Towne Road triumphs

Community support made the difference

A 1914 map shows the “old” Towne Road cutting a jagged line along the Dungeness River.

Today, December 26th, 2023, the Clallam County Commissioners passed the following resolution: 

“Clallam County has selected “Option 2” as the preferred option for Towne Road and the Commissioners have requested the Public Works Department to bring back a strategy to accomplish this option which will be completed in a timely fashion with a desire to be complete by the end of the 2024 construction season.”

Commissioner Mike French proposed the resolution, Commissioner Randy Johnson seconded it, and a majority of Clallam County Commissioners passed it.  County employees will conduct final surveying in the next few weeks and a bid packet will be prepared to solicit the most competitive price for surfacing the road.  Work could begin this coming spring and the County has committed to reopening the road to two-way, through traffic by the end of next construction season (September 30th, 2024.)

The meeting began with the boardroom’s gallery filled by residents concerned with the fate of Towne Road, but the item was not on the agenda and no resolution was to be voted upon.  That changed during public comment when a line of eager residents sensibly utilized their allotted three minutes to outline common sense, researched, and practical reasons why County leaders should honor their promise of reopening Towne Road.

No progress in reopening Towne Road would have happened without the community’s support over the past three months.

In September, the Commissioners announced that Towne Road would remain closed for 2-3 years and may never reopen to through traffic again.  The community began writing emails, attending meetings, and those community-led efforts saw Towne Road advance into the 2024 Construction Budget.  

When one Commissioner began favoring a “phased approach” that would begin with the installation of automatic, electronic gates, the citizens of Clallam County again activated by emailing and attending meetings.  That round of efforts led to the Department of Community Development and Road Department analyzing costs and preparing new data that was presented to the Commissioners and gallery today.

Once it became clear that the Commissioners were going to end the year without any formal path forward for Towne Road, many attendees in the gallery chose to voice concerns.  It was that final push of speakers and applause, combined with the momentum from months of continual community backing, that saw today’s resolution proposed and passed.

A tremendous thanks is owed to everyone who has taken time to write County leaders, attend meetings, and offer support.  Without your efforts, Towne Road would remain closed.

Nothing has changed about how Clallam County government brought us to this point.  There was an opportunity this year to have the project completed three months ago and fund it entirely by grant dollars, but that opportunity was purposefully forfeited.  Questions still remain regarding the early breach of the old dike and how much County money was spent to rectify that avoidable blunder.  There are even more questions if policies and procedures weren’t followed.  Doubts about ethics persist, and we’ll work together to find answers.

I have great admiration for the hard working employees of Clallam County.  My mom was one of those employees until her retirement in 2000 and she would often take me to work.  Clallam County and its taxpayers put food on our table, bought our back-to-school clothes, and taught my sister and I what a community can achieve when working together. The Clallam County government of the 1990s was one of transparency, honesty, and accountability… that is no longer the case today.  Without a doubt, there are County employees still working hard to push our County forward, but there is also a small contingent of County leaders who are susceptible to influence and, as a result, neglect the needs of the greater community.

Mom was born the day after Christmas and she would have been 81 today.  She would have been concerned at how County leadership has changed over the years.  She would have been worried that the interests of a few were compromising the safety and needs of an entire community.  But more than anything, Mom would have been extremely proud of this community’s desire to look out for their neighbors and do what’s right.

Thank you all – we have almost achieved our goal, and we will know we’ve achieved it when we can drive from Woodcock Road to Sequim-Dungeness Way on a reopened Towne Road.

Happy New Year to all, and Happy Birthday Mom.