Utilities, striping work to close a stretch of Fones Road

A portion of Fones Road will be closed for a couple of nights, as crews continue raising utilities and striping a shared use path and roadway for the multimillion-dollar project.

The closure will be in effect from Karen Fraser Woodland Trail to Pacific Avenue from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 7, and 6 p.m to 5 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 8.

“Local and emergency access will be maintained,” said the City of Olympia Public Works Department in a construction and traffic alert.

The full closure comes on the heels of nighttime paving work that was done in mid-September from just south of the Home Depot south driveway to 17th Way SE, as well as just south of the south driveway to the north along Fones Road.

Road construction is scheduled to end this fall.

Background

Construction on the Fones Road Corridor Project started in November 2024 with the goal of transforming it into a safer corridor for bicyclists, motorists, pedestrians and truckers.

The estimated cost of the corridor project is $24.5 million with the City of Olympia contributing more than $13 million. The city has also received more than $11 million in grants from state and federal sources to help pay for the project.

The project also aims to create a safer connection to transit stops on 18th and Pacific avenues, as well as add landscaping and lighting along the corridor, which measures less than three-quarters of a mile.