Preparations for a roadway construction project for East Pioneer Avenue are underway in Montesano.

The project will be approached in two phases; phase one is the replacement of East Pioneer Avenue from Main Street east to Church Street, near the Montesano Fire Station. Phase two is road replacement for the remainder of East Pioneer Avenue from Church Street to Vessey Field. Phase two will begin immediately following phase one.

Montesano CFO Doug Streeter noted said many community members believe the eastern stretch of East Pioneer (phase two) is in far worse condition than the target of phase one, but the order of construction met with federal and state funding preferences.

As explained by Streeter, when federal and state appropriated funds are utilized, the corresponding agencies prefer to fund “connecting projects.” A previously completed project on Main Street near the Chevron gas station in Montesano means the next project must begin there.

“The way the funding works we have to work east, rather than the other way around,” Streeter explained.

The city has received federal and state funding for the project, and Streeter says that current estimates have project costs coming in anywhere from $950 million to $1 million.

Additional funding has been awarded through the council of governments because an approved project in Aberdeen did not come to fruition. When those plans fell through, potential road projects in surrounding areas were considered, Streeter said. Some 90 percent of the engineering work was done for the East Pioneer project at the time the Aberdeen project fell through which put Montesano in a good position to receive the funds previously appropriated to Aberdeen.

“We got lucky that these dollars were already out there,” Streeter said.

The project also will pave the way for additional work needed along East Pioneer.

“We’re going to replace some old water lines — some of them are 50 years old,” Streeter said.

Streeter noted that while the road is torn up the time is right to take on the additional projects, which also includes the replacement of sidewalks along East Pioneer Avenue.

As of last week any time line for the project would be subject to change since the project has yet to go out for bid.

“You just never know with road projects,” Streeter said.

The city hopes to be receiving bids by May or June 2017, with construction to start around August or September. The project could be complete by October 2017.

“Anytime we can do a road project, it’s a good thing,” Streeter said.

A meeting for local business owners who may be affected by the construction project was held March 29. Business owners had the opportunity to ask questions and relay concerns to city representatives and to a representative from Gibbs & Olson, the design engineers chosen by Montesano for the East Pioneer Avenue project.

Mayor Vini Samuel noted that it’s not possible to do an improvement project without some impact to business.

“The road is either improved or it’s not,” Samuel said.

The project itself was not an issue at the meeting, it was the inconveniences that could come with it that needed to be addressed.

“Personally, I’m all for it, but you don’t want to repeat the past,” Gepetto’s owner Bob McEndoo said, referencing troubles the business went through as a result of the Main Street construction project. The previous Main Street Project resulted in a 2013 lawsuit filed by the contractor against the city after several delays. That lawsuit wasn’t settled until 2016.

Some issues business owners are concerned about for the pending project project are business access, parking, dust mitigation and truck traffic and access.

“There’s going to be some effects, but we’ll try to minimize them with coordination and communication,” Gibbs & Olson project manager Carol Ruiz said.