Thursday, October 1, 2026
The City of Lacey's streets are nearly as good as they have ever been, according to its latest biennial road assessment.
The 2025 State of the Streets Report, which evaluates pavement conditions across the city’s entire road network, was presented by the Public Works Department to the Lacey City Council at a meeting on Tuesday, March 10.
The city’s roadway network received an average Pavement Condition Index (PCI) score of 84.6 out of 100, up slightly from 84.4 in 2023. The index is a standardized rating system used to measure the condition of road surfaces, with 100 being a perfect score.
The system includes 184.9 centerline miles of roadway, or about 419.7 lane miles. A total of 96.8 percent were rated in very good or good condition. Only 4.7 centerline miles fell below good: 4.2 miles in fair condition and 0.5 miles in poor condition.
Public Works Transportation Engineering Technician Jamie Conner, who prepared and presented the report, said the score has remained above 82 every year since 2012. The highest score on record was 84.7, recorded in 2016 following a software update and revised pavement defect definitions.
Recent construction activity and preventive maintenance helped push the network's condition score to its strongest showing since 2016.
The city completed about $12 million in road work during the 2024-25 cycle. The work covered more than 8.4 lane miles and placed about 25,510 tons of asphalt.
Leading the list was the $6.4 million College Street Extension NE, funded primarily through federal grants. Other projects included a $3.4 million utility-driven reconstruction of Golf Club Road and a $1.35 million rehabilitation of Yelm Highway.
The city also completed a $483,000 roundabout improvement at Pacific Avenue and Homann Drive with new sharrow route striping, a $228,000 rehabilitation of Eighth Avenue and a $167,000 citywide crack seal program carried over from 2023.
Conner also walked the council through three funding scenarios showing what could happen to road conditions over the next decade depending on how much money the city invests each year.
The first scenario modeled a complete funding cutoff. Without any investment, the network score would fall to 72 by 2034 and leave about $46.8 million in repairs unaddressed.
The second held spending at the Transportation Benefit District’s (TBD) estimated $3.5 million annual revenue for street maintenance. That would result in a score of 83 by 2034, with $17.1 million in deferred maintenance.
The third scenario sets its sights on maintaining the current PCI of 84. To get there, staff estimated the city would need about $4 million per year for road maintenance.
That figure is about $500,000 more than the TBD currently generates for streets after about $500,000 in annual sidewalk repairs are deducted. The TBD currently holds an unencumbered balance of approximately $4 million.
The next major project is a full reconstruction of Willamette Drive between Hogum Bay Road and Borealis Court.
The corridor has been in use since the early 1990s, according to staff, and now registers a PCI of 66. Design is scheduled for 2026 and construction for 2027, at an estimated cost of $3.3 million. Conner said the rebuilt stretch should remain stable for at least five years before major repairs would be needed.
Deputy Mayor Malcolm Miller noted the corridor's heavy traffic volumes during the discussion. Council member Ryan Siu asked whether TBD funds alone would cover the project.
Staff confirmed the district would fund the Willamette Drive design phase and a sidewalk replacement project this year. No additional road construction projects are planned for 2026, staff said, citing a vacancy in the engineering division.
Council member Nicolas Dunning urged staff to coordinate more closely with businesses ahead of future construction. He cited a business near the Pacific and Homann roundabout that lost driveway access for approximately one week during the recent project.
City Manager Rick Walk highlighted the College Street Extension NE as a blueprint for future projects.
The work paired federal grant funding for the new extension with TBD dollars to resurface existing stretches of College Street and Sixth Avenue, bundling both into one contract.
4 comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here
johngreen
How about a little money for sidewalk repair. People do walk around here. Maybe support their comprehensive plan reducing carbon footprint.
Thursday, March 12 Report this
chrispc2u
Have they been on Fones rd lately? It still resembles WWIII aftermath. Also, please go back to grinding down sideways raised by tree roots. The asphalt patches are an ineffectual disaster and pedestrians keep kicking out the patches just for fun. Finish Fones rd!!
Thursday, March 12 Report this
KarenM
The City of Lacey uses some of their Transportation Benefit District funding for sidewalk repair but there is more to do than the available funds. A few years ago the City prepared a Pedestrian Bicycle Plan that contains a long list of priority connections that are needed. These include connections that may be small projects but make big improvements in walking safety. The City needs to find a funding source for sidewalks in order to respond to the community comments during that planning process asking for safer walking conditions.
Friday, March 13 Report this
Scooter
Glad to hear that Lacey has good streets....Olympia should take notes. I think that every member of the council and even the folks that work for the city should be required to take a different route to work every day.... experience the lumps and bumps on many off the streets.... or experience Black Lade and Cooper Point on Thursday and Friday.... get to experience the myriad speed bumps, expecially thosee where widening the street would have beenn a better option.... Yup.... go out and drive all of the streets in Olympia. Some are good and some are ruining our cars.
Friday, March 13 Report this