SILVERDALE — A $2.3 million grant from Puget Sound Regional Council will fund the design of the first phase of work to widen Ridgetop Boulevard through one of Silverdale's busiest commercial corridors.

The grant will fund the design for roadwork between the segment of the boulevard between Mickleberry and Myrhe. That segment of Ridgetop accommodates entrances to Best Buy, PetSmart, Sportsman’s Warehouse, Costco, Lowe’s, Eddie Bauer and more.

The work will fall under Phase 1 of what will be a four-phase project, said Gunnar Fridriksson, project manager at Kitsap Public Works. The ultimate goal is to rework Ridgetop in its entirety to solve capacity and safety issues.

“There’s not a lot of east-west routes in Silverdale,” Fridriksson said.

The northwest segment of Ridgetop Boulevard is currently two lanes with a center turn lane. The road will be widened to four lanes with a divided median, and sidewalks will be upgraded to be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Bike lanes will be added in both directions, possibly raised above the road for added safety.

The first phase also involves reconstructing the intersections of Ridgetop at Mickelberry Road and Myhre roads, making U-turns possible to improve traffic flow.

The estimated cost for phase one of the project is $13.7 million. Currently, there is no funding for the right of way or construction, only funding for design, Fridriksson said.

If funding is acquired for the rest of the project, the estimated timeframe for construction is 2023 or 2024, Fridriksson said.

Expanding Ridgetop is necessary with the pending opening of an enlarged Harrison Medical Center, set to open in fall or early winter 2020. But access is already an issue even without the hospital, Fridriksson said.

Kitsap County will coordinate with CHI Franciscan to bring improvements to Ridgetop at its intersection with Sid Uhnick Drive. An agreement struck between Kitsap County and Franciscan during the permitting of the hospital calls for the roadway to be realigned to match the entrance to the hospital. It's estimated the realignment of Sid Uhnick will be finished by fall 2020, with Harrison opening at the end of next year.

Kitsap Transit is also in the midst of planning for a new transit center to be located at Sid Uhnick Drive.

“Once that goes in they’ll build a new signal,” Fridriksson said.

According to the Silverdale Transportation Implementation Strategy report done last year, about 18,000 vehicles travel on Ridgetop Boulevard west of Highway 303 every day.

"In our plan, we identified all projects in Silverdale and looked at them for existing and future capacity, safety and urban design issues and prioritized them," said David Forte, Kitsap Public Works transportation planner.

Widening Ridgetop came out as the top-priority project, Forte said. The corridor is expected to grow the most in the next 20 years, a result of Harrison's expansion and the potential siting of more medical offices.

In addition, Ridgetop's intersections with Myhre and Mickelberry both rank in the county’s top 10 for intersections with the most accidents.

"It's a project we've been wanting to do for a long time," Forte said.

The four-phase project is separate from another Ridgetop project to add roundabouts and replace medians with stormwater treatment cells along the residential part of the road east of Highway 303. But the completed projects will work in conjunction to improve vehicle access and traffic control across the area.

“There’s a lot of projects on Ridgetop right now,” Fridriksson said.

Still to be addressed is the runoff created from 22 acres that is not being treated in stormwater systems between Mickelberry and Myhre. Fridriksson says planners are considering a treatment project to address that.

Stormwater treatment has been highlighted in the area through other projects because the road runs between two salmon streams — Clear Creek and Barker Creek. Whispering Firs Stormwater Treatment Park was completed earlier this year. It sits off Silverdale Way's other intersection with Ridgetop Boulevard — in the Island Lake area.

Back on Ridgetop between Mickleberry and Mhyre, Forte said drivers can likely expect to see surveyors in the area this winter.