Official website of the
City of Vancouver, Washington

Street Improvement Projects

Sign up for e-mail updates

NE 137th/138th Avenue Improvement Project

NE 28th to NE 49th Street

Project Update, October 2009

The City of Vancouver Transportation Services is in the beginning stages of planning and designing an upgrade for NE 137th/138th Avenue between NE 28th Street and NE 49th Street. The project will upgrade the roadway to current Minor Arterial standards to provide enhanced safety, improve access to the fronting properties, and minimize traffic delays. Features of the project could include roadway widening construction, streetscape improvements, drainage improvements, pedestrian facilities, bicycle facilities, utility upgrades and relocations, right-of-way needs evaluation, and environmental evaluation. Improvements will also benefit the NE 49th Street, NE 39th Street, NE 18th Street, and NE 28th Street corridors.

The project kick-off Open House was held on October 2, 2007. The project team talked with many interested citizens about:

• how and when they use the roadway
• how they exit their driveways
• their ideas on how to enhance safety, improve access, and minimize traffic delays

A second Open House was held on June 25, 2008. Residents were able to review details about the project and preliminary studies, share concerns and ideas, and learn about the project timeline and next steps. Almost 30 residents attended a third Open House on Thursday, November 13, 2008, where they had an opportunity to review the preliminary design of the recommended improvement, which includes one travel lane in each direction separated by a continuous median. The design, which places roundabouts at NE 32nd Circle, NE 39th Street, and NE 44th Streets, is based on the alignment that minimizes the impacts on adjacent properties while enhancing capacity and safety for motorists, pedestrians, and bicyclists.

Project Description

Recent Design Changes
Recent changes to the design of the 137/138th Avenue Improvement Project will reduce impacts to properties lining the corridor while saving money. These changes result from design refinements, input provided by local property owners and stakeholders, and a “Value Engineering” study of the proposed improvements. for the entire length of the project corridor. Both revisions, and the narrowing of the median in particular, will reduce the impact to abutting properties, both in property acquisition and physical impacts and encroachments. Savings that will result from these recent design changes are estimated at $500,000.

About the Proposed Roundabouts
The recommended improvement for the NE 137th/138th Avenue Project includes roundabouts at NE 32nd Circle, NE 39th Street, and NE 44th Street. Among their many benefits, roundabouts will provide turn-around options to minimize out-of-direction travel for drivers prevented from making left-hand turns along the corridor improvement area. In terms of safety and efficiency, roundabouts reduce many of the safety hazards associated with traditional intersections and lower overall vehicle delays, which reduce emissions and add capacity. They increase safety by limiting vehicle movements to right turn only. Eliminating left turns across traffic, common in traditional intersections, reduces the frequency and severity of collisions. Roundabouts planned as part of the project include:

• NE 32nd Circle: This single-lane roundabout (originally planned for NE 34th Street) will provide a turn around to minimize out-of-direction travel for drivers prevented from making a left turn elsewhere on the corridor.
• NE 39th Street: This two-lane roundabout would accommodate corridor traffic and traffic from NE 39th Street. The second lane would begin 300 feet from the roundabout and extend 325 feet past the intersection.
• NE 44th Street: This single-lane roundabout would provide a turn around to minimize out-of-direction travel.
• NE 49th Street: This existing roundabout will be more fully developed with approach and departure lanes to the south similar to the new NE 39th Street roundabout.

More information about roundabouts and how to safely use them can be found on our NE 49th Street and NE 137th Avenue Roundabout page.

Newsletters

Newsletter #3 - August 2009  Adobe Reader required

Newsletter #2 - November 2008  Adobe Reader required

Newsletter #1 - June 2008  Adobe Reader required

Open House

Open House #3 Summary - November 13, 2008  Adobe Reader required

Open House #2 Summary - June 25, 2008  Adobe Reader required

Open House #1 Summary - October 2, 2007  Adobe Reader required

Frequently Asked Questions

137th-138th Ave FAQs - April 2009  Adobe Reader required