Thursday, October 1, 2026
The City of Tumwater is moving forward with early design work for a roundabout at the southbound Interstate 5 on-ramp and off-ramp at Tumwater Boulevard.
HDR Engineering, which the city hired in 2024 to design a similar roundabout at the northbound on-ramp and off-ramp, would receive additional funding to begin work on the second roundabout under a proposed contract amendment approved by a city committee.
At a meeting on Thursday, Jan. 8, the Tumwater Public Works Committee approved a $113,000 increase to the firm’s contract, raising its total value to $929,000.
With the committee’s approval, the amendment will be forwarded to the Tumwater City Council for final consideration on Jan. 20, as part of its consent agenda.
Transportation & Engineering Department Engineer Ryan Blaser told the committee the two roundabouts are intended to increase vehicle capacity and improve safety at the interchange.
Once the roundabouts are complete, a third phase of the project would involve widening the Tumwater Boulevard bridge over Interstate 5 to improve multimodal access.
Blaser said the additional funding under the contract amendment would cover topographic survey work and development of 30% of design documents.
He added that staff are only initiating a portion of the design work, mainly to understand the impact of the roundabouts on right-of-way, as there are several pending developments in the area.
Once designs are complete, Blaser said construction on the northbound roundabout could begin in late 2026 or early 2027, with work on the southbound roundabout following in 2027 or 2028.
The widening of the Tumwater Boulevard bridge is not anticipated for another 10 years, according to Blaser. Funding for the project comes from the Tumwater Transportation Capital Facilities Plan fund.
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turtleman
This seems unnecessary.
Friday, January 9 Report this
Honestyandrealityguy
The other roundabout in Tumwater is HORRIBLE and DANGEROUS. Common sense please.
Friday, January 9 Report this
JW
Not seeing how this intersection needs a roundabout. S 2nd / Trosper should be at the top of the priority list.
Friday, January 9 Report this
AgGrad
Perhaps these roundabouts are a pre-condition for the highly publicized (in ~ 2021 if I remember) move proposed by Costco to the New Market area. Reportedly, Winco would open a store in the old Costco location, once Costco vacates the building. Does anyone know any more about a Costco angle on the roundabouts?
Saturday, January 10 Report this
Porter
A million dollars!?!
Saturday, January 10 Report this
Thepantywhisperer
1800 or so new housing units plus additional commercial buildings. I'd say it's much needed. That area of Tumwater is exploding with new construction and waiting until it's too late seems irresponsible.
Saturday, January 10 Report this
CobraCommander
Honestyandrealityguy - By design, roundabouts are less dangerous.
Common sense means looking these things up before commenting.
Sunday, January 11 Report this
Southsoundguy
Roundabout grift continues.
Tuesday, January 13 Report this
PissAnt
I like the roundabouts but this one seems like its part of some future expansion but not really necessary now. Will they be developing this area soon or something?
Monday, January 19 Report this