Community Transportation

Will safety enhancements this summer tame traffic at risky intersection north of Gig Harbor?

The Washington State Department of Transportation will roll out changes this summer intended to slow traffic and reduce crashes at the intersection of Goodnough Drive, Burnham Drive and Highway 302 (Purdy Drive), where an accident in February took the life of a 42-year-old Gig Harbor resident.

The junction just outside Gig Harbor’s northwest boundary is known to be risky. Northbound and southbound vehicles whiz through it freely, entering and exiting Highway 16.

Those traveling westbound on Goodnough and eastbound on Burnham must halt at stop signs. Traffic volume in these directions is lower. But the wait can be long, tempting drivers to dart out and accelerate quickly when they spot an opening.

Cars wait to turn from Goodnough Drive and Burnham Drive on to Highway 302. Photo by Ted Kenney

Lowering speed limit, eliminating southbound lane

Since 2015, the Washington State Patrol has logged 27 collisions occurring within 100 feet of the intersection. None caused death or serious injury until Feb. 18 this year, when Gurpreet Kaur attempted a left turn from Burnham Dr. onto northbound Highway 302 at 3:30 PM.

Two cars traveling on Highway 302 – one northbound and one southbound – hit Kaur’s Volkswagen Jetta. She died and two others involved in the collision went to the hospital.

Seeking to lessen risk, WSDOT will reduce the speed limit to 45 miles per hour in both directions on Highway 302 north of the intersection, from an existing 50 mph. It will also eliminate one of the two travel lanes on southbound Highway 302. (Northbound Highway 302 already has just one lane in this area.)

“We plan to implement all improvements by late summer,” said Cara Mitchell, WSDOT Olympic Region communications manager. “We will share dates and work hours once that information becomes available.”

“Reducing the lanes will encourage people to drive slower and free up roadway that we can repurpose for multi-modal use,” she said. “We get a lot of complaints about people going too fast in this area so we think this will really improve the situation for the community as a whole.”

Long-sought safety improvements

Peninsula Light Company, a major employer based near the intersection, welcomes the safety improvements, said Britni Wickens, communications director.

The utility company, which has headquarters offices, storage yards and fleet operations off Goodnough Drive, has asked for safety improvements since it moved there in the 1980s, Wickens said.

“The intersection has long been a concern due to heavy commercial vehicles from PenLight” and from its neighbors, including Pierce County Public Works and Purdy Topsoil, navigating the area, she said.

“These 20- to 40-ton vehicles cannot accelerate like passenger cars, increasing traffic risks. While WSDOT has made modifications over the past 40 years that have helped address some concerns, the recent fatality has heightened awareness.”

In 2023, PenLight submitted a traffic study and a proposal for traffic lights at the intersection to WSDOT. However, the request did not move forward because “the data does not support a traffic signal due to the low traffic volumes on Goodnough Drive NW and high vehicle speeds on SR 302,” WSDOT spokesperson Angela Cochran said in an email last summer.

Future roundabout?

A roundabout is a more likely eventual solution for the intersection, WSDOT sources said. It would adhere to WSDOT’s “roundabouts first” policy that designates roundabouts as the preferred intersection management solution on state highways.

“WSDOT acknowledges the benefits of a roundabout at this location and in the SR 302 corridor in general,” Mitchell said.

“WSDOT Headquarters Safety office has conducted their periodic statewide review of locations to prioritize for safety funding. This location has not risen to that priority list,” she said. However, “there are multiple other roundabouts in various stages of development along SR 302 that were identified by the statewide safety program and are eligible for funding.”

In the absence of funding for a roundabout where Goodnough, Burnham and Highway 302 come together, WSDOT is pursuing the less expensive safety enhancements using “limited operations funding that is already available.” The improvements scheduled to be made this summer will cost less than $100,000, Mitchell said.

Much of the land near the intersection remains unbuilt. Development there could significantly change traffic patterns and volume.

Developable property

For example, earlier this year, real estate developer Quarterra floated the idea of creating six apartment buildings with as many as 240 dwelling units on 7.93 acres close to the intersection’s southeast corner.

The treacherous intersection of Burnham, Goodnough and Purdy drives is just northwest of the proposed Emblem development.

Quarterra, part of Florida-based homebuilder Lennar Corporation, does not own the land but is under contract to potentially buy it. It held a pre-application conference with Gig Harbor officials in April to discuss the project.

This week, Quarterra initiated a critical areas review process with the city “to confirm the presence of an artificially constructed ditch that does not meet the definition of a stream adjacent to the site.” A representative did not respond to inquiries regarding its plans.

While the Goodnough-Burnham-Highway 302 intersection lies just outside Gig Harbor, Quarterra’s potential development site is inside city limits.

Asked whether the city could compel a developer of the 7.93 acres to fund improvements or take other steps so that the intersection can accommodate the increased traffic generated by its project, Gig Harbor community development director Eric Baker said:

“While the project is in very preliminary stages, the city during application review would coordinate with Pierce County and WSDOT regarding transportation improvements (vehicular and non-motorized) based upon the review of a formal application. Without greater details what improvements those may be would only be speculative with no real foundation.”

Developer would be on the hook

WSDOT spokesperson Cara Mitchell agreed that in the event a major project is developed near an intersection, her agency can work with the city on obtaining improvements to the intersection.

“Even though the intersection is within state right-of-way, other agencies or developers may take the lead on or request improvements. In other words, if another agency wants to make improvements, we would collaborate on those improvements.”

The developer would have to fund improvements to the intersection that are made necessary by its project. “If a developer affects the transportation system, then the developer would be responsible for mitigating the effects to the highway,” Mitchell said.