County backs out of Carpenter Road project

Improving Carpenter Road, from Pacific Avenue to Martin Way, has been a major project of the City of Lacey for several years. 

But since Carpenter Road is jointly owned by both the City of Lacey and Thurston County, the two entities have partnered together since 1995 to obtain funding and jointly improve the entire corridor from Pacific Avenue to Martin Way.

Until recently that is.  Thurston County has let it be known that since most of the traffic on Carpenter Road is from Lacey, that the city should be responsible for improving the entire road.

Except for the Martin Way, Carpenter Road intersection.  There Thurston County officials want to partner with the City of Lacey to improve that intersection.  The county has committed $2.8 million for the project which has an estimated cost of $4.7 million.  

They want the city to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)  that Lacey will finance 50 percent of the remaining cost of the intersection improvements.

Only, the city doesn’t think it makes any sense to improve the Carpenter Road/Martin Way intersection, without improving the entire corridor.

The city is under pressure to concede because any state and federal funds they’ve received, for the corridor project,  will be in danger of being taken away if the project does not reach completion.

The bottom line – – the county wants Lacey’s help and funding to complete the improvements to the Martin Way/Carpenter Road intersection.   Lacey wants the county to provide financial help towards improving the entire Carpenter Road corridor from Pacific Avenue to Martin Way.  The county doesn’t want to do it and doesn’t have the money.

Further talks between city and county officials might bring a solution, but again, they may not.  And nothing on Carpenter Road will be done until some resolution to the problem is forthcoming.