Jacob Dimond / jake@yelmonline.com
Yelm City Council unanimously voted to accept a Washington State Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) grant for its upcoming Rhoton Road NW reconstruction project during a meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 13.
The TIB grant is valued in full at the amount of $3,179,750.
Elizabeth Jones, City of Yelm projects and grants manager, said during the meeting that the Rhoton Road NW reconstruction project is now fully funded with the addition of the grant.
The Nisqually Valley News has previously reported on the Rhoton Road NW reconstruction project, and in Oct. 2024, Patrick Hughes, former City of Yelm project manager — who is now retired — reported that the Rhoton Road reconstruction project will completely revamp the road to accommodate for an anticipated increase of traffic on the street following the completion of the Yelm Loop.
Hughes also reported that the project would be about a mile in length and feature 10-foot lanes with curbs. Additionally, he said the road reconstruction would include the addition of a sidewalk along the west side of Rhoton Road.
During the meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 13, councilor Brian Hess asked Mayor Joe DePinto how road preservation would go about.
“In reference to Rhoton Road, because that’s going to become the way that through traffic goes from 507 all the way to the 510 loop,” Hess said. “With that improvement that occurs, are we working on an interlocal agreement with WSDOT having them not 100% take care of that road but some percentage because we’re going to have a lot of heavy trucks now going through there. There will be wear and tear on the asphalt.”
DePinto said, as far as preservation and restoration of those roads in the future goes, he doesn’t believe that there will be an interlocal agreement with WSDOT for the specific purpose of touching up the road.
“This is from the state,” DePinto said. “This is a state grant that will pay for the new road, basically. It’s a very large grant we’re getting from the state.”
Cody Colt, Yelm public works director, added that preservation comes from the city’s end — but noted most of the large trucks driving through Yelm would still drive around the city. Only trucks delivering locally would be using Rhoton Road NW, he claimed.
“With the new road upgrades and the work being done on it, it’ll be durable enough to handle these semis versus the road that currently is,” Colt said. “We’ll continue to budget money as the council has approved and repair the roads as it’s needed. It should be a great road for years to come.”
