Aberdeen residents driving to work from East Aberdeen will see changes to their morning commutes in a few days, because a roundabout is coming.

On Monday, April 18, traffic control setup will begin, according to Nick Bird, city engineer for the city of Aberdeen. After that, construction for a new roundabout, which includes East Market Street — between E and G Streets, plus the portion of F Street that intersects with East Market Street, will start.

The project will also close Fuller Way — the one-way street that runs between the Wishkah Street Bridge and East Market Street — for the foreseeable future.

Bird said detour routes will be in place around Fuller Way and F Street.

The first phase of the project will narrow East Market Street, which has two lanes on each side of the street, to one-way in each direction. The second phase, beginning in July, would close that portion of East Market Street, in addition to the other closures in that vicinity. The project is scheduled to wrap up in October.

A couple of the surrounding business owners — Jessica Lee, who owns Dream Second Hand Store, and Angelina Oropeza, who owns La Salvadoreña Grocery — at the intersection of East Market Street and F Street have differing opinions on whether the roundabout will be a good thing.

Lee didn’t sound worried about the scheduled road closures, or the narrowing of Market Street, impacting business.

“I don’t think there’s enough traffic to need two lanes,” she said.

But, Angelina Oropeza, and her son Uriel Oropeza, said they think it will be bad for their business.

Customer safety is the Oropeza family’s main concern arising from the roundabout project. The small parking lot for the store sits at the crux of East Market Street and F Street.

“It would impact (us) because there’d be (more) accidents,” Uriel said. “Also, it would impact her, because her customers would be scared about being hit when pulling in.”

However, Bird said the roundabout would make the area safer. The current configuration consists of a five-way arterial street section and two signals that control traffic, which dissects East Aberdeen and the introduction to downtown Aberdeen.

“The basic gist is that the intersection efficiency will be better than a signalized intersection,” said Bird. “It (will) provide the capacity to accommodate anticipated growth, and it will eliminate the confusion of the offset signal that led to 50 percent of the crashes between 2016 and 2018.”

Bird noted that the data from January 2016 to December 2018 showed there were 12 more incidents with up to four injury incidents. Speed from April 2017 was also noted.

“(The data) indicated 10 to 15 percent of traffic exceeding the speed limit by 20 percent or more,” Bird said.

The construction is slated to cost a total of $2,075,000, with the city of Aberdeen owing approximately $160,000 — with about 10 percent of Aberdeen’s cost being for construction contingencies.The Federal Highway Administration’s Surface Transportation Program will pick up $1.44 million of the bill, and Washington State’s Transportation Improvement Board’s Urban Arterial Program will pay the last $475,000.

Lee, whose storefront faces the one-way angular traffic from Fuller Way, said she didn’t really mind having a roundabout and thought it would be good if the roundabout does what it’s supposed to do — fix traffic.

“It might help with traffic at that stop light,” Lee said.

The roundabout would reduce traffic delays and increase efficiency, according to Bird.

Bird also explained why this specific location needs a roundabout.

“Simply put, all intersections have potential for conflicts, but the probability of intersection conflicts increases for a variety of reasons.”

Bird said a roundabout would reduce the likelihood and severity of collisions, because of the low travel speeds, “no (traffic) light to beat,” and one-way travel.

“The big take away relating to safety improvements is that collisions in roundabouts are not at 90 degrees (T-Bones,)” said Bird. “They are at lower speeds, and pedestrian refuge islands are included, allowing pedestrians to cross only one direction of traffic at a time.”

Lee, whose parents run the store, said she’s seen the occasional car accident at the multi-directional intersection.

“With my time being there like once or twice a month, I’ve seen at least one or two accidents,” said Lee, who lives in Tacoma.

The area, in addition to First Street, flooded in January 2022 after record rains that hit the Grays Harbor area, combined with king tides, and other environmental factors. This project should help with flooding, because it will include stormwater collection improvements.

“But flood protection will ultimately be provided by the North Shore Levee in that area,” Bird said.

Other project improvements will consist of removing the existing traffic signals, a reconstruction of the roadway surface, installation of new curbing and sidewalks, textured concrete paving, and a new illumination system, according to the city.

Leon O’Donnell, barista at Tinderbox Roasters, said on Wednesday, April 13, he’s concerned about the way the current road configuration in the area is laid out, because of driver visibility.

“I was just complaining about that area, because it’s unsafe with the different traffic lights,” said O’Donnell, who drives through that area in order to fill up his car’s gas tank at Q-Mart.

While the Oropeza family let their thoughts known about the roundabout, they’re unsure what impact their say has at this point. Uriel Oropeza translated for his mother, Angelina.

“Our word won’t matter, because the city will do what it wants,” Angelina said.