Following months of scoring, discussion and federal and state review, city officials were told roundabouts will be the chosen design for Woodland’s Exit 21 interchange improvement project.
The decision was presented to the City Council during its July 21 meeting by consulting firm Kittleson and Associates, with final sign-off recently obtained from both the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).
“At this time, we have all the entities sign off to move forward with the roundabout,” Woodland Public Works Director Riley Bunnell told The Reflector. “That gives us the approval to move forward within acquiring the right of way, making sure everything is surveyed, do the core sampling, and then finish off that portion of the biological assessment.”
The city had previously explored both signalized intersections and roundabouts for the busy interchange, which often sees backups during peak travel hours. A non-access feasibility study conducted by Kittleson compared traffic flow, safety and cost between the two alternatives.
FHWA and WSDOT ultimately favored roundabouts due to their lower projected costs and higher safety scores.
“We kind of knew the safety aspect compared to the cost alternative between the two, and that’s where we had the initial scoring that was presented to WSDOT,” Bunnell said. “They said, yes, we agree … that roundabouts score higher than signalization.”
To address concerns about speed and vehicle maneuvering, especially for trucks, Bunnell explained that the roundabouts will use a phased design and mountable curbs.
“When you do a single lane entrance to a roundabout or an exit out of a roundabout, you can reduce that speed,” he said. “With the addition of mountable curbs, we’ve kind of worked through the maneuvering paths. We’ve done the studies to make sure that, you know, a 120-foot long tractor-trailer with a heavy load can still maneuver through the roundabouts.”
Drilling and geotechnical testing are currently underway at the Exit 21 site. Crews will be taking boring samples throughout July to evaluate soil stability and identify potential red zones that could impact the build.
“They’re gonna be doing some boring here in the next 2 weeks on site to get those tests completed,” Bunnell said. “We’ll be doing noise analysis, a lot of geotechnical, basically in July.”
Kittleson and Associates are now focused on developing a final design based on the approved roundabout plan. The firm has surpassed the 30% design milestone and is working toward achieving the 60% benchmark by August 2025.
“Once we actually get further into the design of a roundabout, since that’s what we’re moving with, we’ll have a better idea of the overall cost,” Bunnell said. “We’ve kind of listed it about $30 million for the total project … in the city’s transportation improvement plan.”
Bunnell noted the final construction cost would likely vary from that initial projection.
Meanwhile, the federally mandated biological assessment remains a sticking point. The assessment, required by the National Marine Fisheries Service, evaluates potential impacts on native species and water quality.
“The biological assessment is still in the works,” Bunnell said. “We should have that submitted by the end of 2026.”
The review process for the assessment could delay construction by an estimated two to three years. If submitted by 2026, the city expects feedback by 2028 or later.
“The good thing about it is… once that biological assessment is submitted, the city can then go after and procure the funding for the overall project,” Bunnell said.
In the meantime, the city is beginning early right-of-way negotiations with affected property owners.
“Luckily with the roundabout, there’s not a lot as compared to the initial idea of signalization,” Bunnell said. “We’re planning to have interviews and talks with them about right-of-way acquisition for the project… we’re hoping to have that completed by the end of 2025.”
Although roundabouts can be a polarizing topic, Bunnell said most public feedback so far has centered on large truck navigation rather than design preference.
“People prefer signals over roundabouts just for how easy they are, but overall, roundabouts have been proven to be safer, in a more cost-effective way of getting traffic through,” he said.
City officials expect the next project update to come in early to mid-September once surveying and acquisition discussions are further along.
“We are trying to work as diligently and as fast as we can to try to get this process and project moving forward,” Bunnell said.
