a second access point and spread out the traffic entering and leaving Costco.
How long will the signal be there?
Just a few weeks until the “Phase 1” connection (Pioneer Canyon Drive and 50th Place) to the west is built and opened to traffic. This will need to be done before the planned mid-October weekend closure of Pioneer, to provide an alternate route for Costco-bound traffic around the closure.
What happens when the signal is removed?
The contractor will rebuild the southern part of 53rd Place, including the intersection, during Phase 2. After that is completed, the signal will be removed and the intersection will become a permanent “right-in/right-out” intersection, which means all turns will be right turns and left turns will not be allowed.
Will this signal being within three blocks of the 56th Place roundabout on Pioneer affect that roundabout?
Various signal timing plans have been put in place, depending on traffic levels, to minimize that potential.